Speech by Sheila Nunan
General Secretary
Irish National Teachers’ Organisation
INTO Congress 2015
West County Hotel, Ennis
7 April 2015
Standing up for Primary Education!
Failte
Minister Jan O Sullivan TD John O Dowd MLA Sean O Foghlu Harold Hislop
Tom and Annette Gilmore Aoghan O Fearrail Uachtaran GAA
Introduction
Recently the INTO lobbied the Department of Education and Skills for more
resources, something we as a trade union do regularly. But this time, in
correspondence and in subsequent meetings, we were asked to respond in
a particular way – we were asked to outline our priorities.
I’m here this morning to outline the INTO’s priorities and it can be summed
up in two words – primary education.
All of us here this week are standing up for primary education. Primary
education is our priority and our ambition over the coming months and if
necessary years, is to convince the Irish people to stand up for primary
education.
What I want to do this morning is not only spell out the detail of that
priority but to also set out the rationale that underpins it, who we expect to
deliver it, when we want it delivered by, as well as a plan for its
implementation.
So it’s the what, the why, the how, the who and the when of primary
education.
Primary education is understaffed, underfunded and under resourced.
That’s why we have the largest classes in the Eurozone, schools that run on
raffles, parental contributions and charity events and school leadership
that quite frankly is at or past breaking point.
So standing up for primary education means three things - smaller classes,
a fair funding formula in education and proper support for principals and
teachers.
And we are standing up for primary education because we know it will pay
dividends.
Investment that makes sure primary school children achieve their full
potential in every area of the curriculum and especially in key areas of
literacy, mathematics, science and ICT will save us having to allocate even
more resources to fixing problems later on, problems that should be
addressed in primary school.
Standing up for primary education is underpinned not only by economic
arguments but by social equality arguments. Remember the primary school
classroom where every citizen from every background gets their first
chance at education. And each child gets one chance of primary education.
Primary teachers have always been ambitious for primary education and
their pupils. I want the government to match teachers’ ambition and shake
off its poverty of ambition for primary education. End poverty funding and
resourcing. End poverty staffing and end poverty of school leadership.
Primary teachers know the transformative power of education. We want all
pupils to realise their full potential. But to do that government must stop
treating primary school pupils like second class citizens.
Investment in primary education is investment in all of education and all of
society. That’s why standing up for primary education is the right thing to
do.
Class Size
Every day 530,000 Irish citizens are in the largest class sizes in the
Eurozone. 85 per cent of Irish children are in classes of greater than the
European average of 21, while one in five is in a class of more than 30
children. Less than ten per cent of Irish children are in classes that other EU
countries call normal.
That’s a national scandal.
In a class of 30 pupils the weak struggling child and the bright, strong pupil
suffers. There’s no time for individual attention and no time for one-to-one
support. The children at the weaker end who don’t qualify for support
teaching are let down, not through lack of effort on any teacher’s part, but
simply through lack of time and resources.
It is just not physically possible to give each child the attention and support
they deserve.
In overcrowded classrooms two valuable resources are wasted. We don’t
make the most of children at a stage where they are primed for learning,
and we suffocate the potential of our teachers.
In overcrowded classes management takes precedence over teaching and
eats into learning time. Large numbers limit the potential for modern and
innovative teaching and learning. The potential of ICT cannot be exploited.
Children with special needs and children at the upper end of the ability
spectrum do not get adequate attention.
Primary education is the foundation of the education system. It is the
bedrock on which everything else is built. Children spend the first few
school years learning to read and the rest of their lives reading to learn.
We must give primary children a proper chance. That’s why we must all
stand up for primary education.
A Fairer model of funding
School funding in Ireland is the reverse of what it should be. It’s upside
down, back to front, inside out, screwed up, however you want to describe
it.
We increase investment in education as children go through the system and
we pay for it by underfunding the bedrock that is primary school.
No matter how much investment we plough in further up the system, we
will never solve the problems that were sown by short-changing young
children.
And that is exactly what the Department of Education and Skills does every
year - short-changes primary schools and attempts to remedy the resulting
problems later on.
Investment in primary education is investment in all education. Investment
in primary education is investment in all citizens
We have all been through, or will go through, the primary school sector.
