Welcome to Teaching!
Welcome to the teaching profession! TUI wishes you the very best in what we are sure will be a long, eventful and fulfilling career.
The work you are doing is vital work for the public good. In an increasingly complex world you will provide the instruction, education and the inspiration that will sustain learners’ minds as they mature and develop under your guidance.
As you begin your career, the TUI would like to offer some practical advice based on the experience of our members over several years.
1. Your employer is either the Education and Training Board (ETB) or, in the case of teachers in Community and Comprehensive or Voluntary Secondary Schools, the Board of Management.
2. If your employer is an ETB, you are appointed to the “scheme” which means that you may be assigned to any Vocational School or Community College within the scheme and may, in subsequent years and subject to protocols agreed with the union, be transferred within the scheme.
3. Community and Comprehensive and Voluntary Secondary schools are stand-alone employers. You are appointed to the school
4. ETBs, Community and Comprehensive and Voluntary Secondary schools are public sector employers. All teaching positions with public sector employers, other than casual short-term positions, are filled following advertisement in the national press and competitive interview.
1. You need absolute clarity about your qualifications. What are you qualified to teach? Are you recognised by the Teaching Council, your employer and/or the Department of Education and Skills as a fully qualified teacher who is eligible for appointment to a permanent wholetime teaching position in your subject/specialism? It is important to note that, generally, you are deemed to be fully qualified only in subjects taken in final year degree examinations.
2. To be qualified as a second level teacher, you require either an appropriate degree (or equivalent) and the PME or an appropriate (concurrent) degree that includes a training in teaching qualification to be recognised as fully qualified and eligible for appointment as a permanent whole time teacher.
3. Generally speaking, subjects taken in final year degree examinations may be taught to Leaving Certificate level while those taken in earlier years of the degree course may be taught to Junior Certificate level. However, it is important that you check the subject specific criteria on the Teaching Council website (www.teachingcouncil.ie).
1. Permanent wholetime teachers in the ETB sector are employed under memo V7 (available on the TUI website under ccc)
2. Permanent wholetime teachers in the Community and Comprehensive or Voluntary Secondary sectors do not have a written contract but are employed under terms no less favourable than memo V7
3. You may be appointed to a permanent position on a part-time basis – i.e. on fewer than 22 hours.
4. By definition, a permanent teacher (wholetime or part-time) is deemed to be fully qualified
5. To be entitled to appointment on a permanent basis (wholetime or part-time) you must have been appointed following a formal selection process. This process involves advertisement of the position in the national press and competitive interview by a properly constituted interview board.
6. All part time teachers are entitled to written contracts which they should receive on appointment or shortly thereafter
1. You may be appointed to a wholetime or a part-time position on a fixed-term (i.e. temporary/non-permanent basis)
2. If you are a fully qualified part-time teacher (i.e. with fewer than 22 teaching hours per week) and have been engaged on a fixed-term basis to teach for a specified number of hours per week over the course of the full school year (i.e. with a start date not later than 1st November) you are entitled to a pro-rata contract.
3. This is a written, fixed-term, contract of employment and must be signed.
4. The standard fixed-term contract is appended to Circular Letters PPT 24/15 (Community and Comprehensive and Voluntary Secondary schools) and PPT 20/03 (ETBs).
5. To be entitled to a pro-rata contract you must have been appointed following a formal selection process. This process involves advertisement of the position in the national press and competitive interview by a properly constituted interview board.
6. If your appointment was not subject to a formal selection process you are not entitled to a pro-rata contract.
7. If you otherwise satisfy the conditions for award of a pro-rata contract (i.e. if you are qualified and have specified hours over the course of the school year) but have been appointed without going through a formal selection process, you should immediately contact your TUI School Representative and, assisted by her/him, ask your employer to advertise the position and make an appointment following a formal selection process.
8. AS a rule of thumb, do not sign any contract without first consulting a member of your school’s TUI workplace committee.
