Union conferences: teachers to call for disciplinary steps and more staff

MEASURES to deal with misbehaviour, and more staff to help pupils with special needs, are among demands to be aired by second-level teachers at the annual union conferences next month.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) will debate a number of motions on behaviour, one of them calling for more Department of Education resources to provide behaviour support classrooms for dealing with problem pupils. These classes are being created in around 30 second-level schools by the National Behaviour Support Service set up after last year’s report by a task force on student behaviour.

The 500 delegates at the ASTI annual convention in Sligo will hear calls for more training and resources for teachers working with pupils who have special needs and international pupils who require extra help with English.