The Teaching Council is, since 2006, 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.
The Teaching Council's pathways to registration were set out initially in the Teaching Council [Registration] Regulations 2009, under which graduates with certain Montessori qualifications (Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications) met the requirements of Regulation 3 (Montessori and other categories).
Further to publication of its draft revised registration regulations in 2014, which reflected current policy to provide for a fully qualified teaching profession through the register of teachers, and significant stakeholder engagement, the Teaching Council intends to provide for persons currently registered with the Council under Regulation 3 on the basis of holding a level 8 Montessori qualification. The Council also intends to allow for the registration of persons who obtain a level 8 Montessori qualification, where the course was commenced on or before 1 October 2016 and the qualification is obtained before the end of 2021.
The Department has no plans to change the current position whereby teachers who are registered with a level 8 Montessori qualification under Regulation 3 (or its equivalent in the new regulations) are eligible for employment as teachers of pupils with special education needs in recognised mainstream primary schools and special schools.