Warning over full-time rights for temporary teachers

Legislation granting temporary primary school teachers full-time rights without specialised qualifications could impact on the quality of learning in the classroom, it was warned today.

Warning over full-time rights for temporary teachers

Legislation granting temporary primary school teachers full-time rights without specialised qualifications could impact on the quality of learning in the classroom, it was warned today.

Sean Cotterill, director of the Irish Primary Principles Network, said a teacher who has been working in a part-time or temporary capacity for four or more years in a school would now be entitled to full-time rights under the 2003 Protection of Employees Act.

“We would be deeply concerned about the likelihood that someone without a primary teaching qualification might be forced upon a school due to recent legislation protecting people’s rights,” he said.

“Naturally, it’s something that they are entitled to have but it is unacceptable and indeed unwise to appoint someone to a teaching role who would not be adequately qualified given that the implications for the quality of learning in the classroom would inevitably be jeopardised in the long term.”

In some cases, Mr Cotterill said people qualified to teach at secondary-school level who may have been working in primary schools may gain permanent rights.

“It seems because of the new law, which is to protect workers’ rights across the general workforce, a small number of teachers are fitting into this category and they are primarily secondary school qualified teachers who are perhaps very effective in the short-term sense but in our opinion, because they don’t have the minimum qualification for primary teaching, it seems like a dangerous move,” he said.

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) said there were 30 people, aided by a commissioner, working with schools to implement the fixed term act.

“There are only 55 teachers involved and they are fully qualified secondary teachers. They have been appointed in our schools for the last four years,” John Carr, general secretary of the INTO, told RTE Radio.

“These are people who have given sterling service to our schools who have been reappointed by the schools, mainly on the advice of the principals in those schools, and now because of the confidence that the schools have in those people they have been given certain rights.

“One of those rights is a contract of indefinite duration in that particular school.”

Mr Carr said any notion these teachers are compromising education standards is scaremongering.

“It’s true they don’t have a qualification to teach at primary level but they are in our schools for the last four years, they have been teaching in our schools for the last four years, and they have been reappointed by the principals of these particular schools because of their ability to teach at primary level,” he said.

“If they weren’t good enough they wouldn’t be reappointed the following year so these are people who have given sterling service in these schools and under the Fixed Term Act – and we’re talking about 55 people out of 27,000 – they are entitled.”

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