The same is not true for other parts of the education system.
According to the Central Statistics Office, the average public spend on a
primary school student was €6,272 while spending on a second level
student was €8,735.
A primary school student costs the State 30 per cent less than a second
level student.
There is no good reason for this other than the fact that it has always been
thus. The primary school system has never received adequate funding from
the State.
Primary schools do not get enough State funding to cover running costs.
The State gives primary schools an entirely inadequate 92c per pupil per
day to cover running costs. Second level schools get €1.77 per student per
day, almost double to cover running costs.
The same running costs, double the funding.
The primary school educates children for eight years, and their school year
is longer than second level schools but they are expected to run schools on
just over half of the funding that second level schools get.
All primary school classrooms must be opened, heated, cleaned and
maintained for a month longer than second level schools, but they are
expected to do this with less money.
Primary school pupils cost no less. It is no exaggeration to say that
Government funding to schools does not cover basic running costs such as
heating, light and electricity, cleaning, insurance, ICT, office expenses and
classroom equipment. The stress on principals and parents who are
expected to meet the shortfall is considerable.
There is no justification for the difference in funding for running costs
between the sectors.
Right now, we are funding our primary school children as if they were
second class citizens. There must be equality of funding between primary
and secondary level
Support for School Leadership
Leadership matters. No matter what organisation, grouping or movement –
leadership matters.
Leadership matters in schools. You know it. Everyone here knows it.
Education policy makers don’t appear to know it.
We have voluntary Boards of Management who do not get proper training
and support. There’s an ongoing freeze on posts of responsibility to
support school leadership.
We are seeing ever increasing responsibilities with fewer supports; fewer
rewards and more hassle.
Let’s name and address the issues. Deal with the challenges and let
principals do what they are employed to do – lead learning in schools.
Fund schools fairly and the current role of fundraiser that eclipses other
tasks will disappear. Principals, who simply want the best for their schools,
must not be forced to raise money.
Behind every circular that someone in Marlborough Street dreams up,
behind every hour of special needs resource teaching allocated to children
lies a mountain of paperwork for principals.
This year the Department attempted to abuse the goodwill of principals
with the Primary Online Database. I am proud that this union said clearly
and unequivocally that filling this database was not the work of principals
or teachers.
You cannot significantly increase the amount of administration while
continuously cutting supports for principals.
The Benchmarking award to primary principals and deputy principals was
never paid despite a similar award being paid to higher civil servants and
others. Principals must be paid to reflect the level of extra work and
responsibility they shoulder.
The moratorium on posts of responsibility has caused a lot of damage and
is going to cause more. Posts of responsibility are part of the principal’s
support network and that support has been greatly eroded.
It is time to lift the moratorium on promotion.
Priority areas for posts of responsibility include ICT, special education,
behaviour and discipline, literacy and numeracy and attendance. Posts of
responsibility could support the induction and mentoring of new teachers.
A lack of training and support for Board of Management members, added to
the increased demands of the roles, has led to reluctance by many in the
community to become involved at all. Any failure to meet duties on the part
of the Board of Management must be made up by the principal. Adequate
training and support must be provided for voluntary BOM members.
Almost 60 per cent of principals have fulltime teaching responsibilities - a
unique challenge. Teaching principals must deal with all of the challenges
and responsibilities mentioned above, as well as shouldering a full teaching
role. Almost 60 per cent of principals must not only deal with the
fundraising, the administration and management issues of a school but also
the lesson planning; preparation of work; assessment and marking of
pupils work; extra-curricular activities and engaging with parents and
anything else that arises as a teacher of a class. For this work the principal
of a four-teacher school gets an annual allowance of €9,328.
A principal of a three or four teacher school gets 16 days per year to carry
out his or her administrative, managerial and leadership role which I think
we can all agree is entirely inadequate.
In Lisburn, Lurgan or Lisnaskee a teaching principal gets one day per week
free of class teaching to do this work. Why can a teaching principal in
Letterkenny, Longford or Leitrim not have the same?
High quality professional development for potential school leaders should
be made available before they start their new role. After that there should
be further professional development on a continuing basis to maintain and
deepen skills. I welcome your commitment to involve the INTO in policy
development in this area.