9. Make sure to keep a copy of the contract which has been signed by you and the employer.
10. If, before 1st November (or the first day following the mid-term break; whichever is later) additional teaching hours are added to your weekly timetable – as sometimes happens after the commencement of the school year when a school’s timetable eventually “settles” – your pro-rata contract should be augmented to include those hours
11. Any further hours – undertaken on an occasional basis but not included in the pro-rata contract - that are worked by a pro-rata contracted teacher during the school year will be paid at an hourly rate calculated by dividing the sum of your point on the teachers’ salary scale plus any allowances by 735 (i.e. the number of teaching hours in the school year of a permanent whole time teacher)
12. Having a pro-rata contract means that you are entitled to a salary for the full school year. For this purpose the school year runs from the date of commencement of your contract to 31st August, inclusive. The commencement date must be on or before the first day after the (October/November) mid-term break
13. Your pro-rata salary for the school year is based on your weekly contracted hours hours as a proportion of the weekly whole time hours (22). To calculate your pro-rata salary, you apply that proportion to the sum of your point of the teachers’ salary scale plus any allowances (where applicable)
14. Full salary details are available and in the relevant section of the TUI diary/handbook.
1. A fully qualified part-time teacher who is employed to teach for a period in excess of 150 hours during the school year but for less than the course of a full school year is classified as a “non-casual part-time teacher” and is entitled to a non-casual part-time teaching contract.
2. As such a teacher, you will be paid at an hourly rate calculated by dividing the sum of your point on the teachers’ salary scale plus any allowances (where applicable) by 735 (i.e. the number of teaching hours in the school year).
3. If you are employed to replace a teacher on maternity leave or extended sick leave you may fall within this category.
1. A fully qualified teacher who is initially employed for 150 hours or fewer is not employed on a Pro-rata Contract or on a Non-casual Teaching Contract and is regarded instead as being employed on a casual basis for the first 150 hours worked in the school year.
2. This type of casual part-time teaching contract applies in cases in which the work arises only on an intermittent basis and where the employer may reasonably expect that the hours worked will not exceed 150 in the course of the school year.
3. If you are initially employed on a casual basis (e.g. to cover for a teacher who is on sick leave) but you end up working for more than 150 hours in the school year each additional hour in excess of 150 will be paid at an hourly rate calculated by dividing the sum of your point on the teachers’ pay scale plus any allowances (where applicable) by 735 (i.e. the number of teaching hours in the school year).
1. A contract of indefinite duration (CID) is a permanent contract (either part-time or wholetime) to which a teacher becomes entitled following a period of fixed term (i.e.non-permanent) service.
2. You are entitled to a CID if you are a lecturer or a fully qualified, registered teacher who has completed in excess of two years successive service with the same employer, under two or more fixed-term contracts, provided that you satisfy some specified conditions and that the service you provide will be required on an ongoing basis.
3. The qualifiying period (in excess of two years) was secured by the TUI through the Expert Groups that were established under the Haddington Road Agreement. This is a significant improvement on what is provided for in law, which is a period of continuous employment in excess of four years.
- To be paid as a teacher from public funds, you must be registered with the Teaching Council and you must renew this registration annually. Details are available on the Teaching council website www.teachingcouncil.ie
- The Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers sets out the standards expected of a registered teacher. The Code is available on the Teaching Council website.
- It is a requirement under the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016 (NVB Act) that individuals who work with children and vulnerable persons be vetted by the National Vetting Bureau (the Bureau).All teachers must therefore be vetted. It is a requirement for appointment.
- The Teaching Council is the authorised body for administering vetting for teachers in Ireland and it assesses the vetting disclosure for suitability for registration. See the Teaching Council website for full details
1. Make sure that you establish and maintain close contact with your teaching colleagues. Do not isolate yourself as a teacher, as if you do you can quickly, and mistakenly, conclude either that your style and methods are entirely right or entirely wrong. Don’t confuse appropriate professional autonomy with raising the drawbridge. Remain open to professional discourse. Often a casual chat with a colleague in the staffroom can be a wonderful learning experience. The quality of your teaching and your enjoyment of your job will be significantly enriched if you continue to be a learner.
2. Involve yourself fully in the life of the school/institute community Make yourself available as much as possible for activities with your colleagues. This involvement will enrich your professional life.
1. Ensure that you are well-prepared and in command of your subject and you can legitimately insist upon the highest standard from each student that s/he is capable of reaching. It is central to our educational philosophy in TUI that every student, irrespective of background, has an entitlement to a high quality, publicly funded education. As individual teachers we should be guided by this ethos.
2. Be conversant with public policy as expressed in legislation, particularly education legislation.
3. Be accountable. The TUI believes that schools, centres and institutes should be appropriately accountable through elected public representatives and designated state agencies such as the inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills.
4. As public servants, teachers and lecturers should also be accountable through appropriate mechanisms.
5. Make sure that you respect the rights and personal integrity of your students. Remember that fairness and consistency in the application of school/centre/institute rules and procedures will earn you respect.
6. Maintain clear, objective records. For a teacher, these may relate to student progress, conduct, contacts with parents, issues relating to your employment, formal discussions with school management and other relevant matters.
