On my own behalf and that of my colleagues, I thank the committee for inviting us to attend this morning to discuss matters relating to boards of management at primary level and the career opportunities at second level for graduates. The aim of the Department of Education and Science is to ensure that our education system enables every child to develop his or her own unique talents and abilities and to achieve his or her full potential. This means ensuring that our schools meet every child's needs in terms of literacy and numeracy, an appetite for learning is instilled in them, a suitable environment for this is created and children learn respect for others. Boards of management have a hugely important role to play in this.
Under the Education Act 1998, it is the duty of a patron, where practicable, to appoint a board of management for the purposes of ensuring that a recognised school is managed in a spirit of partnership. The composition of boards of management is agreed between patrons, recognised school management organisations, trade unions and staff associations representing teachers, national associations of parents and the Minister for Education and Science. The Education Act specifies the various duties and functions of a board. It must manage the school on behalf of the patron for the benefit of the students and their parents and provide, or cause to be provided, an appropriate education for each student in the school. It must uphold the characteristic spirit of the school and must at all times act in accordance with any Act of the Oireachtas relating to the establishment or operation of the school.
The board is required to prepare policies on admission, suspension or expulsion of students and, in this regard, is required to respect principles of equality and parents' right to send their children to a school of the parents' choice. It must respect and promote respect for the diversity of values, beliefs, traditions, languages and ways of life in society. It must have regard to the efficient use of resources and accountability to students, their parents, the patron, staff and the community served by the school.
All proper and usual accounts and records of all moneys received and expended must be kept and the board must ensure each year that the accounts are properly audited or certified in accordance with best accounting practice and that they are made available for inspection by the Minister and the parents in so far as they relate to moneys provided by the Oireachtas. In addition, the board must make arrangements for the preparation of the school plan and ensure that it is regularly reviewed and updated. Apart from the duties and functions specified in the Education Act, other legislation such as the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 and employment and equality legislation have placed legal obligations on boards.
Under current arrangements, the term of office of a board of management is four years. The procedures for the election and nomination of the members of boards are set out in the handbook: Boards of Management of National Schools — Constitution of Boards and Rules of Procedure. At present, apart from one-teacher schools, which have four members, the boards of management of primary schools are comprised of eight members: two nominees of the patron, two representatives of parents of pupils attending the school, the principal and one other teacher serving in the school and two community representatives.
The patron is responsible for initiating the steps necessary for the establishment of a board in a national school. The patron nominates his or her two nominees. The principal is an ex officio member of the board. The other teacher representative is elected by the permanent teachers and teachers serving in a temporary capacity in the school where the term of appointment is six months or greater.
The two parents' representatives are elected. One must be a mother, the other a father. The procedures set out in the handbook specify that the method of election of parent representatives shall be determined in consultation with the parent representatives on the outgoing board and any parents' association in the school. Two procedures can apply. One is that a meeting is called of parents of pupils enrolled in the school for the purpose of having representatives elected, the other is through the circulation of names of all parents of children attending the school to each household seeking nominations. Regarding the latter option, care must be taken to ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998. In this regard, the board should not disclose information relating to parents, including their names, to other persons without parents being made aware that the information will be used for that purpose and their consent being obtained.
The patron's representative convenes a meeting of the patron's nominees and the teachers' and parents' representatives for the purposes of proposing to the patron two persons from the wider community for appointment to the board. The criteria to be applied in selecting the community representatives, who would not normally be parents of pupils attending the school, include that the person has a commitment to the ethos of the school, has skills complementary to the board's skills requirements and is interested in education and its promotion. There should be consciousness of having a gender balance on the board.
There must be unanimous agreement of the six members to the proposed two appointees. This requirement can on occasion create difficulties and in a very limited number of cases, a situation has arisen where it was not possible to get unanimity and a board could not be formed. Following discussions with the relevant interests, it is proposed to change this requirement. Where a board could not be formed, the patron, with the approval of the Minister and in accordance with the terms of the Education Act, appointed a single manager for a period.
Various grants are paid to national schools by the Department each year. The principal ones are the capitation grant and the ancillary services grant. The first, which is in respect of the day-to-day running costs of the school, is paid on a per capita basis. The standard rate of grant has been increased over recent years to its current level of €133.58 per pupil. An enhanced rate of grant is paid in respect of special needs pupils and children from the Traveller community. Grants to individual schools are paid in two moieties — the first of approximately 70% being paid in January and the balance in June — directly into the school’s bank account through the electronic funds transfer, EFT, system.
