THE SOUTHERN EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD
SCHEME FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF TEACHERSScheme For The Appointment Of Teachers
In pursuance of Article 4(3) of the Education and Libraries Northern Ireland Order 1986 and Article 153 of the Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, the board, with the approval of the Department of Education for Northern Ireland, hereby makes the following scheme for the appointment of teachers in controlled schools, including the functions to be performed by and the procedures to be followed by the Teaching Appointments Committee under Article 4(5) of the 1986 Order.
In This Scheme
"Board" means the Southern Education and Library Board
"1986 Order" means the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986
"1989 Order" means the Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989
"1993 Order" means the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1993
"the Committee" means the Teaching Appointments Committee of the board.
"The Chief Executive" means the chief executive of the board.
"Selection Process" means interview(s) and, when deemed appropriate, assessments based on written or oral presentations and/or demonstrations of practical ability.
"Board of Governors" means EITHER
(i)the Board of Governors of one or more schools controlled by the board
OR
(ii)a committee of a Board of Governors where such committee is performing a duty or function (in relation to the appointment of a teacher other than a Principal or a vice-Principal) which has been properly delegated to it by the Board of Governors under the relevant article of the Scheme of Management.
"relevant authority" means
(i)in relation to schools with fully delegated budgets, the Board of Governors, and,
(ii)in relation to schools with non delegated or partially delegated budgets, the board.
THE SOUTHERN EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD
SCHEME FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF TEACHERS
1Equality Of Opportunity
1.1The board is committed to ensuring fair and equitable consideration of applications by persons employed or seeking to be employed by the board. There should be no unfair discrimination, direct or indirect, against any person in recruitment, training, promotion or in any other way. The appointment of teaching staff should be based on merit and suitability for the post.
1.2All procedures and practice whether involving individuals, committees of Boards of Governors, Boards of Governors or the Teaching Appointments Committee should reflect the requirements of legislation and provide fair treatment of all applicants for teaching posts.
2Teaching Appointments Committee - Functions And Procedures
2.1Subject to statutory requirements the Committee shall appoint on behalf of and in the name of the board Principals, vice-Principals and other teachers in controlled schools.
2.2The Committee from time to time, and as and when required, shall review board policies and procedures for the appointment of teachers in Controlled Schools and make appropriate recommendations to the board.
2.3The Committee, where the board is the relevant authority, shall identify a School Salary Policy and in the name of, and on behalf of, the board shall deal with related matters.
2.4In particular, the Committee shall:
(i)in the case of Boards of Governors with fully delegated powers note, on behalf of the board, decisions in relation to the salaries of individual members of the teaching staff of a controlled school.
(ii)in the case of Boards of Governors with non delegated or partially delegated powers, where it is satisfied, approve on behalf of the board, recommendations in relation to the salaries of individual members of the teaching staff of a controlled school. Where it is not satisfied to approve the recommendation of the Board of Governors the Committee will identify the appropriate course of action including, where necessary, further consideration by the Board of Governors.
2.5The Committee shall also undertake such other functions as the board shall refer to it from time to time.
2.6The procedures and standing orders of the Committee shall be those detailed in Schedule 1.
3.Boards Of Governors - Functions
3.1Boards of Governors of schools with fully delegated budgets shall be responsible for determining the complement of the teaching staff. In the case of schools with partially delegated and non-delegated budgets, however, the board shall retain responsibility for determining the complement of the teaching staff.
3.2Subject to the provisions of the Scheme, Boards of Governors shall be responsible for carrying out the procedure for recommending the appointment of teaching staff including the shortlisting and interviewing of applicants, and:
(a)in the case of an appointment to the post of Principal or vice-Principal, for complying with the requirements of Schedule 2, Paragraph 2.6 of this Scheme with regard to the number of names of candidates to be submitted to the board for consideration; and
(b)in the case of all other permanent teaching posts and all temporary teaching posts which are filled on the basis of public advertisement, for submitting to the board the name of any candidate recommended for appointment together with the name(s) of any reserve candidate(s).
4.Appointments Procedure : Teachers in Controlled Schools
The appointments procedure for teachers in controlled schools is detailed in Schedule 2.
5.Guidance and Advice
5.1The Chief Executive shall establish a panel of officers who will provide guidance and advice to Boards of Governors and the Committee on the appointment of Principals. Officers may also be made available on request to provide guidance and advice to Boards of Governors on the appointment of vice-Principals and other teachers.
5.2For each appointment of a Principal, the officer who is designated to attend meetings of the Board of Governors shall make a written report to the Teaching Appointments Committee.
6.Appointment of Temporary (Full-Time and Part-Time) Teachers
The Chief Executive (or such other officer of the board as he may authorise for the purpose) shall appoint, on behalf of and in the name of the board, temporary teachers in controlled schools . Appointments to temporary posts in controlled schools which are made on the basis of public advertisement (see Schedule 2 Paragraph 1.2) will be made on the recommendation of the Board of Governors. Appointments which are filled without public advertisement will be made on the recommendation of the Principal and should be reported to the Board of Governors at its next meeting and to the board.
