Education (Amendment) Act 2012
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Substitution of sections 23 and 24 of Act of 1998. |
6.— The Act of 1998 is amended by substituting for sections 23 and 24 the following sections: | |
“The Principal. | ||
23.— (1) In addition to the functions conferred on a Principal by section 22, the Principal of a recognised school shall— | ||
(a) be responsible for the day-to-day management of the school, including guidance and direction of the teachers and other staff of the school, and be accountable to the board of the school for that management, | ||
(b) provide leadership to the teachers and other staff and the students of the school, | ||
(c) be responsible, together with the board, parents of students and the teachers, for the creation in the school of an environment which is supportive of learning among the students and which promotes the professional development of the teachers, | ||
(d) under the direction of the board, and in consultation with the teachers, the parents and, to the extent appropriate to their age and experience, the students, set objectives for the school and monitor the achievement of those objectives, and | ||
(e) encourage the involvement of parents of students in the school in the education of those students and in the achievement of the objectives of the school. | ||
(2) For the purpose of carrying out his or her functions under this Act, a Principal of a recognised school shall have all such powers as are necessary or expedient in that regard, and shall carry out his or her functions in accordance with— | ||
(a) such policies as may be determined from time to time by the board of the school, and | ||
(b) regulations made under section 33. | ||
(3) The Principal of a recognised school shall be entitled to be a member of any and every committee appointed by the board of the school. | ||
(4) Wherever practicable, the Principal of a recognised school shall, in exercising his or her functions under this section, consult with teachers and other staff of the school. | ||
(5) Where the employer of the Principal, teachers and other staff of a recognised school is a person other than the board of the school concerned, a reference in this section to a board shall be construed and have effect as if the said person were substituted for the said reference wherever it occurs. | ||
Provisions relating to staff. | ||
24.— (1) Subject to this section, the board of a recognised school— | ||
(a) shall, if not already appointed, appoint a person to be Principal of the school, and | ||
(b) may appoint such and so many persons as teachers and other staff of the school as the board from time to time considers necessary for the performance of its powers and functions under this Act. | ||
(2) The numbers and qualifications of the teachers and other staff of a recognised school, who are, or who are to be, remunerated out of monies provided by the Oireachtas, shall be determined from time to time by the Minister, with the concurrence of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. | ||
(3) The terms and conditions of employment of the teachers and other staff of a recognised school, appointed by the board and who are, or who are to be, remunerated out of monies provided by the Oireachtas, shall be determined from time to time by the Minister, with the concurrence of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. | ||
(4) The Principal, a teacher or other member of staff of a recognised school appointed prior to, and holding office immediately before, the commencement of this section, continues in office after such commencement as if appointed under this section. | ||
(5) (a) Notwithstanding subsections (3) and (11), a teacher or other member of staff of a recognised school who is, or who is to be, remunerated out of monies provided by the Oireachtas may be redeployed to another recognised school in accordance with redeployment procedures determined from time to time by the Minister with the concurrence of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform following consultation with bodies representative of patrons, recognised school management organisations and with recognised trade unions and staff associations representing teachers or other staff as appropriate. | ||
(b) A teacher or other member of staff redeployed in accordance with paragraph (a) shall, in accordance with the redeployment procedures determined under that paragraph, become an employee of— | ||
(i) the board of, or | ||
(ii) the vocational education committee which maintains, | ||
the recognised school to which he or she is redeployed. | ||
(6) Where all or part of the remuneration or superannuation, or both, of the Principal, a teacher or another member of staff of a recognised school is paid or is to be paid out of monies provided by the Oireachtas, such remuneration and superannuation shall be determined from time to time by the Minister, with the concurrence of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. | ||
(7) For the purposes of section 30 of the Act of 2001— | ||