Valuing teachers
The academic standard of applicants to Irish teacher education courses is
among the highest, if not the highest, in the world so said the Report of the
International Review Panel on the Structure of Initial Teacher Education
Provision in Ireland
Students entering such courses in Ireland are among the top ten per cent of
the Leaving Cert cohort in any given year. Nowhere else in the world do
primary school teachers consistently come from a band of such highachievers.
The recent overhaul of teaching degree programmes, something we called
for two decades ago, has brought every aspect of teacher education up to
date with the very best international thinking and practice. This increased
professionalisation of the teaching workforce has reaped great rewards,
not least in the most recent set of results from our nationwide standardised
testing of reading and maths which showed a rise in achievement across
the board. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that results were static for so
long when unqualified personnel were a regular feature in Irish primary
schools. Year after year we campaigned to rid the system of persons with
no teaching qualifications and we said it would pay dividends. The only pity
was it took so long to heed the expertise of teachers.
Based on OECD Education at a Glance, Irish teachers are among the most
productive in the EU, teaching on average 20 per cent longer than the EU
average – the third highest in Europe. Not only that, but Irish teachers
teach bigger classes – on average an Irish teacher has four more students in
her class than her European counterparts.
We have the one of the best-trained, most productive teaching workforces
in Europe. It is time we used them properly.
Despite the pay cuts and the difficult working conditions, primary school
teaching remains a high status profession and it continues to attract high
quality individuals into teaching courses. Yet primary teachers in Ireland
earn 80 per cent of similarly qualified graduates. It’s time to restore pay
levels so that primary teachers are paid their worth.
It’s also time to look after teacher morale which is crucial to education
success.
OECD reports have consistently shown that Irish people have the greatest
levels of satisfaction with the country’s education system when compared
with other OECD countries. Teachers must be doing something right.
Valuing education means valuing teachers.
A teaching workforce that feels appreciated, where morale is high, is one
that will take pride in achieving the very best outcomes for children.
It is widely acknowledged that attractive salaries, the potential for earning
additional allowances and good working conditions are among the main
incentives that attract people into the teaching profession.
If we are serious about investing in our education system at a point where
the benefits will echo right throughout the system and well into society, we
need a mutual buy-in and commitment from teachers and society.
Teachers need to feel valued and appreciated. Good conditions ensure high
levels of satisfaction and motivation among teachers and principals.
Teachers care. They care about their schools and their pupils. They care
about what they do and why they do it.
Why else would 850 members of the INTO give up precious family and
holiday time to represent the concerns of their colleagues?
That’s what unions do.
Unions will always be in the vanguard of demands for decent work, decent
pay and decent working conditions. That’s why we want pay restoration, a
unified pay scale, promotional opportunities, decent pensions.
And if the price of standing up for all of these is being attacked by right
wing neo –liberal, well-heeled, conservative, commentariat then so be it.
We deplore and oppose the agenda of zero hours contracts, 15 hours
contracts are little better, minimum wage, no pensions, a gender pay gap,
internships and continuous temporary work.
We don’t support zero hours contracts – every single day worked as a nonpermanent teacher must continue to count toward getting a permanent job.
We don’t support internships where the privilege of continuous family
support is the key to completing an internship. Only the privileged have
that. All people must have equal access to real work opportunities. In UK
young workers are now completing an average of 7 internships before
getting a job. That’s exploitation and as a career path it’s one that’s going
firmly in the wrong direction.
Irish teachers have a proud tradition of union membership which involves
standing for decent wages and pensions, decent working conditions and
decent resources to do the job. And from this congress we send a message
of solidarity to fellow workers in their struggles for decent work, wages
and conditions.
Fairness and equality is one of the key objectives of this union. We fought
for gender equality between men and women, for equality of taxation
between married couples and non-married couples, for resources for
newcomer children in schools, for equality in employment rights. That’s
why Section 37.1 of the Employment Equality Acts is the completely
unacceptable to us. I urge your government, not to amend this legislation
but to rescind it.
I thank you Minister for coming here today to join us and listen to our
concerns. We share much in common.
INTO has always been a progressive, forward thinking, ambitious
organisation.
I look forward to progress.