Education Minister launches CREU research report on Irish-medium sector workload

A significant research report from Stranmillis University College’s Centre for Research in Educational Underachievement (CREU) was launched today by the Education Minister, Paul Givan, in Parliament Buildings, Stormont, highlighting evidential insights into the additional workload of practitioners in the Irish-medium sector.

The report, commissioned by Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta (The Council for Irish-medium education) and carried out by Prof Noel Purdy OBE, Dr Claire McVeigh, Dr Mark Ballentine and Dr Emilia Symington, highlights that, because of the additional pedagogical skills and preparation required in IM education and also due to the absence of statutory support, the workload of the vast majority of IM teachers is regularly well above their 1,265 hours.  The report also offers a range of costed and achievable mitigations to alleviate these pressures.

Professor Noel Purdy, Director of CREU and former chair of the 2020-21 expert panel on educational underachievement that published A Fair Start, commented:

‘Our research shows that Irish-medium teachers are working far in excess of agreed limits, with workload pressures driven largely by the constant need to create and adapt resources in the absence of sufficient and suitable Irish-language materials. Unless urgent steps are taken to address these challenges, there is a real risk to teacher wellbeing, recruitment and retention, and ultimately to the sustainability of this fast-growing sector.’

Ciarán Catney, Senior ‘A Fair Start’ Officer with CnaG echoed Professor Purdy’s remarks and pointed to the solutions suggested in the paper:

‘Professor Purdy and his team surveyed around one third of the entire IM workforce to fully understand the extra duties undertaken by the dedicated and enthusiastic professionals in our sector. The proposals to address the issues raised in the paper have been costed and are both reasonable and achievable. We thank the Minister for Education, Paul Givan, for agreeing to launch the research and implore the Minister and his Departmental officials to act on the recommendations as a matter of urgency.’

‘It is also timely that the Department of Education is currently undertaking an independent review of teacher workload and we hope that this report will inform the panel’s findings.’

The launch took place in Stormont’s Long Gallery, with some entertainment provided by the Rang 1 (P.1) pupils of Scoil na Seolta, the newly-opened Irish-medium Integrated school, located in East Belfast.

The report can be downloaded here.