Vol.39 / no.3 february 2017

Transcription

1 ews teachers uio of irelad / AONTAS MúiNTeOirí éireann Vol.39 / o.3 february 2017

2 tui ews cotets: p.2 A Word From The Presidet A Word from the Presidet Joae Irwi P.4 Additioal gais for teachers p.6 Strog PiSA performace from irish studets p.8 Youg Scietist exhibitio showcases iovatio of irish schools p.12 istitute News p.13 Pay icreases for TUi members p.14 Family leave etitlemets checklist p.16 Dispellig some Juior Cycle miscoceptios p.18 Stress risk for educatio workers p.20 School uiforms a balacig of rights ad resposibilities p.24 New guidelies o reasoable accommodatios at examiatios p.26 Pre-retiremet semiar p.27 rma News p.28 Crossword ew gais for teachers ovember agreemet Sice the last editio of TUi News, ew gais have bee secured for teachers as a result of the Uio s egagemet with the Departmet of educatio ad Skills ad other teacher uios i a series of meetigs i November. The gais iclude the provisio of a opt-out ad opt-i o a oce off basis for the Supervisio ad Substitutio scheme, further measures that have the potetial to improve job security ad a ehaced focus o the issue of teacher wellbeig. Comprehesive details are set out i this editio of TUi News. The ew gais follow the major advaces set out i the agreemet with the Departmet of educatio ad Skills that members voted to accept i May 2016 ad improvemets i salary for recet etrats to the professio that were aouced i September 2016 ad that bega to take effect from 1st Jauary. Pay icrease to be paid five moths earlier i Jauary, it was cofirmed that a 1,000 pay icrease o aualised salaries (i.e. salaries exclusive of allowaces) up to 65,000, origially due for paymet from 1st September 2017 uder the Lasdowe road agreemet (LrA), will ow be paid from 1st April This will be added to all poits of scale of all grades which TUi represets. This is a actual pay icrease ad whe pay restoratio is completed, salary will be the fully restored salary plus 1,000. The improved arragemet is the result of egotiatios betwee public service uios, represeted by the Public Service Committee of the ictu, ad the Departmet of Public expediture ad reform. TUi, together with other uios, had isisted i November o early egotiatios to accelerate public service pay restoratio. i ackowledgig the paymet, the Public Services Committee of ictu advised the maagemet side that editorial PrODUCTiON Aette Dola Deputy Geeral Secretary adola@tui.ie Berie ruae Assistat Geeral Secretary bruae@tui.ie TUi News is published by the Teachers Uio of irelad. Aotas Múiteoirí éirea, 73 Orwell road, rathgar, Dubli 6. Joae irwi Presidet presidet@tui.ie Barry Williams Vice-Presidet vicepresidet@tuimail.ie Joh MacGabha Geeral Secretary jmacgabha@tui.ie Decla Gly Assistat Geeral Secretary dgly@tui.ie Aida Key Assistat Geeral Secretary akey@tui.ie Michael Gillespie Assistat Geeral Secretary mgillespie@tui.ie Colm Kelly Assistat Geeral Secretary ckelly@tui.ie David Duffy educatio & research Officer dduffy@tui.ie Nadia Johsto Admiistrative Officer johsto@tui.ie Coor Griffi Press & iformatio Officer cgriffi@tui.ie T: F: e: tui@tui.ie W: Prited by: Typecraft Ltd. 2 february TUi NeWS

