Circular Letter 03/2018 sets out details of the revised criteria for appointment to Assistant Principal I (formerly Assistant Principal) and Assistant Principal II (formerly Special Duties Teacher) posts. A range of frequently asked questions around the scheme are addressed below.
TUI will continue to campaign for a full reversal of effects of the 2009 moratorium on the filling of these positions.
The circular is effective from the date the circular issued – 16 January 2018. All posts advertised since that date must follow the provisions of this circular.
No. There has been no changes in the allowances payable. An Assistant Principal I (formerly Assistant Principal) will be paid a pensionable allowance of €8,520 and an Assistant Principal 2 (formerly Special Duties teacher) will be paid a pensionable allowance of €3,769.
Yes. The 4 hour remission from timetable is in place as a result of a TUI Directive.
Yes. As is currently the case, this post will be available in schools that offer LCA, LCVP, JCSP or the Transition year programme. As is also currently the case, this post is in addition to, and does not form part of, the normal cohort of school posts of responsibility and will lapse if and when none of the programmes listed above is being provided by the school.
Yes. The eligibility, advertising, selection and appeal processes outlined in CL03/2018 are also applicable to Programme Co-ordinator posts.
As is currently the case. the allowance payable for a Programme Co-ordinator post will be at the level of an Assistant Principal 2 post in the case of schools with up to and including 99 students on these programmes and at the level of an Assistant Principal I post where the number of students is 100 or more. (see Q7 for more details)
Yes. The level of reduction depends on the number of students engaged in the programmes.
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Number of Students
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Hours Reduction per week
|
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1-59
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2
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60-99
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3
|
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100-139
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4
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>140
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6
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In the event that the number of pupils falls below 100 pupils where the Programme Co-ordinator had previously been in receipt of an allowance at AP1 level, the co-ordinator will continue to hold the AP1 level allowance but will have the reduction in hours as set out above applied.
The school is compensated, as part of allocation, for the hours reduction.
Yes. This post falls outside CL03/2018. Schools may appoint teachers to such posts in accordance with Circulars 46/00 and 16/05.
- A review process shall occur at least once every two years or when the Board of Management/ ETB, as appropriate, determines that a significant restructuring is required
- A consultation process between the Principal, Deputy Principal(s) and the teaching staff shall occur
- Consultation with staff should be completed within 6 to 8 weeks and will inform:
- the leadership and management needs and priorities of the school and
- the roles and responsibilities which need to be performed for the effective leadership and management of the school.
- The decision as to the leadership and management needs of the school should be determined by consensus between the teaching staff and the Board of Management.
The review and consultation process described above is mandatory.
Yes. The Circular is clear in this regard. A list of the post holders, the level of their post (AP1 or AP2) and a summary of the roles and responsibilities of each post shall be posted on the staff notice board and this list shall be updated as necessary.
As part of the consultation process, teaching staff set out the leadership and management needs of the school. Because of the limited number of posts available to a school, it may not, indeed probably will not, be possible to assign all needs identified. Therefore, in addition to the list described at Q10 above, the full list of identified leadership and management needs and priorities, as determined by the consultation with staff which cannot be assigned (because of the limited number of post holders), shall also be posted on the staff notice board and this shall be updated as necessary.
That is, two lists shall appear on the notice board:
- The actual schedule of post holders and agreed roles and responsibilities and
- The List of identified needs that cannot currently be assigned
It should be noted that, in TUI’s view, this schedule is not adequate and merely represents the commencement but not the completion of the process of restoring posts that were cut in 2009. The TUI’s campaign for full restoration is ongoing. It is also worth noting that because of representations made by the TUI, the allocation for API and AP2 posts is based on the number of Wholetime Equivalent (WTE) teachers in a school rather than pupil numbers, the metric suggested by the Department. The number of posts to which a school is entitled is set out on page 10 of the circular.
Yes, as was previously the case. The management and leadership needs and priorities are determined as part of a consultation process with all teaching staff and may result in your existing post roles/responsibilities being changed. Responsibilities assigned/agreed must be manageable and commensurate with the post assigned. If there is disagreement on this issue that cannot be resolved through the consultation process provided by the circular, the grievance procedure can be used to resolve the issue.
For an API post you must have a minimum of 3 years teaching service recognised by DES/ETB for incremental credit purposes. For an AP2 post you must have a minimum of 1 years teaching service recognised by DES/ ETB for incremental credit purposes.
Notice of any vacant post shall be posted in a prominent position on the staff notice board(s) within the school for a period of not less than 5 school days.
No, the specific post cannot be named. The post must be advertised as an AP1 or an AP2 post. As set out above, using the consultation process, a list of the leadership and management needs of the school will be identified. That list shall be posted on the staff notice board as a guide to applicants.
Upon written request after you have been notified of the outcome of the post of responsibility interview process you are entitled to receive the following:
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- Your marks under each selection criterion
- The notes of the interview board pertaining specifically to you (‘the candidate alone’)
- The marks of the recommended candidate(s) under each criterion
- For the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 school years, service in the school/scheme of the most senior applicant.
The marks awarded for seniority are being phased out. For the 2017/2018 and the 2018/2019 academic years, the maximum marks awarded for seniority will be 12 marks for the most senior applicant. Marks will then be awarded in four quartiles for all other applicants.
With effect from 2019/2020, seniority will no longer be a stand alone criterion for the awarding of marks.
Marks will be awarded for demonstrated capacity (with relevant examples of professional, educational and life experience) in relation to:
- Leading Learning and Teaching
- Managing an Organisation
- Leading School Development
- Developing leadership capacity
An appeals procedure is available if you believe that there has been a breach of procedure.
The grounds for appeal are set out as follows:
(a) Pre-interview:
- Failure to consult staff on the roles and responsibilities as set out in 4.1 of the Circular
- Breach of the advertising rules
- Non-notification about the vacancy to teachers on leave of absence/secondment
(b) Composition of the Interview Board:
- Lack of gender mix on Interview Board
- Incorrect/ incomplete composition of the Interview Board
(c) Marking/Selection Criteria:
- A computational error in the Interview Board marking sheets which makes a material difference to the outcome
- A departure from the agreed selection criteria or marking scheme.
.
All application forms for posts of responsibility shall include reference to a candidate being able to access, upon written request, all items listed at (i) to (iv) below after s/he is notified of the outcome of the post of responsibility appointment process:
(i) His/her marks under each selection criterion
(ii) The notes of the interview board pertaining specifically to the candidate alone
(iii) The marks of the recommended candidate(s) under each criterion
(iv) For the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 school years, service in the school/scheme of the most senior applicant.
This documentation must be provided to the applicant appealing the position in advance of the appeal being heard and/or the Oral Hearing.
You may, however, where the Appeal Board, having considered the appeal and response, deems it unnecessary to conduct a hearing, it shall notify the appellant and the Secretary to the Board of Management/Manager/CE of the outcome of the appeal within 15 school days of the Appeal Date.
Under a written agreement with the Department of Education and Skills, a teacher who is job sharing, and who continues to discharge, in full, the roles/responsibilities of his/her AP1 position is required to teacher a maximum of 9 hours per week. If that job-sharing teacher is involved in the delivery of Junior Cycle, the weekly class contact is reduced by the appropriate amount of professional time.
Yes. Such a teacher can apply for and be appointed to a POR. He/she will have to undertake the roles/responsibilities of the post and will be paid the allowance in respect of the post only upon return to work.