7.Establishment of Committees BY Boards of Governors
7.1Under the provisions of the board's Schemes for the Management of a ControlledSchool it is permissible for a Board of Governors to establish a committee to carry out such of its functions in relation to teaching appointments as it considers desirable. The functions to be delegated to a committee (if any) under the relevant article of the Scheme of Management should not, unless the Board of Governors otherwise determines, include the power to take decisions on behalf of or in the name of the Board of Governors without the approval of the Board of Governors.
7.2When a Board of Governors chooses to establish a committee to undertake functions on its behalf in relation to making a recommendation to the Teaching Appointments Committee the committee's membership shall receive specific consideration for each appointment.
7.3A Committee shall not be established for making recommendations in relation to the post of Principal or vice-Principal.
This Scheme was approved and adopted at a meeting of the Southern Education and Library Board on 13 April 1995. The board revokes all previous Schemes relating to the appointment of teachers including the functions and procedures to be followed by the Teaching Appointments Committee. This Scheme shall come into operation on the day following its approval by the Department of Education.
______
CHAIRMANCHIEF EXECUTIVE
The Department of Education for Northern Ireland hereby approves this Scheme. Sealed with the official seal of the Department of Education for Northern Ireland this
20th day of April 1995
______
ASSISTANT SECRETARY
Schedule 1
Teaching Appointments Committee -
Constitution and Procedures
1.The Committee shall be constituted in accordance with the provisions of Part 1 of Schedule 3 of the 1986 Order (herein reproduced as Appendix 1).
2.The quorum of meetings of the Committee shall be four members.
3.Canvassing of members of the Committee directly or indirectly for any appointment to be made by the Committee on behalf of the board shall disqualify the candidate concerned for such appointment.
4.A member of the Committee shall not solicit for any person any appointment to be made by the Committee on behalf of the board.
5.Every member of the Committee shall disclose in writing to the Chief Executive any family or other relevant relationship as defined hereunder known to him to exist between himself and any person who is a candidate for any appointment to be made by the Committee on behalf of the board. Such disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the Committee at which the appointment is considered and the member shall withdraw from the meeting while the appointment is considered.
6.For the purpose of Paragraph 5 above, a family or other relevant relationship shall be deemed to exist between a member of the Committee and a person who is a candidate for appointment if they are husband and wife or living together as husband and wife or if the person who is a candidate for appointment or the husband or wife or co-habitee of that person is the
parent
grandparent
grandson or granddaughter
son or daughter
brother or sister
first cousin
uncle or aunt
equivalent step-relations or
nephew or niece
of the member or of the husband or wife or co-habitee of the member.
7.The minutes of meetings of the Committee shall specify all appointments made under this Scheme by the Committee on behalf of and in the name of the board. A copy of the minutes of each meeting of the Committee shall be sent to each member of the board for information only with the agenda for the following meeting of the board or, in the event of such agenda being issued less than four working days after the meeting of the Committee, with the agenda for the next following meeting of the board.
8.Under the powers conferred on it by paragraph 2(2) of Part 1 of Schedule 3 to the 1986 Order the board hereby delegates to the Chief Executive (or such other officer of the board as he may authorise for the purpose) responsibility for the appointment on behalf of the board of Principals to the Committee in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2(1) (b) of Part 1 of Schedule 3 of the 1986 Order.
9.9.1Where a meeting of the Committee is to be held to exercise any of the functions conferred on the Committee in relation to the post of Principal or vice-Principal, the Committee shall invite representatives of the school to attend the meeting for the purpose of advising the Committee generally on matters relating to the school and the nature of the post.
9.2Representatives of the school invited to attend a meeting of the Committee under this paragraph shall be entitled to be present at the meeting only for the purpose mentioned in sub-paragraph 9.1 and shall not be present during the interview of any candidate for the post nor during any discussion or decision relating to the appointment of any particular candidate to the post.
9.3In this paragraph -
"representatives of the school" means
(i)where the meeting is held in relation to the post of Principal of the school, two members of the Board of Governors of the school, other than the Principal;
(ii)where the meeting is held in relation to any other post in the school, one member of the Board of Governors of the school and the Principal of the school or, where the Principal is absent or otherwise unavailable, a teacher on the staff of the school.
Schedule 2
Procedure for the Appointment of Teaching Staff in Controlled Schools
1.General
1.1All appointments shall be advertised publicly if they are to be made in a permanent capacity, unless in exceptional circumstances, including the redeployment of teachers employed by the board, when the board and Board of Governors agree to appoint a serving teacher to a vacant post without advertisement. Such appointments will particularly apply in cases of redundancy whether following closure of schools or not.
