Schools insist they are prioritising newly qualified teachers for work

PRIMARY principals have insisted that they are giving priority to newly qualified teachers for substitution work but said graduates could be taken off the dole if the Government set up a supply panel system.

Around 20 groups of primary schools around the country share teams of teachers to cover sick leave, administrative leave for principals and other absences, meaning there is no difficulty in arranging substitution or other cover at short notice.

The Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) said there is no reason this supply panel system could not be extended to cover every school in the country and create jobs for hundreds of unemployed teachers who have been probated by Department of Education inspectors.