AQW 8505/22-27
Ms Connie Egan
Alliance Party
North Down
Tabled Date: 08/03/2024
Answered On Date: 15/03/2024
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail any engagement he has had with (i) the Education Authority; and (ii) teaching trade unions in relation to the recruitment and retention of teaching staff.
Answer:
I have had no direct engagement with the Education Authority in relation to the recruitment and retention of teaching staff however I have met with the Northern Ireland Teaching Council (NITC) and the issue of some post-primary schools experiencing difficulties in recruiting for certain subject areas has been raised. The unions also indicated that their opinion is that teachers in Northern Ireland not receiving a pay award for 2021, 2022 and 2023 has impacted on the recruitment and retention of teaching staff. Intensive engagement has been ongoing between both sides of the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee (TNC) to resolve the ongoing teachers’ pay dispute. TNC includes representatives from teachers’ employers, sectoral interests and the Department as well as representatives from the five main teachers’ unions. A significant formal pay offer has now been made to NITC which, if accepted, will bring the salary of a beginning teacher in Northern Ireland to £30,000 which is the same as a beginning teacher in England. This is a 24.3% pay rise for beginning teachers. The pay offer equates to a cumulative total of 10.4% plus £1000 being applied to the other teachers’ and leadership pay scales. It is expected that the acceptance of the pay offer will address many of the recruitment and retention issues expressed to me. Engagement will continue through TNC to address any outstanding factors which may be impacting on the recruitment and retention of teaching staff. My Department recognises the need to develop a sector-wide approach to strategic teacher workforce planning, and plans to engage with key stakeholders to get a better understanding of any identified shortfall areas.
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