The ancillary services grant provides funding for primary schools towards the cost of secretarial and caretaking services. The scheme, by its nature, is flexible and gives boards of management discretion as to the manner in which secretarial and caretaking services are provided. The standard rate of grant per pupil under the scheme has been increased to €133 this year. The amount of grant paid to an individual school is determined by the enrolment in the school subject to a minimum grant of €7,980 in the case of a school with 60 pupils or fewer and a maximum grant of €66,500 in the case of a school with 500 or more pupils, provided the school in question does not already have either caretaking or secretarial services under an existing Department scheme. Where a school has such services under an existing Department scheme, the rate of grant payable is €66.50 per pupil and the minimum and maximum grants payable are €3,990 and €33,250 respectively. The grant is normally paid to schools in March, again direct into the schools' bank accounts through the EFT system. Other grants which are paid include the grants paid under the school books grant scheme, the grant in respect of the modern languages initiative in the schools participating in the scheme and the minor works grant.
There are six recognised management bodies at primary level: the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association, the Church of Ireland Board of Education, Educate Together, An Foras Patrúnachta na Scoileanna Lán-Ghaeilge, the National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education and the Islamic Board of Education. The total amount paid to the management bodies in the current year is €349,000. The bodies have sought additional funding and their request will be considered as part of the Estimates process.
The board of management is the employer of all teaching and ancillary staff employed in the school. Generally, it is responsible for paying the ancillary staff out of grants provided by the Department. There are a number of exceptions, these being special needs assistants and secretaries or caretakers employed by schools under the 1979 scheme.
The Department pays all approved permanent, temporary and substitute teachers through the relevant payroll systems. Once appointed, permanent and temporary teachers are included on the payroll and are paid automatically each fortnight during their periods of appointment. Currently, substitute teachers are paid directly by the Department upon receipt of a claim submitted by the boards of management. A new payroll will be introduced for part-time primary teachers next year and this, together with the implementation of a new on-line claims system for schools, will reduce the workload of schools in this area.
Mainstream staffing of a primary school is determined by reference to the enrolment in the school on 30 September of the previous school year. The actual number of mainstream posts sanctioned is determined by reference to a staffing schedule and is finalised for a particular year following discussions with the education partners. The staffing schedule is structured to ensure that all primary schools will operate to an average mainstream class size of 29 pupils. Where some classes in a school have class sizes of greater than 29, it is generally because a decision has been taken at local level to use teaching resources to have smaller numbers in other classes.
There are agreed appointment procedures which must be followed when vacancies are being filled in national schools. A redeployment or panel system is in operation and there are two specific categories of panels, namely, themain panel,which consists of permanent teachers whose posts have been suppressed and temporary teachers who have a minimum of five years' recognised teaching service in a temporary capacity in primary schools in the Republic of Ireland, and the supplementary panel,which is made up of temporary teachers who have given a minimum of three years' and fewer than five years' recognised teaching service in a temporary capacity in a primary school in the Republic of Ireland. The redeployment process must be completed in the relevant panel area before the board of management of a school in that area will be allowed go to the open market to fill a permanent post.
Generally, the panel system works well. It is in the interests of all concerned that it does. However, there can be difficulties due to delays in the clearance of the panels, as there were this year. The Department proposes to have discussions with all the interested parties shortly with a view to ensuring that the difficulties that arose this year do not recur and that the system works efficiently and effectively in 2006 and thereafter. Where a school is allowed to go to the open market to fill a post, the board of management is obliged under current arrangements to advertise the post in a national newspaper. This year on a pilot basis, schools were allowed to advertise principal posts on a recruitment website. The Department will assess how the pilot arrangement worked this year and, on the basis of that assessment, the question of allowing all posts to be advertised through this system in future will be considered.
Regarding the selection process, the procedures to be followed in the advertising of posts, assessment of applications, short-listing of candidates where appropriate, interviews, composition of selection boards, notification of applicants, etc. are set out in the handbook and these must be complied with. The Department's position and that shared by management and staff interests and parents is that pupils should be taught by fully qualified teachers. In recent years, because of the numbers of additional teaching posts created, there was a shortage of fully qualified primary teachers. That position is now changing and it is to be expected that it will only be in exceptional circumstances that an unqualified person will be proposed for appointment to a post. Where a board of management proposes to appoint an unqualified person, the Department must be satisfied that all reasonable efforts were made by the board to secure the services of a fully qualified person before approval will be given to the proposed appointment.