3 tui ews members will be takig place i Athloe o February 1st. Members will be kept updated o ay developmets i this regard. matched the dedicatio ad achievemets of teachers ad studets by ivestig appropriately i the educatio system. TUi PreSiDeNT, JOANNe irwin outstadig issues will be pursued i further talks which are due to commece followig the iitial report of the Public Service Pay Commissio, which is to report i the secod quarter of this year. TUi ad into have made a joit submissio to the commissio. techological uiversities Bill ad coferece Sice April 2016, members i the istitute of Techology sector have ot cooperated with merger activities related to the proposed Techological Uiversities as a result of idustrial actio followig a atioal ballot. The uio is seekig to have the cocers of members i relatio to coditios of service, pesios, regioal missio, multi-level programme provisio ad various other issues addressed. TUi is actively lobbyig public represetatives to seek amedmets to the Techological Uiversities Bill. A major cosultative coferece of successful Juior cycle campaig i September 2015, TUi members voted to accept ew Juior Cycle proposals i a atioal ballot. These egotiated proposals attaied the uio s key objectives by providig for reistatemet of a fully exterally assessed, state certified Juior Certificate examiatio ad also provided professioal time withi timetable - for teachers. The revised proposals followed a extesive campaig of lobbyig ad idustrial actio o the issue. However, despite detailed iformatio cosistetly beig provided durig ad after the successful campaig, some miscoceptios cotiue to persist. We hope we have comprehesively addressed these issues i a article i this editio of TUi News. Pisa results great ews for irish studets ad teachers The latest iteratioal PiSA fidigs recogise the high quality work of irish teachers ad studets i a era of hugely damagig cuts to the educatio system. i all three areas which were examied Maths, readig ad Sciece - the scores of irish studets were well above the OeCD average. These results were mirrored i the Treds i Mathematics ad Sciece Studies (TiMSS) report, the results of which issued aroud the same time. All evidece shows that irish studets ad teachers are performig remarkably well i what cotiue to be difficult circumstaces. it is high time that Govermet ogoig campaigs - further educatio ad higher educatio sectors TUi is still egaged i discussios with the Departmet of educatio ad Skills o a variety of issues i the Further educatio ad Higher educatio sectors. A poster updatig members o recet gais i the uio s third level campaig was distributed to third level workplaces before Christmas. A poster o Further educatio issues will also issue upo coclusio of the curret talks. The third level review as set out uder the May agreemet with the Departmet of educatio ad Skills has commeced with a iitial report due by March A BTei coversio process is curretly beig egotiated. it will see all qualified ad registered teachers deliverig courses uder the BTei iitiative coverted to teachers, with all the associated terms ad coditios. Youthreach discussios ad cosultative coferece Discussios are ogoig to esure that measures aalogous to the Ward report s recommedatios will apply to the Youthreach resource ad Youthreach Coordiator grades. A cosultative coferece for Youthreach staff will take place o 4th March i Athloe. Further iformatio will issue later this moth. - TUi NeWS 3

4 tui ews additioal gais for teachers followig talks with educatio parters Followig a ivitatio issued i November by the Chair of the Teachers Cociliatio Coucil (TCC) to the three teacher uios, the Departmet of educatio ad Skills ad the Departmet of Public expediture ad reform, TUi egaged with the other parties i discussios o a rage of issues. As a result of these discussios, a documet - Outcome of Departmet of educatio ad Skills, into ad TUi discussios 29 November was agreed. it should be read i cojuctio with: The TUi/iNTO New etrat Pay issue ad related Commitmets, 16 Sept 2016, which provides sigificat improvemets i the pay of those who etered the professio o or after 1st February 2012 DeS/TUi Agreemet, May 2016, which provides a rage of other gais for teachers ad lecturers, icludig a review of the usage of the Croke Park hours ad a review of posts of resposibility/maagemet structures Circular Letter 59/2016, which sets out a madatory sequece for the fillig of ew posts/hours that will beefit servig teachers o part-time hours. This circular letter was egotiated by the TUi with the Departmet of educatio ad Skills ad has effect from 31st August last. These documets are all available o the TUi website. The documet that issued o the 29th November ( Outcome of Departmet of educatio ad Skills, into ad TUi discussios 29 November 2016 ) recogises these gais ad addresses other issues that had bee brought by the teacher uios to the TCC, icludig: The provisio of a opt-out ad opt-i o a oce-off basis for the Supervisio ad Substitutio scheme Further measures that have the potetial of improvig job security ad A ehaced focus o the issue of teacher wellbeig The key elemets of the November documet are set out i detail below supervisio ad substitutio scheme opt-out opt-i A opt-out will be made available o a oce-off basis to post-primary teachers with a miimum of 15 years service. A teacher who opts out will ot be required to carry out S&S duties ad will have a reductio applied to his/her salary o a ogoig basis util retiremet. This reductio will be 1,769 as at 1 September 2017 ad will subsequetly chage i lie with chages to teacher salaries. The opt-out is irrevocable ad havig so opted, a teacher may ot subsequetly opt back i to the requiremet to carry out S&S duties. 1 The opt-out from S&S duties ad cosequet salary reductio will be effective from 1 September A opt-i to S&S duties will be made available to post-primary teachers who opted out of the requiremet to carry out such duties uder the terms of Circular 0006/2014. The opt-i will operate o the followig basis: a teacher who opts-i will be required to carry out supervisio ad substitutio duties ad will have the salary reductio associated with the opt-out restored to his/her salary; to be eligible to opt-i o a pesioable basis, a teacher must be i a positio to carry out S&S duties for a miimum of 10 years prior to reachig preserved pesio age; the opt-i is irrevocable. The opt-i to S&S duties ad cosequet restoratio of the salary reductio will be effective from 1 September Give the above chages, the operatio of S&S provisios i post-primary schools will be kept uder review by the parties to the TCC. 1 It should be oted that optig for this arragemet will have the effect of reducig the teacher s retiremet lump sum ad pesio followig his/her retiremet. fixed-term ad Part-time employmet A template letter will be provided to eable a employer to cofirm that a teacher who holds a cotract of idefiite duratio is employed o a permaet basis, where such cofirmatio is requested by the teacher cocered. The provisios of the report of the Chairperso of the expert Group o Fixed-Term ad Part-Time employmet i Teachig have made sigificat improvemets to the careers ad career prospects of fixed-term ad part-time teachers. it is ackowledged that there remai categories of teachers who have ot beefitted from the measures implemeted i cosequece of the report. it is agreed that the parties (Departmet of educatio ad Skills, maagemet bodies ad uios) will udertake work to idetify those categories ad will put i place agreed measures to address issues affectig them, icludig further developmet of the medium ad log term recommedatios of the Ward report, re-evaluatio of the statemet i the Ward report regardig a postprimary supplemetary pael, ad implemetatio of a post-primary supplemetary pael or a equivalet appropriate mechaism. 4 february TUi NeWS

