St Patrick's College: Teachers in Dungannon air concerns

A majority of members of a teaching union in a County Tyrone school have said in an anonymous survey that they do not "personally feel valued as a member of staff" (Stock image)

A majority of members of a teaching union in a County Tyrone school have said they do not "personally feel valued as a member of staff" there.

That is according to an anonymous wellbeing survey at St Patrick's College in Dungannon.

It was carried out by The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO).

But the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) and school's governors have expressed "significant concerns" about the survey.

In a statement to BBC News NI, the INTO said it "remains committed to working with governors in moving the school forward".

As St Patrick's College is a Catholic maintained school, CCMS has responsibility for its management along with the board of governors.

It is a non-selective school with more than 700 pupils, aged from 11 to 18.

Working conditions concerns

The INTO is the largest union among teachers in the school. Twenty-eight of its members completed the health and wellbeing survey carried out by the union.

The union had previously said the decision to carry out a survey came after a number of their members had "raised concerns relating to working conditions and wellbeing at their place of work".

For a teaching union to carry out a health and wellbeing survey of its members in a school is a relatively unusual move.

The results of the survey were recently communicated to INTO members and governors at the school.

A majority of the 28 INTO teachers who responded (61%) said that they did not "personally feel valued as a member of staff".

Additionally, 22 of 28 INTO members disagreed or strongly disagreed that the "health, safety and welfare of staff" was viewed by management as a priority within the school.

When asked about their working relationship with the school leadership team, 16 said it was poor or very poor, although seven described the relationship as excellent or good.

It is a relatively unusual move for a teaching union to carry out a health and wellbeing survey of its members in a school

But when asked by BBC News NI about the survey results, the CCMS and the board of governors issued a joint statement.

In it, they pointed to "significant concerns" they had previously voiced around how the survey was conducted and "the subsequent validity of reported outcomes".

"These concerns centred around the inadequacy of controls to prevent duplicate responses or completion by individuals who are not current members of staff," the joint statement said.

'Extremely disappointing'

"Despite these concerns, CCMS and the board of governors continued to engage with INTO and agreement was reached on how the survey's outcomes would be represented and communicated, given our concerns regarding the reliability of data.

"It is extremely disappointing that the agreed approach has not been honoured."

The statement added that CCMS "believes that the board of governors of St Patrick's College is strongly committed to its staff and pupils and willing to address any substantiated issues".

The school's board of governors subsequently commissioned its own survey of staff, which was carried out on Friday, October 27.

In a statement to BBC News NI, they said they were "now seeking the input of the wider staff team, so that everyone will have an opportunity to provide feedback on health and wellbeing and other key issues".