(a) the Teaching Council shall provide the Minister and each vocational education committee with information which is held by it in respect of each person who is or was a registered teacher, and | ||
(b) on and after commencement of that section, the Teaching Council shall, at the request of the Minister or a vocational education committee, provide the Minister or vocational education committee, as appropriate, with the registration details of any person— | ||
(i) who is or becomes registered under section 31 of the Act of 2001 or under regulations made pursuant to that section, | ||
(ii) whose conditional registration lapses in accordance with section 32 of the Act of 2001, | ||
(iii) who is removed from the register in accordance with section 34 or 35 of the Act of 2001, or | ||
(iv) whose registration is corrected in accordance with section 36 of the Act of 2001. | ||
(8) Notwithstanding section 30 of the Act of 2001, the Minister, where he or she is satisfied that it is necessary to facilitate the urgent, temporary or occasional staffing needs of recognised schools, may from time to time prescribe both— | ||
(a) the circumstances in which a person, who is not a registered teacher for a reason other than that he or she is suspended or removed from the register under Part 5 of the Act of 2001, may be employed in the place of a registered teacher in a recognised school and be remunerated, in respect of such employment, out of monies provided by the Oireachtas, and | ||
(b) the conditions attaching to the employment of such a person where he or she is, or is to be, remunerated out of monies provided by the Oireachtas. | ||
(9) Notwithstanding section 30 of the Act of 2001, the Minister shall consider the following in satisfying himself or herself for the purposes of subsection (8): | ||
(a) the desirability of ensuring that persons employed in teaching positions in a recognised school are registered teachers; | ||
(b) the need to facilitate the urgent, temporary or occasional staffing needs of schools; | ||
(c) the desirability of minimising disruption to the education of students; and | ||
(d) the qualifications and relevant experience of a person referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (8). | ||
(10) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (8), regulations made under that subsection may provide for one or more than one of the following: | ||
(a) a requirement that a person referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (8) be employed in the place of a registered teacher in a recognised school in a position remunerated, or to be remunerated, out of monies provided by the Oireachtas if, and only if, no registered teacher is available to take up the position in question; | ||
(b) a limit on the length for which such a person may be so employed in place of a registered teacher; | ||
(c) a requirement that such a person has certain minimum qualifications before he or she can be so employed; | ||
(d) a requirement that the Minister consent to the employment of such a person; | ||
(e) a limit on the subjects or purposes, or both, for which such a person may be so employed; | ||
(f) a requirement that a school retain and furnish to the Minister evidence that it has been unable to employ a registered teacher in the place of a registered teacher in a recognised school; and | ||
(g) a requirement that such a person is subject to An Garda Síochána vetting and clearance in accordance with standard practice for registered teachers. | ||
(11) The board of a recognised school may, in accordance with procedures determined from time to time by the Minister following consultation with bodies representative of patrons, recognised school management organisations and with recognised trade unions and staff associations representing teachers or other staff as appropriate, appoint, suspend or dismiss any or all of the Principal, teachers and other staff of a school, who are remunerated or who are to be remunerated out of monies provided by the Oireachtas. | ||
(12) Where the employer of the Principal, teachers and other staff of a recognised school is a person other than the board of the school concerned, a reference in this section to a board shall be construed and have effect as if the said person were substituted for the said reference wherever it occurs. | ||
(13) In applying subsection (11) to the Principal, a teacher or other member of staff of a recognised school which is established or maintained by a vocational education committee, the board of the recognised school concerned shall comply with the provisions of the Vocational Education Committee Acts 1930 to 2006 in relation to suspension and dismissal. | ||
(14) In this section— | ||
(a) ‘Act of 2001’ means the Teaching Council Act 2001 ; | ||
‘register’ means the Register of Teachers established under section 29 of the Teaching Council Act 2001 and ‘registration’ and ‘registered’ shall be construed accordingly; | ||
and | ||
(b) a reference to a person being, or to be, paid or remunerated out of monies provided by the Oireachtas includes a person being partly so paid or remunerated.”. |