The suspension or dismissal of a teacher is a matter in the first instance for the board of management of the school concerned. Where a board decides to suspend or place a teacher on administrative leave, it must seek the approval of the Department. Subject to this approval, the teacher concerned will continue to be paid during the period of suspension or administrative leave while the matter on which the decision was based is being inquired into. Where a board proposes to dismiss a teacher, the approval of the patron is generally sought so that, if the teacher so wishes, he or she may make an appeal to the patron in his or her defence. Approval of the patron is a specific requirement in the case of schools under Catholic management and patronage in accordance with the terms of Maynooth statute number 262.4.
Recognition may be withdrawn from a teacher by the Minister under the rules for national schools for misconduct, rule 108, or where the teacher's work has been rated as unsatisfactory, rule 106. Before a decision is taken under rule 108, the teacher must be "afforded an opportunity of forwarding any statement he may desire to submit in his defence". A formal procedure is set out in rule 161 in respect of the inspection of a teacher's work for the purposes of determining whether the teacher is rated unsatisfactory. Rule 162 provides for an appeal to an appeal board and a reinspection of the teacher, if considered appropriate by the appeal board, before a recommendation is submitted to the Minister. If the Minister proposes to withdraw recognition, then the procedures set out in rule 106 must be followed. This process can take a lengthy period.
All complaints about schools should be directed in the first instance to the chairperson of the board of management. Most schools operate a complaints procedure that is designed to facilitate the handling of complaints from parents concerning schools and teachers. Many schools choose to use one of the standard complaints procedures negotiated at national level between school management authorities and teacher interests but the board of management of the school is free to determine its own fair procedures for the handling of complaints. In general, these procedures are intended to facilitate resolution of a complaint as speedily as possible and at the simplest level.
The Department supports the principle that complaints about schools should be resolved at school level whenever possible and will only become involved in the investigation of specific complaints after every effort has been made to resolve the matter at local level. Complainants who have failed to have their complaint resolved at local level and wish the Department to investigate the matter are required to submit a signed statement giving a clear account of the complaint, an account of how they have attempted to bring the matter to the attention of the school and its board of management and the reasons they remain dissatisfied. They must also provide a statement confirming that they agree to a copy of the complaint, together with the supporting documentation, being sent to the board of management of the school and to the person against whom the complaint has been made. Without this permission, the Department is not in a position to process the complaint.
The complaint and supporting documentation are forwarded to the board of management by the Department. The board is asked to examine the complaint and to provide a written statement to the Department on the steps that have been taken to investigate and resolve the complaint in the school to date. On receipt and consideration of the board's response, the Department may refer the matter to an inspector for investigation. The outcome of the investigation and the determination of the Department on the matter will be communicated to all parties involved in due course. In accordance with section 28 of the Education Act 1998, the Minister may from time to time prescribe grievance and other procedures. It is the Department's intention to draft this matter and consideration is being given to the drawing up of procedures, which will be done in consultation with the relevant interests.
Boards of management have responsibility for school planning and development. The inspectorate of the Department has produced a number of publications to help them in their work and school authorities have welcomed this development. The inspectorate has recently introduced the whole school evaluation, WSE, process, which examines the following five aspects of the school, namely, the quality of school management, the quality of school planning, the quality of curriculum provision, the quality of learning and teaching and the quality of supports for students. WSE involves all the different members of the school community, including boards of management and parents' associations. The process affirms good practice and helps schools to improve where needed. WSE is being undertaken in approximately 260 primary schools in 2005.
The Minister announced recently that she intends to publish the school reports arising from WSE. The inspectorate has held meetings with interested parties in the recent past and has just issued draft guidelines for the publication of inspection reports to the education partners for their observations. A final draft of the proposals will be submitted to the Minister in December. It is intended that the publication of school inspection reports will commence from January 2006 for WSE inspections carried out from the start of the next calendar year.