5 tui ews PaY measures for ew etrat teachers TUi ad into egotiated a documet with the Departmet of educatio ad Skills ad Departmet of Public expediture ad reform titled Agreemet New etrat Pay issue ad related Commitmets, 16 September The pay measures set out i that documet are replicated i the documet uder cosideratio by ASTi. As provided for i the September 16th documet, the issue of the H.Dip allowace has already bee tabled at the TCC o 18 October Partial sick leave abseces At the momet, whe a teacher who is o the DeS payroll is abset o sick leave for a period of less tha a full school day, the DeS records these abseces as a full day. i order to prevet this over-recordig, such abseces will, as a iterim measure, be recorded at school level. These abseces will oly be recorded o the DeS payroll system oce the teacher has accumulated oe full day s absece. The DeS will issue a Circular settig out the iterim measures to apply at school level pedig the implemetatio of a electroic recordig solutio. it is recogised that teacher wellbeig cotributes positively to the quality of educatio, ad that teachig ad learig outcomes ca be ehaced by creatig opportuities for teachers to cosider their ow sese of wellbeig. The Teachig Coucil recogises the importace of care of self so as to be able to care for others ad, i that cotext, teachers wellbeig is vital if they are to effectively lead learig, ad support ad facilitate studets i this edeavour. A Occupatioal Health Strategy is i place as a supportive resource for teachers. The aim of this strategy is to promote the health of teachers i the workplace, with a focus primarily o prevetio rather tha cure. The Occupatioal Health Strategy comprises the employee Assistace ad Wellbeig teacher WellBeig Programme ad Occupatioal Health Services for teachers. The employee Assistace ad Wellbeig Programme icorporates cofidetial face-to-face cousellig o issues such as health, relatioships, bereavemet, stress ad coflict. The Occupatioal Health Service icorporates pre-employmet health assessmets, sickess absece referrals, assessmets of medical fitess for work ad ill health retiremet assessmets. The overall aim is to improve the health, wellbeig ad welfare of teachers. it is agreed that a workig group will be established to further develop the Occupatioal Health Strategy ad promote the health ad wellbeig of teachers. This group will icorporate teacher uios ad school maagemet. The followig improved services will be itroduced immediately: icreased cousellig support with the maximum umber of sessios available icreased from four to six; the provisio of a dedicated website with articles which focus o areas of cocer to teacher wellbeig; provisio for 24 hour, 365 day freephoe employee assistace ad wellbeig helplie support; commitmet to icreased telephoe support i relatio to staff wellbeig i schools for school maagemet ad teachers with maagemet resposibilities; ad that helplie ad cousellig services will also be available to the family members of teachers. The ew Juior Cycle programme is beig implemeted followig agreemets reached i May ad July A statemet of assuraces has bee provided by the Departmet of educatio ad Skills i respect of cocers raised by ASTi (see documet titled Juior Cycle Statemet of Assuraces 29 November 2016 Departmet of educatio ad Skills & Associatio of Secodary Teachers irelad ). These assuraces are i lie with assuraces provided i direct Juior cycle discussio with the TUi ad at the regular meetigs of the implemetatio Committee established uder the Agreemets. The Natioal Coucil for Curriculum ad Assessmet (NCCA) ad the State examiatios Commissio (SeC) have commuicated requiremets for completio of the Assessmet Task for eglish by studets betwee 5 ad 9 December While this timig requiremet remais, the parties ackowledge that a sigificat umber of studets will ot be i a positio to meet this requiremet. O a oce off basis, the NCCA ad SeC will commuicate arragemets i respect of a secod caledar widow i the 2016/17 school year to allow for the completio ad submissio of the Juior Cycle eglish Assessmet Task by studets who are preveted from meetig the curret deadlie. - TUi NeWS 5

