Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 July 2016
302. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which a qualified special needs assistants and Montessori teachers can be placed on the relevant panels for employment in their area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22679/16]
View answerIn regard to Special Needs Assistants (SNAs), the supplementary assignment arrangements for SNAs were established on foot of proposals brought forward by the Labour Relations Commission when the Haddington Road Agreement was being agreed. These supplementary assignment arrangements for SNAs continue to operate under the Lansdowne Road Agreement, and both unions representing SNAs, namely SIPTU and IMPACT, have signed up to that agreement. As set out in the LRC proposals, the supplementary assignment arrangements for SNAs only apply to current SNAs who are notified that they are to be made redundant. Accordingly, the purpose of these arrangements is to facilitate eligible SNAs who are being made redundant by one employer in filling SNA vacancies that may become available in another school/ETB.
Once an SNA with a minimum of one year's service (service in a substitute capacity i.e. covering for maternity leave, sick leave, career breaks, job-sharing etc. does not count) is notified by his/her employer that s/he is to be made redundant then s/he shall be deemed to be a member of a supplementary assignment panel for SNAs. The detailed supplementary assignment arrangements for SNAs for the 2016/2017 school year are set out in Departmental Circular 0035/2016 which issued on 20 May 2016 and which is available on the Department's website at the following address:
http://www.education.ie/en/Circulars-and-Forms/Active-Circulars/cl0035_2016.pdf
The operation of this panel is described and outlined in Circular 0035/2016 and it is designed to be as flexible as possible which enables all eligible SNAs, who have the requisite Panel Form 1 completed by their former employer, to apply for any SNA position that is advertised by a school or an ETB with no sectorial, diocesan or geographical limitations imposed. It does not work on a list basis. Every eligible SNA will remain on the panel for two years with a view to getting further employment. If they are not successful over that period of time in obtaining a further SNA position then they will be eligible for a redundancy payment. Furthermore, an SNA may opt out of this supplementary assignment panel at any point in time triggering the processing of his/her redundancy payment in line with the terms set out in the SNA redundancy scheme (DES Circular 58/06) or any revision of same that is applicable at that time.
It is important to note that when an employer has a vacancy to fill, they must undertake the recruitment process in accordance with the provisions outlined in Circular 0035/2016. My Department has set up a dedicated e-mail address to deal with all queries in relation to the SNA Supplementary Assignment Panel and any queries in respect of the operation of the Panel can be directed to this dedicated e-mail address: snasupplementpanel@education.gov.ie.
In regard to Montessori teachers, the supplementary panel application process for eligible fixed-term (temporary/substitute) and part-time teachers for the 2016/17 school year is set out in Circular 0058/2015 which is available on my Department's website.
Since 2006, the Teaching Council is the body with statutory responsibility and authority for regulation of the teaching profession, including the registration of teachers under the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015.
Under the Teaching Council [Registration] Regulations 2009, Regulation 3 (Montessori and other categories), graduates with certain Montessori qualifications (Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications) are allowed to be registered as teachers to teach in certain restricted settings in recognised schools.
Lengthening and reconfiguring the programmes of initial teacher education is a key component of the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020. These changes were incorporated into the Teaching Council's Policy Paper on the Continuum of Teacher Education, which set the criteria for providers of initial teacher education.
The position is that, since the end of the 2012/13 school year, the Supplementary Special National Panel is being phased out and no new applications are being accepted. This decision by my Department reflects the wider availability of primary teachers who are qualified to work in all settings, which was not the case when this panel was originally set up.
Since 2012, the Teaching Council has responsibility for determining policy, procedures and criteria for the induction and probation of newly qualified teachers. Droichead which is the enhanced model of induction for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) developed by the Council is being phased in at present and will be the only recognised route of induction for all new teachers from September 2018. In the meantime, NQTs in mainstream settings may complete probation through external evaluation conducted by my Department's inspectors. However, completion of the induction/probation process in special education settings can only be achieved through the Droichead process.
Arrangements for the Supplementary Panel will be reviewed with the relevant education stakeholders later this year to determine what adjustment, if any, is required for the 2017/18 school year.