1.2Temporary full-time and part-time posts of 6 months' or longer duration shall normally be filled on the basis of public advertisement. Short term temporary appointments which are expected to be of less than 6 months' duration may be made without public advertisement. When a temporary vacancy has been filled without advertisement and it subsequently becomes clear that there will be a continuing need for a temporary post for a period longer than 6 months, the board may require the post to be advertised publicly. No temporary post which has been filled without public advertisement will be extended beyond 12 months' duration without being advertised publicly. Part-time posts which have been filled on the basis of public advertisement for the duration of a full school year may be extended without readvertisement, subject to annual review by the Board of Governors, provided that the wording of the advertisement has indicated the possibility of such extension.
1.3ln all appointments the Board of Governors shall take account of all guidance issued by the board in relation to the employment of teachers, including guidance relating to Equality of Opportunity in Employment.
1.4For every appointment which is to be made on the basis of public advertisement, the Board of Governors shall agree the terms of a job description for the post, and shall agree a personnel specification identifying the personal attributes, qualifications, experience, skills and knowledge which are considered necessary.
The criteria which will be used in the process of shortlisting will be derived from the personnel specification;
Criteria will also be established which will include other factors which may be taken into account during the subsequent selection process.
1.5Where at a meeting of the Board of Governors the Principal disagrees with any decision or recommendation relating to the appointment of teaching staff, that disagreement and the reasons for it shall, if the Principal so requests, be recorded in the minutes of the meeting and notified to the board at the same time as the decision or recommendation of the Board of Governors.
1.6The Board of Governors may wish to inform applicants whether or not they have been recommended to the board for appointment, or as being suitable for appointment. Where a Board of Governors provides such information, it must inform the applicant that the Teaching Appointments Committee is not obliged to accept the Board of Governors' recommendation, and that no liability can be accepted either by the board or by the Board of Governors for the consequences of any action taken by the applicant on the basis of the information provided.
2.Appointment Of Principal or Vice-Principal
2.1All meetings of Boards of Governors convened for the purpose of considering appointments to posts of Principal shall be attended by such officer of the board as the Chief Executive may designate from the panel of officers referred to in Paragraph 5 of the Scheme. The designated officer shall be responsible for convening the meeting, and shall act as Secretary.
2.2Upon the occurrence of a vacancy or prospective vacancy in the post of Principal or vice-Principal, the Board of Governors shall, at a meeting duly convened for the purpose, agree the terms of the job description for the post and shall agree a statement of the personnel specification to be used in the shortlisting and selection of applicants in accordance with Paragraph 1.4 above. The Board of Governors may also agree the qualifications and experience to be used in the wording of the advertisement or in the information to be provided to potential applicants when seeking information about the post.
2.3In normal circumstances all vacancies for posts of Principal or vice-Principal shall be filled by public advertisement. Where any vacancy arises for such a post, the prior approval of the board must be obtained before any action is taken which might remove the possibility of the post being publicly advertised. Where the board agrees in exceptional circumstances that a post of Principal or vice-Principal should not be advertised publicly, the Board of Governors shall notify the vacancy to all staff within the school. The Board of Governors shall draw up a personnel specification, and shall invite applications on the board's official application form by a specified date.
2.4The board, except as otherwise agreed, shall advertise the post publicly in accordance with its policy.
2.5Following the closing date for receipt of applications, a meeting of the Board of Governors shall be arranged for the purpose of shortlisting. A list shall be prepared of candidates who meet the standards specified in the agreed shortlisting criteria and those candidates shall be interviewed. The secretary to the Board of Governors (the designated board officer in the case of the appointment of a Principal) shall be responsible for notifying in writing the shortlisted applicants and for inviting them to undergo a selection process.
2.6After interviewing the shortlisted candidates, the Board of Governors shall:
(a)where there are four or more candidates who meet the essential requirements of the post, as identified before the post is advertised, submit the names of the three candidates considered most suitable for appointment
(b)where there are three or fewer candidates who meet the essential requirements of the post, as identified before the post is advertised, submit the names of one, two or three candidates considered most suitable for appointment.
OR
(c)inform the board that it cannot recommend any of the candidates.
2.7The Secretary to the Board of Governors (the designated board officer in the case of the appointment of a Principal) shall be responsible for forwarding the recommendations of the Board of Governors to the board for consideration by the Committee.
2.8Where the Board of Governors recommends a candidate or candidates for appointment the Committee shall invite the applicant(s) to undergo a selection process and may appoint to the post any candidate whose name has been submitted by the Board of Governors under Paragraph 2.6 above.
2.9Where a Board of Governors informs the board that it is not prepared to recommend any of the candidates, and the Committee agrees that none of the candidates should be appointed or where the Committee is not satisfied to appoint any candidate whose names have been submitted by the Board of Governors, the board may again advertise the post in accordance with its policy. Should the Committee not approve the request of the Board of Governors for the readvertisement of the post the matter shall be referred to the Board of Governors for further consideration. Should a dispute arise between the Committee and the Board of Governors the matter shall be referred to the Department of Education for decision.