CHILDREN WILL ‘PICK UP THE PIECES’ OF YOUNG TEACHERS’ JOB CRISIS: UTU

Northern Ireland children will be left to ‘pick up the pieces’ of the ‘jobs crisis’ facing newly qualified teachers, it was claimed today.

Avril Hall Callaghan, General Secretary of the UTU, Northern Ireland’s only locally-based teaching union, was speaking as members discussed lack of employment opportunities for graduates at their annual conference this year (March 18 and 19) in Newcastle’s Slieve Donard Hotel.

She said the situation should be a priority for the Education Workforce Review which is due to begin soon.

“Without proper investment in our newly qualified teachers our education system will be compromised and undoubtedly suffer. But when you hear about the ‘education system’ what that actually means is, the children. It is they who will be left to pick up the pieces of this jobs crisis,” she said.

Ms Hall Callaghan, however, said younger teachers too were increasingly frustrated by the apparent failure to resolve the issue with many, for example, in essence forced to foot the bill for their Early Professional Development courses by having to lose pay in order to attend.

“If our children’s education, their future, is to be in the best hands we need to attract the cream of graduates into teaching as a respected profession with career prospects,” she said.

“EPD is vital to ensure all our teachers are teaching to the same high standards but as many newly qualified staff can secure only temporary posts they end up having to take unpaid leave to complete the courses. There’s no incentive in that and no other profession would tolerate it.

“By taking a long term view and a more holistic, joined-up approach we believe the Department of Education and employing authorities could address a range of issues by focussing on this one.

“By using newly qualified teachers we could reduce class sizes, for instance, or allow teachers that precious preparation time for lessons – much of which is currently done in their own time. This has already happened in England and Wales. Why not in Northern Ireland.

“The Cambridge Review, the most up-to-date and independent review of primary education, calls for a full report on current and projected primary school staffing. It can’t come soon enough.

“It also makes a plea for fairer funding and the elimination of the primary / secondary differential. In our schools at present a primary school pupil receives £2,044 as opposed to £3,300 rising to £4,286 for a post primary pupil, a differential which obviously also affects the number of teachers a school can afford.

“Eliminating this discrepancy would allow more schools to employ more teachers and as a consequence reduce class sizes.

“In Scotland newly qualified teachers are currently guaranteed a year’s employment. Northern Ireland’s teaching graduates deserve nothing less.”