Schools warn they may have to keep classes at home due to teacher shortages

Some schools have warned the Department of Education they may be forced to take emergency measures such as keeping classes at home in the face of acute difficulties sourcing qualified teachers.

The impact of shortages and the effect on pupils is revealed in communications between school leaders and the Department of Education during the current academic year, released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act.

Principals say the supply of substitute teachers has reached “crisis point”, with problems most acute in the greater Dublin area due to the rising cost of accommodation. Correspondence shows some of the greatest difficulties are being experienced by special schools who are struggling to find qualified staff.

“We find ourselves in an uncharted and unprecedented time,” warned one special school principal, who did not receive any qualified applicants for three vacant teaching posts.

The principal said one solution could involve limiting school days for some classes to three days for one week and two days the following week.

“For health and safety reasons it’s not possible to operate without teachers/full complement of adults in classrooms,” the principal warned. “Teachers are moving to schools closer to their homes due to the rising costs of living. Young teachers cannot find accommodation in Dublin.”

Mainstream schools have also warned that recruitment efforts have regularly failed to attract qualified applicants. “The board of management has not been able to fill this post through interview as no qualified teacher wishes to take up the post. We have interviewed to fill fixed term posts on two occasions over the summer and have not yet filled all our year-long fixed term posts,” one principal said.

Another added: “I have had no applications from suitable candidates and the closing date is tomorrow. Presently I am struggling to fill permanent and fixed-term contracts in my school. Many schools in Clondalkin and the greater Dublin area are struggling also…The situation is quite dire!!”

Another school expressed frustration at applicants not turning up for interviews. “I am literally having sleepless nights about this. I have spent all of my summer holidays engaged with this and feel I have had no head space to take a break from school after an extremely stressful year with high-needs pupils. I am aware from speaking to other principals that this is the case in many schools. I feel aggrieved about the lack of support from the Department of Education with this matter,” the principal wrote.

The principal of a Deis school said schools in disadvantaged areas faced even greater challenges.

“This summer holiday has been absolutely exhausting searching for teachers – interviewing and then people finding something more suitable; current teachers contacting me to say they are relocating out of Dublin as they cannot afford to live here; other teachers saying they do not know how much longer they will be able to stay’; new teachers accepting the post accommodation pending – these are just a few examples…could go on but I’m tired, really tired, and worn out.”

Minister for Education Norma Foley has acknowledged that “schools in certain locations are experiencing challenges in both recruiting teachers and obtaining substitute teachers”, but emphasised that the vast majority of sanctioned teacher positions were filled.

She said Budget 2024 contained a range of measures to address teacher supply such as financial incentives for newly-qualified teachers graduating next year and the restoration of middle-management posts in schools.

While shortages appear most acute in the greater Dublin area, schools from across the State have reported difficulties. Many schools say they have resorted to redeploying special education teachers to mainstream classes even though this deprives the most vulnerable pupils of support.