700 teachers trained for changes to Junior Certificate
The exception to union bans on co-operation with continuous professional development for the programme is happening at special schools that provide junior cycle education for older pupils. Special schools often cater for pupils up to the age of 18, but are mostly registered as primary schools and mostly staffed by Irish National Teachers’ Organisation members.
The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland and the Teachers’ Union of Ireland have told 27,000 members since April not to take part in any activities, including training, linked to the junior cycle reforms, around which last week’s one-day strike revolved. They also refuse to take part in school planning meetings and the teaching of new short courses, although teachers of English have had to deliver the new curriculum in September because of a risk otherwise of being open to disciplinary proceedings.
The Department of Education told the Irish Examiner that 500 of the country’s 723 second-level schools have requested to take up an offer from the Junior Cycle for Teachers service of a whole-school day of continuous professional development. It would see trainers visit the school instead of teachers attending a regional in-service session. But it has not been provided because of the industrial relations climate, with the two second-level unions set to announce a strike dare in January in the next week.
But whole-school days are planned for more than 70 special schools which provide junior cycle. Up to the end of last week, 16 schools in 15 counties had been visited in three weeks and more than 360 teachers attended, with plans for sessions at another 17 schools by the end of term.
“The content of the first whole-school continuous professional development day in special schools includes a general introduction to the junior cycle framework as well as sector-specific content related to, for example, level 2 learning and priority learning units,” a department spokesman said.
He said positive and enthusiastic feedback from participants has been reported. “Junior Cycle for Teachers is preparing to roll out its continuous professional development programme in other areas, such as whole-school days for all schools [and for] English, science, and short courses, as soon as the industrial relations situation allows.”
The Irish Examiner reported in September that the department had hired 15 teachers, with substitution costs of around €1m a year, to cover their absences from school, and to design and deliver training that members of the two teacher unions will not attend while the dispute continues.
The revised junior cycle includes level 2 learning courses and priority learning units to recognise achievements of students with more particular special needs, in mainstream or special schools, who are not able to take the Junior Certificate. Two optional short courses have been developed which can be taught as standalone programmes or integrated into other subjects.