6 tui ews 6 february TUi NeWS Irish s studets s perfor rm stro gly i x) f (x M th S i i th 9th Maths th Sci 6th iece Geder di iffereces ELAND IR G V OECD AV IRELAND VG OECD AV x f (x) ) x) f (x Girls performed d better tha boys i re eadig Boys p performed better i maths ad sciece aths ad sciece

7 tui ews TUi NeWS l atest i teratio TIMS oal com a 2015 SS mpariso stro other g os R di S TIM showi a 2015 SS Iris from g stro other studets sh g rd 2d Readig 3 Irish sec raked 9 od year studets 9th of 39 coutries i maths Irish secod year stud raked 10th of 39 cou i sciece dets tries Iris g teachi sh i maths r fa hours i sciece ELAND IR V OECD AV G s d eyo b 735 h 642 hours V g teac s iteratio d hours 669 s 935 hours 895 hours a s ou orm oal 9 hours 915 hour rs PISA is based o a radom sam of 15-year-old studets i eac the participatig coutries. I 2 over a half a millio studets t How is PISA carried out? hours RAG mple ch of 2015, took VE AVE IRELAND hours hours 4 6 hours ACHING TIME GE TEA CD OE U E 35 h hours 15 8 h 8 9 hours 9 hours h COMPULSORY INSTRUCTIO ELAND IR CD OE 5 hours hours ON TIME EU part i PISA. 167 schools i Irelad took part. 83%. 46% C O U C O U

8 tui ews Youg scietist exhibitio showcases the excitig ad iovative work happeig i irish schools YOUNG SCieNTiST exhibition 2016 The Youg Scietist exhibitio 2017 agai demostrated the excitig work happeig i irish schools. The exhibitio, ow i its 53rd year, is the fial stage i the competitio which is ope to studets from both orth ad south of the border. Visitig the exhibitio, TUi Presidet Joae irwi praised the creativity ad iovatio of the studets who took part ad the dedicatio of the teachers who supported ad ecouraged them. A wide rage of projects was o display at the exhibitio ad may schools had more tha oe project accepted ito the competitio. To attempt a comprehesive overview of the impressive work would be impossible, but by way of givig some sese of the igeuity demostrated, here are a few of the projects that caught our eye. a ivestigatio ito developig a more efficiet method of dryig woodchip for use i boilers. Magh Ee College, Co Doegal A more efficiet method of dryig woodchips for use i boilers was ivestigated. The study examied issues of pressure, bed height ad temperature. it was foud that the greatest reductio i moisture cotet came from heatig three bricks for 30 secods. The best bed height was 10cms ad the ideal temperature was 70 degrees. go Baaas! usig Baaa Peel for eco-friedly ad low-cost ylo Productio Adamstow Commuity College, Dubli This project focused o usig the starch i baaa peels to sythesise a type of ylo with superior properties to regular ylo. The project was successful i turig baaa peel ito eco-friedly ad low cost ylo. The peel of oe baaa could be used to produce 10ml of cadaverie i.e. bio-based ylo. HAriTHA OLAGANATHAN PiCTUreD WiTH TeACHer JANe HALLOrAN, ADAMSTOWN COMMUNiTY COLLeGe, DUBLiN AND TUi PreSiDeNT JOANNe irwin 8 february TUi NeWS