Funding has traditionally been provided for training of boards of management in two ways, namely, funding provided by education centres and direct funding from the teacher education section of the Department. School management bodies can apply directly to their local education centre for funding. The role of education centres is to provide local in-service support, advice and assistance to schools and their personnel in these matters. The Department funds a national network of 21 full-time and nine part-time education centres to deliver in-service support for schools and their personnel. In 2004 and 2005, the Department made a subvention of in excess of €1 million to education centres to support this work. Principals' networks, parents' organisations and management bodies would have applied directly to their local education centres for support in respect of such activities.
The education centres provide board of management training courses to schools within their catchment area, usually in conjunction with other bodies and groups. To ensure consistency of provision, the Department liaises with appropriate bodies at central level. In addition, the Department provides direct funding to a number of management bodies and other groups, such as the principals' networks and teacher unions, for support for continuing professional development.
As a replacement for these somewhat ad hoc arrangements, the teacher education section has established a new mechanism for 2005 on a pilot basis. This mechanism enables school management bodies to apply for direct support in addition to the existing support provided by the education centre network. This will remain in place pending a review of the process and as long as resources permit. The teacher education section is prepared to consider proposals and to provide support to management bodies following consultation and consideration of submissions. As announced by the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, at the recent Catholic Primary School Management Association, CPSMA, annual conference, the feasibility of producing a training manual for boards is being considered.
Boards of management are required to publish an admissions policy. In formulating this, a school must ensure it is lawful. In particular, it must act in accordance with section 7 of the Equal Status Act 2000. Attendance at school is compulsory for all children aged from six to 16 years. Under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, schools are obliged to enrol any child in respect of whom an application for admission has been made except where a refusal is in accordance with their admissions policy.
The Department appreciates the work done by members of boards of management. One can understand the reluctance of individuals to get involved as board members. However, we are extremely fortunate in this country that persons are willing to give of their time and talents. I commend board members, both past and present, on their efforts.
With the Chairman's agreement, I will address the second item the committee wishes to discuss, namely, the career opportunities for graduates at second level. The teacher supply and demand issue at second level is very complex. Analyses undertaken by the Department in the past indicated that there are regional and subject variations. A further complicating factor is that vacancies in second level schools usually require specific subject combinations.
The teacher education section of the Department is responsible for teacher education and development, with particular regard to initial teacher education covering the colleges of education and the education departments in universities and colleges. A number of different courses of study are available within these institutions that lead to a qualification in teaching at second level, including the higher diploma in education in the universities, the concurrent bachelor of education courses at St. Catherine's College and St. Angela's College and the concurrent courses at a number of universities and colleges.
The Department has a role in regulating the numbers of students entering on the bachelor of education programmes in St. Catherine's College and St. Angela's College and also on the higher diploma in education courses. With regard to the higher diploma in education, in cases of clearly identified shortages or over-supply in specific subject areas, it is possible to introduce a subject specific quota which would, in time, increase or reduce numbers of teachers and deal with an under or over-supply situation. Discussions have already been held between the Department and the Higher Diploma in Education Application Centre, HDEAC, the body responsible for the centralised application process on behalf of the four NUl colleges, on this and other related matters.
The HDEAC has taken the proactive approach to introduce a quota for the number of places available for those with business related degrees which has been identified as a priority issue. This measure, which will take effect in the 2006-07 academic year, will most likely reduce the supply of graduates qualified to teach business and also increase the places available for all other subject areas. This decision was taken because there was an over-subscription of such degree holders going on to the various NUl higher diploma in education programmes in recent years. The Department and the HDEAC, will continue to keep the position under close scrutiny and will be proactive in introducing any measure that can achieve a greater balance between supply and demand in specific subject areas. Officials from the teacher education section are due to meet with the HDEAC in the coming weeks to discuss further actions. This meeting is taking place in the context of ongoing consultations on this issue with the education departments of universities and colleges.
In the case of the concurrent model in the universities and colleges, the Department has a role in the provision of funding for these institutions on an individual basis through the Higher Education Authority, HEA. However, it is a matter for the individual institutions to decide on the number of places available on the concurrent courses in a manner similar to decisions taken on the annual intake for any particular course of study. The Department does not and cannot have a direct role in the regulation of the overall number of people who opt to pursue a particular qualification in these institutions.
