IPPN

Last Updated: Thursday, 01 September 2011 16:13

An innovative solution is now available to connect schools with qualified unemployed teachers to fill absences which occur at short notice.  The Irish Primary Principals' Network (IPPN) has made available an online virtual register for the immediate recruitment of primary school teachers - TextaSub.  Only teachers who are fully qualified and accredited by the Teaching Council can avail of this service.  This is a major advance in addressing the issue of unqualified personnel being employed by schools.  TextaSub uses web technology to alleviate the stress that many Principals describe when they are unable to find teachers for short-term substitute cover.

Last Easter, Minister for Education & Skills, Ruairi Quinn TD, suggested that all schools maintain a list of substitute teachers in their locality.  IPPN, responding to Principals needs, have gone a step further and created a virtual on-line 'list' which enables unemployed teachers to register and indicate their availability for work on a county-by-county basis. 

The system works whereby unemployed teachers register for TextaSub through the secure EducationPosts.ie website. Registration is quick and easy and lasts for one week.  Principals also access EducationPosts.ie to upload details of their school and the vacancy which they are trying to fill. This information is sent to all unemployed teachers who have registered for the county in which the school is located. This list of available substitute teachers updates itself at the end of each week.  Unless a teacher re-registers each week, they will not receive text messages.

In order to register with TextaSub, a teacher must be a current member of the Teaching Council, which is the state agency that licenses teachers to teach in Ireland.  Only those teachers who have provided evidence of their qualifications can be members of the Council. The TextaSub database directly accesses the Teaching Council database thus enabling instant verification of a teacher's status and qualifications.

Gerry Murphy, IPPN President said ‘TextaSub is an example of the innovative use of technology to solve an age-old problem.  As unemployed teachers are constantly on the move looking for work, the idea of keeping a written list is of little value to schools as many of those listed may no longer be unemployed or in the area.  This service provides the fastest and safest possible solution to sourcing qualified teachers’.

TextaSub is a technically advanced service - the only one of its kind in the world. It guarantees that only fully-qualified and licensed teachers can register to receive text messages. TextaSub is designed specifically for primary schools where the issue of teacher shortage has been greatest due to the absence of a state-funded substitution panel. During the last school year, despite large numbers of teachers failing to find a job, Principals reported widely that there was a severe shortage of teachers in their area.  This was particularly true in the case of schools in isolated areas and inner city, urban disadvantage areas. 

IPPN Director, Seán Cottrell described how a Principal recently received a call very late on Sunday evening from a teacher with influenza who was clearly unfit for work next morning.  The Principal went online at home and used TextaSub.  Within minutes, a dozen available subs called her back, providing her with an instant choice of candidates from which she selected the most suitable.  The beauty of TextaSub is that no time is lost and no child is left without a teacher for even one day'.

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