Schools ‘coping’ with action

Schools are operating smoothly but atmospheres could become more intense if industrial action by 16,000 teachers continues for much longer, a management leader has said.

While most of the 500 schools where Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) members are engaging in low-level action are staffed solely by that union, more than 120 also have Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) members.

Most of those are community and comprehensive schools, whose management body has been taking calls in recent days about what to do as problems escalate.