Two-thirds of schools cut guidance support ‘to keep subject choices’

Nearly two-thirds of schools have cut guidance and counselling services in order to maintain subject choices for second-level students, a teachers’ union has claimed.

In its survey of 125 schools and colleges of further education, which are largely funded like second-level schools, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) found that 64% said curricular subjects had displaced guidance and counselling in timetables.

The changes occurred over the past two years — since schools were no longer given a separate allocation for guidance in addition to their mainstream teacher allocations. Any provision in class and teaching timetables for guidance or counselling supports must now be made from their overall allocation of one teacher for every 19 pupils — a mainstream pupil-teacher ratio raised from 18:1 in 2009.