Ten Years On, It’s Time to Rethink Droichead
Student teachers are already filling the gaps. Let’s make it official — just like I said in 2015
Many teachers working in schools today probably don’t remember a time before Droichead. They have probably heard horror stories of the days of the probation year when inspectors reduced young NQTs to tears, and entire forests of trees were lost to paperwork and planning. Droichead, at its foundation, was supposed to ensure that the teaching profession was self-regulating and that teachers would be in control of preparing NQTs in their first year of teaching, offering mentoring, support and leading them through their fledgling career, with no big bad wolf of an inspector at the end. The big bad wolf would change hands. When Droichead was first presented, (then called CEPP), it was to be the principal of the school who would be the judge, jury and executioner, as to whether this NQT would pass or fail their first year out of college. Needless to say, it didn’t go down well with anyone.
Back in 2015, I wrote a series of articles critiquing the then-emerging Droichead model. In Droichead: A Bridge Too Far, I expressed concern about placing the responsibility for teacher probation on principals without adequate resourcing or support. I warned that Ireland's unique school culture, where familial, social, and sporting connections often overlap, could undermine professional accountability.
Around this time, some official bodies also echoed these reservations. The Irish Primary Principals' Network (IPPN) expressed serious concerns about the sustainability and fairness of placing probation responsibility on school leaders, citing a lack of time, training, and consistency.
The INTO were much more enthusiastic about Droichead and campaigned relentlessly for the profession to accept it. However, in 2016, some members of the INTO pushed through a ballot on members to either accept or reject Droichead in its then form. Despite all the obstacles put in the way from the leadership of the INTO and all the propaganda from the Teaching Council, 91% of INTO members voted to non-cooperation with the Droichead scheme. It seemed, at this point, Droichead was a dead duck.
In An Alternative to Droichead, I proposed a model where final-year student teachers would complete a year-long, immersive placement in a real classroom, with structured mentorship and college-led oversight.
Back in those days, I was involved on the National Committee of the IPPN. Each meeting started off with a round the houses review from each county representative where a summary of the issues was outlined. These concerns were compiled by the IPPN and these became the focus for representation. These have now been replaced by longer term and more vague strategic plans but at that time, Droichead, came up time and time again, so much so, that my alternative proposal was almost adopted as IPPN policy. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be.
Instead a decision was made that has had major ramifications to the professionalism of teachers. Without any thought to the impact, the Teaching Council simply removed the variable that the NQT would be evaluated on their first year of teaching. The inspectorate model, while not fit for purpose, estimated that it managed to “weed out” between 2 and 4% of underperforming NQTs. Without any gatekeeper, these teachers would now be free to continue in the system. There were no real changes to initial teacher training to make up for this variable.
Despite this, the INTO and Teaching Council did everything they could to get Droichead “over the line,” to quote the former General Secretary, John Carr. In fact, that’s exactly what they did. They simply lifted the embargo once the evaluation piece was removed. There was no ballot. It just happened and there was nothing anyone could do.
As much as most people in the profession were incredibly unhappy with Droichead, there was no one to lead the opposition. In 2020 it became the only route for teachers to be probated in Ireland.
Since then, a number of respected voices have raised serious concerns about the implementation and impact of Droichead:
A 2021 DEEPEN study commissioned by the Teaching Council revealed that around a quarter of school-based Professional Support Team members felt Droichead funding was inadequate, highlighting the mismatch between the demands of the process and the resources provided.
In 2022, educational researchers flagged that many mentors lacked sufficient time and structured development opportunities to effectively support NQTs, undermining the integrity of the induction process.
A 2022 INTO report noted that school leaders were already overwhelmed by growing administrative and management demands, and that the dual role of mentorship and assessment placed unsustainable pressure on principals.
Meanwhile, teachers participating in cluster meetings — intended as reflective CPD — have reported that they often feel more like tick-box exercises, too similar to old-style teaching practice reviews, and disconnected from their real needs.
You might be wondering why I’m bringing it up now. Surely I should just build a bridge and get over Droichead?
The reason is that we face a teacher supply crisis that has been brewing for a decade and is getting worse by the year. According to Department of Education data released in 2024, 98% of primary schools employed unqualified individuals as substitute teachers during the 2023/24 school year. Anecdotally we know that a substantial number of these were student teachers who had not yet graduated but were stepping in to ensure classrooms remained open.
It is about ten years ago, where I argued that we needed to build Droichead into the final year of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) — not bolt it on after qualification. In this article I’m renewing that call as a pilot while we figure out how to solve the teacher crisis.
Here is what a revised, crisis-responsive model could look like:
Final-year BEd students and PME2s would be embedded in a classroom full-time.
They would function as the teacher of record, responsible for planning, classroom management, and curricular delivery. They would also be paid, as they are for their substitute work.
Each student teacher would be paired with a trained in-school mentor.
The teacher education college would retain responsibility for observation, feedback, and ultimately, awarding Droichead status.
The Teaching Council would oversee quality assurance.
This model would not only provide a structured, pedagogically sound route to full qualification, but also solve the teaching shortage without lowering professional standards.
In short, it would improve the induction process and ease the teacher supply crisis at the same time. It turns an emergency workaround into a structured national solution.
The current Droichead model, in my view, still retains all of the problems we expected it to face. Teachers coming out of college have not been given the required skills that they would have got to practice in the older model such as classroom management, long term planning and so on. The above proposal would solve these problems instantly.
As of 2024, the number of student teachers in Ireland's ITE programmes is estimated to be around 3,600 per year across undergraduate and postgraduate routes. These students are already working in classrooms informally. Why not formalise that work and make it meaningful for all parties involved?
Moreover, this model addresses multiple structural weaknesses:
It relieves pressure on principals, who would have the same person in front of a class of children and who would have the support of an inhouse mentor and an external supervisor.
It strengthens the role of ITE colleges, who are best placed to assess teaching competence over time.
It respects the work that student teachers are already doing while improving the support they receive.
My idea doesn’t have to be permanent. Much like in 2015/16, I proposed my idea to be another pilot, just as Droichead was. If we are serious about solving the substitute crisis, maintaining standards, and supporting our newest teachers, I believe this is a model worth testing.