Eligibility
Candidates for the post of Principal and Deputy Principal will be required to have a minimum of five years’ whole time teaching service or its equivalent. In the case of Assistant Principal and Special Duties Teacher posts, all qualified teachers with a minimum of three and one years’ wholetime teaching service respectively or its equivalent, are eligible to apply. Permanent, temporary, eligible part-time, substitute or part-time service which amounts to 22 weeks or to 200 hours or more in any one school year will reckon as year of wholetime service for eligibility purposes. The revised eligibility criteria do not apply to re-interviews for vacant promotional posts following appeals upheld prior to the issuing of the Circular Letters 06/02 and 07/02. Applications for posts of responsibility should be sought from eligible teachers within the school concerned. Teachers who are on career breaks or on other approved absences or job sharing are entitled to be notified of vacancies. Notice of the vacant post shall be posted in the school for a period of not less than 5 school days.
You should apply, when posts are advertised, to the CEO or Secretary of the Board of Management, giving details of your experience and qualifications for the post.
Selection Boards
Vocational Schools
The composition of the Selection Board for Teaching, Special Duties, Assistant Principal, Deputy Principal and Principal Posts (for schools with an enrolment up to 500 students) shall be;
1 VEC representative (to be a member of the VEC),
1 Personnel Expert, and
1 Education Expert.
There must be appropriate gender balance on the Board. All members must be present.
Community Colleges
The Board in designated Community Colleges remains the same as heretofore and is set
out in the particular Articles of Management of the School.
Community Schools
The composition of the Selection Board in a Community School consists of five persons, 2 representatives of the religious authorities, 1 VEC representative, the CEO or his nominee and 1 Inspector. The criteria for appointment to posts and the appeal procedures are set out in CLs 15/97, 32/00, 32A/00 and 7/02.
Comprehensive Schools
In Comprehensive Schools a revised model for the Board of Management is currently being considered by the Executive Committee. This also means there will be a revised Selection Board structure in Comprehensive Schools.
The criteria for appointment to Posts of Responsibility are:
Vocational Schools (CL PPT13/02)
Capacity of the applicant to meet the needs of the school 50 marks
Service to the VEC scheme 30 marks
Experience of a professional nature in the field of
Education and involvement in the school 20 marks
Greenfield Designated Community Colleges (CL PPT 15/02)
Capacity of the applicant to meet the needs of the school 50 marks
Service to the VEC scheme 30 marks
Experience of a professional nature in the field of
Education and involvement in the school 20 marks
Amalgamated Designated Community Colleges (CL PPT 14/02)
Capacity of the applicant to meet the needs of the school 50 marks
Service to the VEC scheme/Service to Voluntary Secondary
School Subject to Amalgamation 30 marks
Experience of a professional nature in the field of
Education and involvement in the school 20 marks
Community & Comprehensive Schools (CL 15/97)
Capacity of the applicant to meet the needs of the school 50 marks
Service to the school 30 marks
Experience of a professional nature in the field of
Education and involvement in the school 20 marks
A candidate may appeal on the grounds that the agreed criteria were not applied and/or the marks for service to the scheme were incorrectly calculated. In a C&C School the appeal itself must be submitted within 5 school days of the announcement of the Board of Management decision. The appeal in a Vocational School must be submitted within 14 calendar days of receipt of the Selection Board’s decision. An agreed Arbitrator will make a decision. No appointments shall be made pending the outcome of the appeal. If the Arbitrator upholds the appeal, the VEC shall organise a new competition.
Contracts
In the VEC sector members should only sign the Post of Responsibility contract set out in Memo V7. A new contract for postholders in C&C schools has been agreed with the TUI and only this contract should be signed by members.
Principal/Deputy-Principal
For a continuous period of 1 month or longer (excluding summer vacation) a teacher will qualify for payment of a gratuity equal to the difference between any responsibility allowance he/she may have and the allowance for the post in which he/she is acting. In a case where the continuous period is six months or longer any period of summer vacation occurring within such period may be included.
If a teacher concerned fulfils the duties of a Principal or Deputy-Principal for a period immediately before and immediately after the summer vacation, any period during the summer vacation that the managerial authority certify as having been worked by the acting Principal or Deputy-Principal may be counted as part of the period for which an allowance is paid. An acting postholder who holds the post in excess of 5 consecutive years will retain the acting up allowance on a personal basis.
Assistant Principal/Special Duties Teacher
A teacher who carries out the duties of an Assistant Principal or Special Duties Teacher postholder who is absent on sick leave or maternity leave is entitled to payment provided they carry out those duties for a minimum of 1 consecutive month. Teachers in acting-up positions of Principal and Deputy Principal will not suffer a loss of allowance where enrolment or teachers numbers fall. Where numbers increase the acting allowance would however increase. This arrangement does not apply to Assistant Principal or Special Duties Teacher posts which would be lost where the numbers fall from year to year.