Union calls for more teachers and reduced class sizes in election manifesto
The INTO is calling on the next Government to reduce the average class size to 19 in mainstream schools, and to 15 in disadvantaged schools.
The next Government should reduce class sizes to 19, introduce incentives to keep teachers here and establish more special schools, according to the country’s largest teachers’ union.
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) has launched its general election manifesto ahead of an expected election announcement this week.
Laying out 30 areas for investment in education, the proposals include calls to address teacher supply issues, to improve special education and funding for disadvantaged schools.
While the average class size here is at the lowest rate in years, Ireland’s average primary school class remains above the EU average at 23 students to one teacher.
The INTO is calling on the next Government to reduce this average to 19 in mainstream schools, and to 15 in disadvantaged schools. The union is also calling for class sizes to be reduced in special schools and classes.
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Additional primary teachers should be trained to achieve this target, and to ensure all teaching positions can be filled, according to the union.
It has also called on the next government to provide incentives to retain teachers here, while also improving the incremental credit scheme to bring teachers home to Ireland.
The manifesto also includes calls to provide substitute cover for all approved teacher absences with particular provision for special schools and special classes.
Training programmes should also be rolled out for all who teach children with additional needs including a doubling of the number of places on special education diploma courses.
The union has also called for primary capitation funding to be increased to €400 per pupil by 2030, and for small schools to be supported through tailored funding.
The manifesto all calls on the next government to create a DEIS plus scheme to support 100 schools serving areas of highest deprivation alongside increased funding and resourcing for DEIS schools.
Meanwhile, Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board has received approval to advance to the next phase of its development of a 'college of the future' in Newcastle West, Limerick.
Approval has now been granted for the project to move to the pre-tender stage of development.
According to the Department of Further and Higher Education, the new infrastructure will allow for the consolidation and integration of further education and training in the region. The proposed college will feature digitally enabled facilities while also promoting local development.
Donncha Ó Treasaigh, acting chief executive of Limerick and Clare ETB, said the development of a Further Education and Training (FET) college of the future in Newcastle West is "particularly significant as it will address structural imbalance in the county", while also enabling the ETB "to deliver world-class education and training in response to local and national government priorities and plans”.
SOLAS CEO Andrew Brownlee said: “With one in 10 adults in Ireland now learning through FET or apprenticeships, the ongoing development of high-quality college environments in key locations such as county Limerick will play a critical role in meeting the increasing demand for upskilling across our communities.”
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