In accordance with standard practice, a person appointed to a publicly advertised teaching post in a community, comprehensive or vocational school and who does not meet the qualification requirements for that post is paid at the unqualified rate. Teaching service that is given in an unqualified capacity is not reckonable for incremental credit purposes. It is also not reckonable for the purposes of the secondary teachers' pension scheme.
The terms and conditions of employment of teachers are agreed at the teachers conciliation council. This council is comprised of representatives of teachers' unions, school management organisations and of the Departments of Finance and of Education and Science. Agreements reached at the teachers conciliation council are of general application to all teachers and can be amended only by further agreement of the council.
My Department agreed with teacher union representatives a change in the standard of qualification required for appointment to special needs teaching posts. These arrangements are set out in circular letter PPT 06/04 and came into effect from 1 September 2003. They provide for preference to be given in the selection process to recognised teachers who hold a relevant postgraduate qualification in the area of special needs education. They also provide that, with effect from 1 September 2003, a recognised teacher lacking only such a specialist qualification may be appointed at the qualified rate of pay to a special needs post provided no other more suitably qualified candidate is available and that the teacher is suitable in all other respects.