Minister must heed INTO calls as teachers face burnout
Minister must heed INTO calls as teachers face burnout - The Labour Party
Labour’s education spokesperson Eoghan Kenny TD has called on the Minister for Education to take action following an incredible 85% of teachers surveyed reporting moderate to high work related burnout.
Deputy Kenny said:
“From experience in the teaching profession, I am acutely aware of the very genuine concerns being expressed in this report. Teachers go above and beyond every day for each and every student in their classroom, including enormous amount of work outside of the teaching hours.
“Anyone with a teacher in their life knows the real workload. A lot of the work teachers do is hidden. Due to the lack of resources provided to schools by the Department, teachers of today have found themselves being not just educators, but counsellors, administrators, and the go to person for advice for children.
“As a former teacher, I’ve no doubt that the Minister herself is aware of this, and I would urge her to use this research as a catalyst for change within the Department.
“For a start, we ned to see class sizes reduced in line with European norms and averages, as well as seeing a much greater investment in SNAs. SNAs and teachers have become the first line of defence for children in our society. We know that over 8.5% of children live in consistent poverty, and one in five children live below the poverty line after housing costs. Teachers, SNAs, caretakers and secretaries do their very best to alleviate the stress that comes with that for students.
“With 5,274 children now living in homelessness, we need to resource our schools adequately to support these children and their families, particularly through the expansion of the National Educational Psychological Service. We need to ensure the supports are in place to protect children where the State has failed them and their families.
“When you scratch the surface, it becomes clear that the role of a teacher has changed and evolved alongside society, yet the supports have simply not caught up. Teachers who are on the frontline need a service they can speak to in confidence to express their concerns about the challenges in the classroom and the impact this is having on workload.
“Teaching unions have advocated for this for many years and the Labour Party is calling for a swift review now into the realities facing teachers of today from the Minister. The findings of this report are absolutely shocking but unfortunately they are not surprising.”