65% of school support staff were not consulted about participating in remedial education plans

The Minister of Education says he is very satisfied with the preliminary results of the remedial plan measures implemented, but the results of a survey conducted by the Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire (FPSS-CSQ) show that “65% of respondents were not consulted about participating in the remedial plan. Four out of ten of these respondents are interested in participating but are unable to do so because it was not offered to them. The figures being cited by the Minister don’t seem to tally with the feedback we are getting from our members,” says  FPSS-CSQ President Éric Pronovost.

Pronovost says “the $300 million earmarked for the catch-up plan will enable us to offer more services to students. If there are needs, we have to address them now, not wait until next year when we realize that not all the money has been spent and that some students never received the services to which they were entitled.”

Available staff

Three out of four respondents not taking part in the remedial plan are actually available from one to five hours a week. Pronovost points out that “three out of four people working part-time providing direct services to students are available to help. They know the students and can act quickly. School administrators need to start counting on school support staff to achieve their objectives.”

Homework assistance and psychosocial support

Survey respondents participating in the remedial plan provide support to students in a variety of ways, including homework assistance (57%), individual help (41%) and specialized educational activities for special needs students (33%). Most of these staff members are special education technicians (53%) and daycare educators (27%).

Many people mention the importance of psychosocial support, which they see as involving follow-up with students (83%), emotional support (60%), psychological support (44%) and follow-up with parents (44%).

The FPSS-CSQ president points out that “we have technical staff who provide psychosocial assistance for the well-being and mental health of students. When the goal is academic success, we have to consider all the different aspects of academic success to which we can contribute, because besides educational delays, there are other issues such as anxiety that must not be overlooked.”

Pronovost concludes that “these needs have existed for many years, and we need to seize this opportunity to raise them now.”