The Department and the HEA will continue to review the supply and demand for second level teachers. Arising from recommendations from the OECD report, Teachers Matter, and other significant recent developments in teacher education, the Department will shortly commence an extensive consultative process with the education departments of universities and colleges with a view to enhancing the system-wide response to emerging concerns such as an under or over-supply of teachers. Initial contacts with the colleges and education departments of universities have been positive.
The teacher allocation to a second level school for a particular school year consists of the allocation warranted by the pupil enrolment at the end of the preceding September, as determined by the current pupil-teacher ratio, together with approved additional posts, such as principal, learning support and guidance counsellor. The current pupil teacher ratio for appointment purposes is 18:1. A reduced pupil teacher ratio of 16:1 applies in certain programmes such as the leaving certificate applied, leaving certificate vocational programme, junior certificate school programme and post-leaving certificate courses. In addition schools may apply for concessionary posts to cater for short-term curricular difficulties, projected enrolments, special educational needs and the needs of Traveller and non-national pupils. These concessionary posts are based on enrolments for the upcoming school year.
At second level the actual pupil-teacher ratio fell from 16:1 to 13.6:1 during the period from 1996-97 to 2003-04. The actual pupil-teacher ratio refers to the ratio derived from dividing the total number of pupils in the system by the total number of teachers in the system. The reduction in the ratio was achieved through the creation of approximately 1,590 additional posts. Teacher allocations increased from 23,199 to 24,789 in this period and 1,850 posts were retained which would otherwise have been lost owing to the fall in enrolments.
To be eligible for appointment to a teaching position in a vocational school, an applicant must hold a suitable qualification at degree level or equivalent in the subject or subjects of the post as advertised. To be appointed to a permanent teaching post in a voluntary secondary, community or comprehensive school, a person must hold an acceptable primary degree or equivalent together with an acceptable training in teaching qualification, namely, the higher diploma in education or its equivalent.
In the vocational education committee and community and comprehensive schools sectors, up to 95% of the initial teacher allocation for a particular school year may be filled by the appointment of teachers in a permanent capacity. In the event of a permanent vacancy arising in a school or VEC within the agreed limit of 95% of the initial teacher allocation, it is a matter for the school authority in the first instance to decide on the subject area to be catered for and the post in question must be filled through open competition. In the voluntary secondary schools sector, the number of posts in any particular school that can be filled in a permanent capacity cannot exceed the allocation warranted by the enrolment and the approved ex quota posts of principal, guidance counsellors and learning support.
A scheme for the redeployment of over-quota teachers in Catholic secondary schools has been in place since 1988-89. This scheme was agreed between the religious authorities of the schools and the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland. The object of the scheme was to secure the redeployment of over-quota teachers within the Catholic secondary school sector by matching identified surplus teachers to vacancies elsewhere in the sector for teachers in the same subject areas. However, the reality is that very few of the over-quota posts emerging in this sector have proved amenable to redeployment. A significant impediment under the present scheme has been the requirement that the most junior teacher in the school be redeployed. In many instances the subject area of the most junior teacher does not match the subject area of potential recipient schools.
The scheme also operates a supplementary panel which provides for the orderly appointment of temporary teachers to permanent vacancies arising in the sector. To be eligible for inclusion on this panel, a temporary teacher must have taught for a minimum of 18 hours per week for two years or more in the same school or for three years or more in separate schools participating in the scheme. Posts which cannot be filled through the redeployment scheme can be advertised on the open market.
The current procedures for filling posts in the second level sector are under review in the light of the implementation of recent legislation relating to the protection of employees. Discussions are taking place between the teacher unions, management bodies, the Department of Finance and the Department of Education and Science with a view to agreeing appropriate procedures. The majority of teaching posts at second level are filled on a permanent full-time basis. Vacancies in schools arising from career breaks, approved leave of absence or secondments and concessionary posts allocated in excess of a school's normal quota of posts may only be filled in a temporary or part-time capacity. Each school management authority is required to organise its timetable and subject options having regard to pupils' needs within the limit of its approved teacher allocation. The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill vacancies in an individual school is a matter for the relevant school authority. The objective is to select the most suitable candidate for the post.
The Minister is the designated authority for the recognition of teachers at second level. Under the Teaching Council Act 2001, the Teaching Council will take over those functions of the Department relating to teacher recognition. Following its expected establishment in March 2006, all teachers, both primary and post-primary, will be required to register with the council.
That concludes our presentation and I hope we will be able to deal with any issues which members of the committee may wish to raise.
