Pat Breen
Question:233. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to change the criteria (details supplied) for newly qualified teachers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57852/12]
View answerWednesday, 16 January 2013
Questions (233)
Written answers
Newly qualified primary teachers (NQTs) who have completed their initial teacher education in the State are eligible to apply for registration with the Teaching Council. They are registered with the condition of satisfactorily completing probationary requirements and, from July 2012, completion of the National Induction Programme for Teachers.
Both the Department of Education and Skills and the Teaching Council are aware that not all primary teachers will find an immediate teaching position in which to complete the probationary process. In order to facilitate teachers wishing to meet the terms of conditional registration with the Teaching Council, the minimum service requirement for registration probation purposes was decreased from 170 days to 100 days from the beginning of the 2011/12 school year. In addition, the JobBridge scheme and the Work Placement Programme have been available to teachers and are fully supported by the Department of Education and Skills. Department guidelines on JobBridge are set out in Circular 0046/2011 and the Work Placement Programme in Circular 66/2010. These are on my Department's website. A number of teachers have availed of the above schemes and have utilised these placements towards the probation requirements of the Teaching Council. Circular 29/2012 which my Department issued in August 2012 obliges schools to recruit unemployed teachers ahead of retired ones, in an effort to ease the difficulties for those who cannot find work in the profession.
If a teacher is unable to complete the requirements of a registration condition within the specified period, the teacher may apply to the Council for an extension to that period in the year in which it is due to expire. Information on this process is available on the Teaching Council website.