Primary school leaders say a crisis in teacher supply is forcing schools to rely on individuals without teaching qualifications to plug gaps in the classroom.
A national survey of primary schools also found there were almost 1,000 vacancies due to difficulties finding staff to fill permanent, fixed-term and long-term substitute teaching posts.
The problems are most acute in greater Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare, where more than half of schools reported unfilled teaching posts.
Schools affected by staff shortages were having a “profound” impact on the quality of education and expect the problem to grow worse over the coming months.
The poll was carried out by the in order (INTO), in partnership with the Irish Primary Principals’ Network and the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association.
A total of 1,305 schools participated in the survey, representing 40 per cent of all primary and special schools, which was conducted between September 30th and October 7th this year.
The survey found that schools are increasingly forced to rely on individuals without any teaching qualifications to cover short-term teacher absences, with 745 such individuals employed in the first five weeks of the new school year.
In addition, more than 1,100 registered teachers who are not qualified for the primary sector were working in primary and special schools.
[ Teacher supply crisis: ‘There are times when we’ve had no applications for vacant positions’ ]
The survey found most schools are forced to reallocate special education teachers to mainstream classes to cover staffing gaps – a practice which deprives the most vulnerable students of vital support.
Many schools are also forced to split classes up into other classrooms when a substitute teacher cannot be found, disrupting children’s education.
INTO general secretary John Boyle said the findings paint a “deeply concerning picture of an enormous crisis”.
“The shortage of teachers, especially in urban areas, continues to grow, and the heavy reliance on unqualified staff is an alarming development,” he said.
“We must act now to ensure no child is regularly being left without a qualified teacher throughout their primary schooling.”
Mr Boyle said the scale of the problem requires progress on issues such as financial incentives, job stability and career progression.
Minister for Education Norma Foley has said that there are now more teachers than ever working in the Irish education system with almost 79,000 employed, while there are a record 122,000 on the Teaching Council register.
She has pointed to a 20 per cent increase in teaching graduates over the last five years and a 13 per cent increase in the number of teaching posts allocated to primary schools as a sign of her department’s efforts to address teacher supply issues.
Ms Foley has also said the current public sector pay deal will mean that teachers’ starting salary will increase to €46,000, rising to a maximum of €85,000 per year, which compares well internationally.
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