Branches, Districts and Staff Representatives

Districts

The 183 INTO Branches are organised into 16 Districts (see map). Each District elects one representative to each of the National Committees, (with the exception of the BFC).

A District Committee is established consisting of representatives of each of the affiliated Branches in that District. The officers of the District Committee, elected at the District AGM each June, are: Cathaoirleach, Leas-Chathaoirleach, Treasurer and Secretary.

Branches

The Branch is the basic unit of the Organisation. Each school is assigned to one of the Organisation's 183 branches. On joining the INTO, each member becomes a member of the branch to which her/his school is assigned.

Rule 93 states:

"Each Branch shall hold an ordinary general meeting, which shall be known as the AGM, in the month of December or January each year. It shall hold at least one other ordinary general meeting. It shall hold a special meeting at such time or times as the Branch or Branch Committee decides."

Members are urged to attend their branch meetings in order to express their opinions, cast their votes, and thereby, participate in determining the policies of the Organisation.

A Branch Committee, elected at the Branch AGM, is charged with directing the affairs of the Branch between general meetings. Branch Officers, elected at the Branch AGM, are: Cathaoirleach, Leas-Chathaoirleach, Branch Secretary and Branch Organiser.

Staff Representatives

Staff representatives play a vital role in both the formal and informal structures of the INTO. They play an important part in the recruitment of new members. They are the face of the Organisation at school level and, as such, are a source of information, advice and guidance for members. The growth and development of the role of the staff representative must be nurtured if INTO is to respond effectively to future changes.

Branches should actively support staff representatives by:

• Asking schools to confirm their staff representative each year and formally appointing them at the October meeting.

• Providing the staff representative with his/her Staff Representative’s Pack. These are Duties and Responsibilities of Branch, District and Forum Officers available from INTO Head Office or through your CEC Representative. Availability of the staff representative pack may vary from year to year.

• Maintaining email or text links with staff representatives.

• Ensuring that staff representatives are informed of training available to them through the district training initiatives.

• Considering acknowledging the work of staff representatives by deciding on some form of reward, such as a gift token or night out.

• Considering putting mentoring arrangements in place for new staff representatives.

• Resources are available on the Officernet and INTO website.