I refer to the additional information as per the details supplied.
The Education Act establishes the Board of Management of a school with a statutory role to manage the schools and as an employer. As such the school has the authority to determine release time for its employees to participate in activities outside the school including Teaching Council duties.
While my Department sets out the composition of Boards of Management and Rules of Procedure it is not directly involved in the management of schools. My Department does not have the legal powers to instruct a school to follow a particular course of action in terms of day-to-day management of the school.
It is important to note that the Minister has no statutory function in this regard and therefore it is not appropriate for the Minister to intervene in this matter. My Department continues to support the Council in its work through the provision of substitution cover to allow schools to release the elected members of the Council for meetings.
The practice of releasing teachers to participate in Council work has worked very well since the establishment of the Teaching Council in 2006. The operation of the Teaching Council and the participation of teaching members of the Council is in part based on good will in the system and this has worked very effectively. There are no plans to amend legislation in this regard.
It should be noted the member referred to has been released by their school to facilitate their membership for a number of years. Furthermore, there has been no general issue with elected teacher members being released for Teaching Council business.
Ultimately, as employers, it is a matter for school authorities to consider and decide upon the release time of teaching staff.
