Only 5% of school vacancies filled

JUST over 60 vacant school management posts – fewer than one-in-20 – have been filled under a scheme designed to ease pressure on the running of second-level schools.

Tánaiste Mary Coughlan got Department of Finance clearance in July to allow schools worst affected by the public service promotions ban in place since March 2009 make some appointments.

While schools are entitled to fill vacant principal and deputy principal jobs, they are not allowed to promote or appoint staff to lower management posts, such as assistant principal or special duties teacher, which carry annual allowances of €8,520 and €3,769.

The loss of almost 1,500 such posts through retirements at the country’s 730 second-level schools in the past 20 months, in addition to almost 300 holders of those jobs being promoted to principal or deputy principal, has left schools struggling to cover important areas of responsibility.

The biggest concern among boards and principals has been about duties relating to pastoral support of students, such as year heads, as well as coordinators of important programmes such as transition year, Leaving Certificate Applied and other academic areas.

Following a campaign by school managers and teacher unions highlighting these problems, Ms Coughlan said in July that some alleviation would be granted for schools with the highest proportion of vacancies.

However, only 39 assistant principal jobs have so far been filled at 28 second-level schools, including three schools where three such posts were sanctioned and five schools cleared to fill two posts. Another 25 middle management posts have been filled to date, as a result of 75 applications.

The Joint Managerial Body, representing boards of almost 400 religious-run secondary schools, said the figures were disappointingly low but it expects further posts may be filled due to retirements during the school year.

However, given that Ms Coughlan’s assertion that there can be no return to a situation where around half of all teachers are paid management post allowances, the board’s general secretary Ferdia Kelly suggested a comprehensive review of all these structures.

“It’s time the minister put a new school management structure in place because principals can’t be expected to keep picking up the slack. For every one of those 39 AP posts filled, the likelihood is that another lower management role is being left vacant by the person moving up,” Mr Kelly said.

The lifting of directives by the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) in September and last week by the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has allowed schools to move those in middle management jobs into priority areas of responsibility that previously remained unassigned or which were being looked after by principals and their deputies because of union bans on such flexibility.