Selection Procedures

This circular supersedes Circular Letter 0028/2011 and Section 9(g) of Circular 07/03. Proposed appointments under this Circular are subject to the current moratorium on posts of responsibility at Assistant Principal and Special Duties teacher grades.

These procedures apply to teachers who are in receipt of incremental salary under a permanent contract, contract of indefinite duration (CID), or fixed-term contract (e.g. temporary whole-time (TWT), regular part-time (RPT)) as defined in the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003.

The revised marking scheme is to be implemented by each employer from 28 April 2014.Any promotion competition in progress on the 27 April 2014 will continue under the previous arrangements and all competitions initiated thereafter must follow the procedure set out in this circular.

Selection Board

a)  The principal teacher, chairperson of the board of management and an independent assessor shall constitute the selection board. (In the event of a second selection board being constituted following an appeal, the selection board shall include a second independent assessor) – Section 18(c)(5) of the Appeals Procedure refers.

b)  The independent assessor shall be appointed by the board of management and shall be selected from a list of names drawn up specifically for this purpose between the school's patron and the INTO. These lists are available from INTO District Representatives and representatives of the patron. (For example, in the case of Catholic schools, the lists are available from the local Diocesan Secretary).

c)  The selection board shall meet within a reasonable period after the closing date for the receipt of applications. The selection board shall consider the applications and shall interview all applicants for the post, even in circumstances where there is only one applicant.

d)  Where appropriate and where there is more than one vacancy arising at the same time for a post of responsibility of the same grade, it is open to the selection board to conduct one interview with an applicant who may have applied simultaneously for a number of the posts of the same grade. In these circumstances, the selection board should make it clear to the candidate which particular duty or set of duties is being considered at any one time. This provision does not apply in the case of appointments to posts of responsibility of different grades, which require separate interviews.

e)  When selecting an applicant for a post of responsibility, the provisions of Sections 15(b) and (c) of the Boards of Management of National Schools: Constitution of Boards and Rules of Procedures (current edition) will apply in the event that a relationship exists between an applicant for a post and member of the selection board.

f)  The selection board will have due regard to the provisions of the Employment Equality Act (1998) and the Code of Practice of the Equality Authority.

g)  Records of the interviews including marking sheets shall be kept by the chairperson of the selection board until the appointment process is finalised. Particular attention should be paid to the marking system where multiple interviews are involved.

h) Revised Marking Scheme and Criteria for appointment to posts of responsibility in primary schools as per Circular 39/2014

Criteria for seection and Revised Marking Scheme

See examples of "new2 marking system in Appendix 1 of Circular 39/2014

Criteria 1 - ‘Length of Service’

In addition to the method of calculating the ‘Length of Service’ criteria set out in Circular 07/03, the ‘Length of Service’ criteria will be reckoned as follows:

(a) Service in the school or in case of Education and Training Boards (ETBs), service in the scheme

The service in the school/scheme of the most senior applicant will qualify for 20 points.

Using that service as a base line, it will be divided by four in order to establish four quartiles.

• All applicants in the top quartile will each receive 20 points
• All applicants in the second quartile will each receive 15 points
• All applicants in the third quartile will each receive 10 points
• All applicants in the lower quartile will each receive 5 points

(b) Service as a teacher in another school or scheme

Any teacher who has service in another school or scheme recognised by the Department of Education and Skills, where such service is a minimum of the value of 1 quartile in the competition in question, will be moved to the next higher quartile than that justified by service in the school or ETB scheme, subject to not exceeding 20 points overall mark on Length of Service. Recognised service is service which the Department/ETB has recognised for incremental credit purposes.

Criteria 2 to 5

It is a matter for the Selection Board to develop its own marking system. However, it is mandatory that the 5 selection criteria are each given equal weighting of 20 marks.

i)  Where two or more candidates are ranked equally in all five criteria, it is open to a selection board to determine the outcome by reference to the seniority ranking of the teachers in the school.

j)   Having interviewed such applicants as present themselves, the selection board shall submit a written report to the board of management nominating the applicant whom it considers most suitable for appointment to the post.

* Calculation of length of service for the purpose of appointment to post of responsibility as per DES Circular 07/2003:

• Leave of absence of one school year or longer, taken after 1 September 1999, is not reckonable as service e.g. secondment, career break.
• All leave of absence taken prior to the 1 September 1999 is reckonable.
• Maternity leave, leave in lieu of maternity leave, unpaid maternity leave, adoptive leave, unpaid adoptive leave, leave in lieu of adoptive leave, parental leave and certified sick leave do not constitute leave of absence for this purpose.
• Leave of absence for periods of less than a school year is reckonable and does not affect the year in question being fully counted;
• Qualified permanent, temporary and substitute service given in the school where the post of responsibility is arising for a minimum of 60 days in any one school year will reckon as a full year. The reckoning of such service is subject to the verification of such service being possible. A maximum of 1 year's credit may be granted in respect of any one school year. Service in any one school year which is less than 60 days will not be reckonable;
• Job sharing is reckonable on the basis that one school year job-sharing counts as one year's service; and
• Service given in a school prior to its amalgamation into the existing school is reckonable.

** In assessing criteria, i.e. capability, it is open to a selection board to consider relevant experience gained by a teacher whilst s/he was on leave of absence, including career break or secondment.