The Department of Education issued a new staffing circular on January 31. the following are its key provisions.
Circular 006/2023 Staffing Arrangements in Primary Schools for the 2023/24 school year published 31 January 2023 confirms a further reduction in the primary staffing schedule by one point bringing class sizes to an average of 23 in mainstream classes, with lower thresholds applying in DEIS Band 1 schools.
Frequently Asked Questions on Circular 0006/2023 Staffing Arrangements in Primary Schools for the 2023/24 school year
INTO Webinar
The INTO hosted a webinar for members on the Main Panel on Wednesday, 8 February at 3:15pm. The webinar covered a number of topics on the issue of redeployment, including applying for the panel, deferrals and offers. Please see webinar below. For further details on Main Panel please click here.
Staffing Schedules for Schools
Staffing Schedule for 2023-2024 Circular 006/2023 Appendix A – Schedule of Enrolment of Pupils Governing the Appointment and Retention of Mainstream Class Teachers in Ordinary Schools, Gaelscoileanna and Gaeltacht National Schools for the 2023/24 school year
Administrative Principal and Administrative Deputy Principal Appointment figures Circular 006/2023 Appendix B – Enrolments required for Administrative Principal status and Administrative Deputy Principal status in Ordinary Schools, Gaelscoileanna and Gaeltacht National Schools for the 2023/24 school year
SEN allocations – Circular 006/2023 Appendix C
Key Dates
Members should note Thursday, 23 February 2023 as a key date for staffing arrangements in primary schools for the 2023/24 school year.
By Thursday, 23 February 2023, teachers and schools should:
- Notify the relevant Panel Operator of any permanent or fixed-term vacancy;
- Return Main Redeployment Panel Application Form (Appendix E) for surplus permanent/CID holding teachers to the Department’s Primary Teacher Allocations Section;
- Return Form S.ET cluster 2023/24 (Appendix D) to the Department’s Primary Teacher Allocations Section to notify the DE of new Special Education Teacher cluster arrangements;
- Return CID Declaration Form 23 (Appendix G) in respect of all teachers awarded a CID in or before the 2022/23 school year and a Main Panel Application Form, if applicable, to the Department’s Primary Teacher Allocations Section;
- Apply for a Projected Enrolment Post using the Projected Enrolment Form
- Submit completed Staffing Appeals Form (Appendix F) for the next meeting of the Primary Staffing Appeals Board to the Department’s Primary Teacher Allocations Section; and
- Submit new applications for Principal Release Day clusters using this form.
Main Panel
Redeployment Arrangements at Primary Level for Surplus Permanent and CID Holding Teachers January 2023 Your questions answered on Redeployment Arrangements at Primary Level for Surplus Permanent and CID Holding Teachers
Main Redeployment Panel Application Form (Appendix E) for surplus permanent/CID holding teachers to the Department’s Primary Teacher Allocations Section;
For further information about how the Main Panel operates see here.
It is important that all schools participate in the redeployment process to ensure that teachers are redeployed as early as possible.
The Main Redeployment Panels are expected to be published the week beginning 20 March 2023 for schools to appoint teachers from the panels to vacancies.
Staffing Appeals
The first meeting of the Staffing Appeals Board will be in March 2023. They will meet again in June and September.
Applications for the March Staffing Appeals Board should be submitted by the 23rd of February 2023 on the correct form from Circular 006/2023 Appendix F – Application to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board for the 2023/24 School Year. The categories include:
- Exceptional Accommodation Difficulties Appendix F (a) – Application to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board for the 2023/24 School Year
- Additional Enrolments in October 2022 Appendix F (b) – Application to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board for the 2023/24 School Year
- Developing Post based on Additional Enrolments after 30 September 2023 (for October Staffing Appeals Board) Appendix F (c) – Application to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board for the 2023/24 School Year
- English as an Additional Language (EAL) Teaching Posts Appendix F (d) – Application to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board for the 2023/24 School Year
- Small Schools Appendix F (e) – Application to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board for the 2023/24 School Year
- School losing 3 or more Posts Appendix F (f) – Application to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board for the 2023/24 School Year
- Alleviating some of the pressure on class sizes at infants level Appendix F (g) – Application to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board for the 2023/24 School Year
Contracts of Indefinite Duration
For comprehensive information regarding Contracts of Indefinite Duration and the Application Process see our website here.
Contract of Indefinite Duration (CID) Forms contained in Circular 006/2023 Staffing Arrangements in Primary Schools for the 2023/24 school year include
- Declaration by a school for the 2023/24 school year where a teacher has acquired a CID under Part A1 or A2 of Circular 0023/2015 – Circular 006/2023 Appendix G
- Application for department sanction for the award to a teacher, of a contract of indefinite duration (CID) in the 2023/24 school year in accordance with Circular 0023/2015 –Circular 006/2023 Appendix H
Special Education Teacher posts
When the Special Education Teacher (SET) allocations were issued in 2022, schools were advised that any SET clusters formed would remain in place until the next review of the allocation. Therefore, existing SET clusters will remain unchanged for the 2023/24 school year.
Schools with a balance of Special Education hours additional to the full posts are advised that they have a period until Thursday 23 February 2023 to enter into a cluster arrangement to achieve a full-time permanent post (25 hours) through sharing arrangements with other neighbouring schools.
Circular 006/2023 Appendix C – SEN allocations
Circular 006/2023 Appendix D – Special Education Teacher Post (Shared) 2023/24
Supports for Teaching Principals
Circular 006/2023 also confirms the retention of one leadership and management day a week, secured by this union for every teaching principal. Schools with one special class will have four additional release days in the 2023/24 school year. This scheme has proven to be successful in supporting teaching principals with an increased workload, while ensuring consistent access to a teacher for their class.
Clusters for the 2022/2023 school year will remain in place unless one or more of the schools in the cluster has attained administrative principal status.
Applications for new Principal Release Clusters should be made to the Primary Allocations Section of the Department of Education on Form PRT Cluster2324.
Substitute Teacher Supply Panels
The continuation of the substitute teacher supply panel scheme is welcome. This union firmly believes that the scheme provides vital support to schools for short-term absences, and we call for the scheme to be extended to cover all primary and special schools.
This year there are currently 151 supply panels currently covering 2,850 schools with 610 teaching posts allocated.
