Quality and Standards in Human Services in Ireland - the NESC ...

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STAKEHOLDER RESPONSIBILITIES 35However, the implementation of Section 24 18 of the Education Act 1998 inSeptember 2009 places a statutory responsibility on the BOM in relation toperformance of individual teachers in their school, and provides for the suspensionand dismissal of underperforming teachers by BOMs. These new agreed proceduresprovide for two separate and independent strands of accountability: Procedures relating to professional competence issues; and Procedures relating to work conduct and matters other than professionalcompetence.These new procedures represent quite a step-change for many school BOMs who,in the past, viewed their role as purely administrative, and left issues relating toteaching and learning to the education professionals in the school. According toBOM representatives at primary level, it would have been rare to find issues relatingto teaching and learning on the agenda for BOM meetings. In the past, it was alsounlikely that these BOMs, while noting the content of a WSE report, would have feltthat they should involve themselves in issues relating to teaching and learningstandards because they believed that this was an issue for the educationprofessionals in their school, and that they were a step removed from this.However, that is not to say that primary school BOMs have not taken appropriatesteps in response to any serious and detrimental issues that might have beenidentified in the WSE report. According to a stakeholder interviewed for this report,BOMs at post-primary are sometimes more engaged in the teaching and learningoutcomes within their school, since it is during these years that students and theirparents become increasingly focused on academic achievement for the purposes ofdeciding career paths and choosing college courses. These schools are alsoconcerned with attracting pupils and therefore a school’s academic achievementrecord is important from the perspective of a BOM.During the last decade, BOMs have also been occupied in meeting theirresponsibilities and the achievement of standards in a range of areas for whichthere has been an increasing amount of legislation – health and safety, childprotection issues – as well as adapting school buildings to facilitate the inclusion ofchildren with special needs. Another challenging issue relating to primary schoolBOMs is the significant number of schools who do not have administrative principalteachers, which means that there is very little time for strategic thinking andplanning, by comparison with schools that have a non-teaching principal. In recentyears, however, teaching principals have been granted a number of days of releasetime to enable them to carry out their administrative duties.Thus, school BOMs are responsible for a highly diverse range and complex set ofissues in the management of schools. This issue was highlighted in the recentDepartment of Public Expenditure and Reform Organisational Review Programme18This section does not apply to teachers or other staff of a school that is established or maintained by avocational educational committee.
STAKEHOLDER RESPONSIBILITIES 36(ORP) Report 2012 which reported that many stakeholders, i.e. school principals,management associations and BOMs, expressed the view that the responsibilities ofthe voluntary BOMs are onerous and will continue to be so in the years ahead. Ingeneral, many BOMs lack the necessary expertise in complex areas such asemployment law, finance and school planning (Department of Public Expenditureand Reform, 2012: 51).3.2.3 Emerging Challenges for BOMsNotwithstanding the findings of the Organisational Review Programme Report, theEducation Act 1998, specifically Section 24 referred to above, significantlybroadened the responsibilities of school Boards. The Act places a statutoryresponsibility on BOMs that requires them to grapple with issues relating to thestandards of teaching and learning in their school as well as responsibilities relatingto the professional competence and conduct issues among their teachingemployees (see Section 3.2.2).This will require BOMs to become more accountable for the quality and capacity ofthe teachers in their schools, so as to ensure the achievement of high-qualitylearning outcomes for the school and its pupils. The majority of issues that mightarise in relation to a teacher’s performance are the responsibility of BOMs asemployers and managers of schools. There are agreed procedures that BOMsfollow in cases where there are concerns or complaints against a teacher. However,the role of the Teaching Council, which will be outlined later in Section 3.5, will alsocome into play in relation to teacher competence and fitness to practise issues. If,after due process, a BOM moves to dismiss a teacher they are obliged to inform theTeaching Council of the dismissal and the grounds on which the dismissal was made.The Teaching Council procedures in relation to competency and fitness to practicewould then be initiated. 19 De-licensing and removal from the Register of Teachers isthe ultimate sanction that can be used by the Council whereas a BOM can dismiss ateacher. A BOM can also raise concerns with the Teaching Council in relation to thecapacity of a teacher to teach in the absence of a decision to dismiss.The management representative bodies provide support and training opportunitiesfor BOM Chairpersons and school principals in a broad range of areas such as HR,Finance, Child Protection and Teaching and Learning. They also provide support andtraining for their members in relation to Section 24 of the Act, which sets out thestatutory responsibility of BOMs to initiate disciplinary procedures against teacherswhere there are concerns in relation to conduct and/or professional competence.According to BOM representatives, many BOMs have not had the occasion toimplement all stages of the Section 24 process, and therefore may not be directlyfamiliar with the process which became operational at the end of 2009.19The Teaching Council’s responsibilities in relation to competency and fitness to practise issues have yet to becommenced under the Teaching Council Act 2001.
Page 2 and 3: National Economic and Social Counci
Page 4: iiMembership of the National Econom
Page 7 and 8: vList of Figures1.1 Standards and A
Page 9 and 10: VIIOECDOrganisation forEconomic Coo
Page 12: Executive SummaryVII
Page 15 and 16: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYXIIIgo in building
Page 17 and 18: INTRODUCTION 21.1 BackgroundThis re
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Page 21 and 22: INTRODUCTION 6particular reference
Page 23 and 24: INTRODUCTION 8All State primary and
Page 25 and 26: INTRODUCTION 10 To promote equity a
Page 27 and 28: INTRODUCTION 12school boards will b
Page 29 and 30: INTRODUCTION 141.11 Current Context
Page 31 and 32: INTRODUCTION 16Box 1.4DES Capacity
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Page 69 and 70: Quality ofcurriculumprovisionQualit
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EXAMPLES OF ASSESSMENT ARRANGEMENTS
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EXAMPLES OF ASSESSMENT ARRANGEMENTS
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CONCLUSION 90
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CONCLUSION 926.1 IntroductionThis c
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CONCLUSION 946.2.2 A Focus on, and
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CONCLUSION 96the function of Boards
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CONCLUSION 98teachers believe that
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CONCLUSION 100consistency in the ra
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CONCLUSION 102Box 6.1Raising Standa
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CONCLUSION 104has prompted concerns
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CONCLUSION 106National Literacy and
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108BibliographyBanks, J. & Smyth, E
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110National Council forCurriculum a
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112National Economic and Social Cou
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11463. Population and Labour ForceP
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