Podcasts

''We went through one full month thinking we're still permitted to bank hours''

Kieran returned to an item that we covered on the show yesterday about banked hours in primary schools. These were hours that were owed back to children with special needs when their Special Education Teacher - the SET - was pulled from their normal job to cover for an absent teacher in a mainstream class.  Last year, the school was allowed to bank those hours and give them back to the children later in the year.  That has since been removed. The department claims this is because there won’t be the same level of absences this year, and there is enough substitute capacity to cover.  So has the cover issue been resolved? Will special education teachers not be needed for mainstream classes this year? Alan Kelly, principal of Scoil Mhuire Naofa in Carrigallen, Co Leitrim and member of the National Principals’ Forum, joined Kieran to discuss... The Hard Shoulder Listen and subscribe to The Hard Shoulder on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.      Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App.     You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'. see more