7. Avoid engaging with or about students (and/or their families) on social media.
8. The Code of Professional Conduct, published by the Teaching Council, sets out the standards expected of a teacher.
1. You are entitled to the support of your employer in your efforts to ensure that students receive an education of the highest quality. In that regard, you are entitled to a healthy and safe workplace marked by respect for human dignity and the absence of bullying or intimidation. The principles of equity, equality and inclusivity should inform school/centre practice.
2. Your employer, your colleagues, your students and their parents/guardians are entitled to your respect, loyalty and best professional service. The principles of equity, equality and inclusivity should also inform your practice
3. You are on probation for your first year. If the school/centre/institute management has any issue with the quality of your work or professional conduct, it is obliged to bring it to your attention and offer appropriate advice. If you are not advised of any issue you are entitled to assume that there is none and that you will be probated.
4. To be eligible for full registration with the Teaching Council, newly qualified teachers (NQTs) in schools with 400+ students are required to complete the Droichead induction process. NQTs in schools with less than 400 students may complete the Droichead process (if they are in a school that has registered as a Droichead school). If not, they are required to complete the NIPT programme, which includes twenty hours of induction workshops. Details are available through your principal or the national office atwww.nipt.ie.
1. TUI is here to support you throughout your career. Join the union and actively shape your professional environment, both locally and nationally. You will quickly become familiar with current issues. Research has consistently shown that disaffection with and disengagement from one’s work are most pronounced where employees are least involved in decision-making processes. The TUI gives you an effective voice.
2. Find out who the TUI school representative is and who the school workplace committee members are. Note the name and contact details of the Branch Chair and Area Representative. Get to know them. Also get to know the staff representatives on the ETB and/or the Board of Management. Avail of the earliest opportunity to attend a TUI meeting in your work place or/and your local Branch.
3. Use your TUI Diary, this website and the TUI App – where your conditions of service and the range of union services are more fully explained. Regularly check the TUI website and App for information and updates.
4. Be active in your union. Remember, the TUI is only as strong as the members. Be committed to being an active member who influences decisions/policy. Use your voice. Express your views. Contribute to discussion.
5. There are certain conditions of service that are regarded by the union as so important as to require the protection of directives. These conditions relate to the maxima that apply to class contact hours, class size (i.e. student numbers) and the number of days in the school year. As a member of the TUI you are obliged to abide by these directives – there is no discretion in the matter. If asked by management to exceed the maxima, immediately contact the union representative(s).
6. The directives should be displayed on the TUI Notice board in the school and can be downloaded from this website
If you encounter a difficulty with your employer, address it at the earliest opportunity. In this, as in other matters, keep the issue and the personality separate. Informal resolution of difficulties is desirable, provided the rights of all parties are respected. If informal resolution is not possible, approach the TUI school representative and process the issue through the agreed grievance procedures for your sector. The procedures are set out in the TUI Diary.
Involve yourself in reflective practice and professional development from the outset. In this regard, you might consider joining the relevant subject associations. You should also avail of in-service and professional development opportunities. These are provided by a wide variety of agencies and institutions, including the Second Level Support Service, Further Education Support Service, the Special Education Support Service, the Education Centres and the teacher unions. The Teaching Council may in time set a premium on continuing professional development. The TUI is campaigning for provision of a continuum of professional development that will sustain excellence throughout one’s teaching/lecturing career. As public servants, we must be to the fore in insisting upon and maintaining the highest quality in our public education system.
Remember - you are the union. Your commitment as a member is what will keep the TUI strong. It is important that you are not isolated in your workplace. Feel part of a professional family by joining TUI. Teaching/lecturing is a rewarding profession. Decide you are going to enjoy it.
As a lecturer/teacher you have the power to influence profoundly the students/learners you encounter. As an active member of TUI you will have the courage and support to exert this influence wisely and well!
Take two minutes to join TUI now online or alternatively ask your school representative for an application form. If you have just commenced teaching, TUI membership costs just €1 for your first year!
TUI offers members a range of benefits and services, a small example of which include:
- Most importantly – a robust defence of your pay and conditions in the classroom, across the negotiating table and in the media
- Expert advice from experienced industrial relations officials
- Free legal advice where appropriate
- Access to the TUI App and a hard copy of the TUI diary/handbook
- Regular editions of TUI News magazine
- Special interest rates and other incentives with TUI Credit Union
- Low cost insurance and other financial benefits, including access to the Union’s Income Continuance Plan
- Professional development seminars
- Representation of your views on professional and curricular matters