AQW 6008/22-27


Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford


Tabled Date: 09/02/2024
Answered On Date: 23/02/2024
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Education whether he will develop a professional development program specifically for Irish Medium teachers.


Answer:
Professional development for the whole teaching workforce in Northern Ireland is progressed through my Department’s strategy for Teacher Professional Learning (TPL), “Learning Leaders”.
This strategy is for all teachers in all schools, including those in the Irish-Medium (IM) sector, with the vision that every teacher is a learning leader, accomplished in working collaboratively with all partners in the interests of children and young people.
My Department will soon be consulting on proposals which have emerged from the implementation of the Strategy, specifically in relation to a TPL framework (providing a structured and informed approach to career-long TPL), a learning leadership lens and a new set of teacher competences.
Progression for both student teachers and newly qualified teachers in Northern Ireland is detailed in the Department’s Teacher Education Partnership Handbook.
Our TPL delivery partner, the Education Authority (EA), provides a range of Professional Learning Programmes (aligned to the Learning Leaders Strategy) that can be accessed by all educators, including those from the IM sector. The EA facilitates a bespoke IM Professional Learning Programme and is currently considering how this can be further enhanced to meet the needs of the sector, in conjunction with IM school leaders and educational partners.
Leadership programmes, including Steps into Leadership and Pathways into Senior Leadership, are being reviewed and will include updates to support the requirements of leaders from the IM sector.
A number of research-based initiatives are also being progressed under “A Fair Start” to support the linguistic development of IM practitioners. In addition, a mentoring scheme is being piloted for non-subject specialist IM teachers.