Every teacher at both second and third level on first appointment to an employment is required to serve a probationary period of a maximum of one year’s duration. At the end of this period the teacher’s appointment may be confirmed. It should be noted that if there is good and sufficient reason, the probation may be continued for a further period or, in exceptional cases, the appointment may be terminated with the sanction of the minister.
In the event of a probation being terminated or extended the person concerned should have been advised of his/her
shortcomings regularly throughout the period concerned and the process used should have been agreed nationally at the appropriate industrial relations forum.
Newly qualified teachers 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, to be eligible for full registration. Details are available through your principal or the national office atwww.nipt.ie.