In March 2013, the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn, TD asked the Council to provide him with advice on the matter of teacher supply. Further to that request, the Council approved a road map for this advice in May 2014.
This involved the establishment of a Technical Working Group, comprising representatives of the Council, the Department and the HEA. The independent Chair is Mr. Ciarán Flynn, formerly of the ACCS. Prof. Áine Hyland also sits on the group as an Expert Education Adviser. Prof. Tony Finn, former CEO of GTCS, is rapporteur to the Group. The Technical Working Group is charged with developing and piloting a model of teacher supply that would seek to ensure a sufficient supply of teachers to meet demand. The Group has held 6 meetings to date and its interim report is now available. The final report is expected to be completed in October of this year and Council will finalise its advice for the Minister before the end of the year.
The Council also established a Consultative Forum on Teacher Supply to include all relevant stakeholders with an interest in the matter of teacher supply, including higher education institutions, teacher unions, management bodies, principals’ networks, parents’ councils, students and pupils. This forum offers stakeholders an opportunity to give feedback on the proposals developed by the Technical Working Group. The Forum has met twice to date.
