Hot Topics - 25 May 2017
- Published: 25 May 2017
School Tour
At this time of the school year, many classes will be travelling to a variety of venues for their school tour. This raises a number of issues for schools. It is advised that every school has a policy on tours and excursions to ensure that all practical possibilities are covered to reduce the risk to children. As ever, the code of behaviour will cover conduct issues, but risks increase when leaving the controlled environment of the school. A template policy is available on www.ippn.ie (Resources, School Policies), titled ‘School Tours, Excursions & Field Trip Policy’. It is easily tailored to meet the needs of your school and covers issues such as:
• Levels of pupil/adult supervision (Advice is available from Allianz)
• Bus/Road safety issues
• Conduct on tours
• Bus hire considerations
• Tour kit
• Tour costs
Job Share
We have been receiving numerous queries in the support office regarding different aspects of career breaks and job-sharing. We have compiled this guide for members to address these queries and concerns.
There is an onus on each Board of Management (BoM) in consultation with staff to draw up a policy statement based on the needs of the school in relation to approving career breaks and job-sharing.
The guiding principle of any policy is to ensure that the welfare and educational needs of pupils takes precedence over all other considerations. When drafting a policy, include the number of teachers that will be allowed to participate in job-sharing or career break arrangements in any one school year. It is best practice to include direction on the issue of the approval of EPV days in the policy.
Download a Job Sharing Plan below:
https://www.ippn.ie/index.php/resources/forms-a-templates/5361-job-sharing-plan-power-point
As both these arrangements affect the terms and conditions of employment of the teacher, we would suggest that teachers themselves would seek guidance and advice from INTO about the implications of these applications.
It is a matter for the BoM to determine if the duties of a post of responsibility can be filled by the teacher in a job-sharing arrangement. In making the decision to grant approval for a career break or job-share, the BoM would need to be aware that the only posts that can be filled in an acting capacity are those of principal and deputy principal.