9 tui ews stridig for speed; a ivestigatio ito the most ifluetial factor regardig speed Heywood Commuity School, Co Laois Video aalysis was used i a ivestigatio ito the most ifluetial factor regardig speed. The aim was to assess which makes a ruer faster: a loger stride, a higher stride rate, beig taller, or havig loger legs. it was foud that differet factors had differet impacts o differet geders. For example, legth of stride was more importat for boys whereas frequecy of stride was most importat for girls. Height had o impact o pace for female athletes. (L-r) SArAH LALOr AND eimear BUTLer LiSTer OF AVONDALe COMMUNiTY COLLeGe, CO WiCKLOW PiCTUreD WiTH TUi PreSiDeNT JOANNe irwin ca milk be tured ito plastic? Avodale Commuity College, Co Wicklow A study ito whether pasteurised milk could be tured ito plastic, ad what are the resultig beefits for the eviromet. The project succeeded i turig excess milk ito casei plastic, thereby reducig pollutio. Put a halt to that headache! Which paikiller has the fastest dissolutio time? Coláiste Pobal Bheatrai, Co Cork The studets examied which paikiller has the fastest dissolutio time. They examied aspiri, ibuprofe ad paracetamol. Both geeric ad braded versios of each were tested. The studets discovered that braded aspiri dissolved fastest ad that braded ibuprofe dissolved slowest. mcpa Pesticide i drikig Water Athloe Commuity College, Co Westmeath This project examied the issue of MCPA pesticide i drikig water, ad why, despite iformatio campaigs, MCPA is beig foud i excessive levels i the drikig water supply. i relatio to ew regulatios, the study foud a large iformatio gap betwee the uderstadig of the matter by farmers ad the uderstadig of state bodies. (L-r) DANieL O BrieN, PATriCK O KeeFFe (TeACHer), TADHG Ó SúiLLeABHáiN, JOANNe irwin, TOMáS MUrPHY. developmet of a improved rowig machie hadle to icrease featherig muscle Build-up Cloakilty Commuity College, Co Cork Could a improved rowig machie hadle be developed so as to icrease featherig muscle build-up? Agai, the project succeeded i its aim. By usig a palms-dow wrist furl, it was possible to show a sigificat improvemet i featherig muscle build-up usig the ew hadle desig. (L-r) DYLAN NeSBiTT, JOANNe irwin, JOe BOYLe (PriNCiPAL), KeLLY NeSBiTT AND TeACHer MArY GiBBONS. a study ito the developmet of youg drivers o irish roads Deele College, Co Doegal Studets from Deele College i Doegal coducted a study ito the developmet of youg drivers o irish roads. - TUi NeWS 9

10 GET FINANCIALLY FIT FOR 2017 You ca be a member of TUI Credit Uio ad also your local commuity credit uio. Each moth ay accout opeed will be etered ito a draw to wi a Oe4All voucher valued at 100. FOR ALL YOUR FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS CALL US FIRST No 8, The Exchage, Calmout Park, Ballymout, Dubli 12. Tel: Website TUI Credit Uio is regulated by the Cetral Bak of Irelad

11 tui ews ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2016 The TUI Credit Uio held its 2016 AGM o Wedesday 14th December i the Clario Hotel, Liffey Valley, Dubli 22. Joh Mulla from the Irish League of Credit Uio with TUI Credit Uio Chairperso Tia Reddi ad Secretary Frak Mc Gi TUI Presidet Joae Irwi ad Geeral Secretary Joh MacGabha addressed the AGM. There was a good attedace of members from aroud the coutry which was great to see. The TUI Credit Uio had aother successful fiacial year. The TUI Credit Uio issued over 7.4m i loas, sigificatly up o A divided of 0.5% ad iterest rebate of 10% were approved by the AGM. The iterest rebate ackowledges the worthy cotributio members who take out loas have made TUI Geeral Secretary Joh Mac Gabha addressig the TUI Credit Uio AGM to the TUI Credit Uio. Hece our iterest rebate is desiged to reduce the cost of iterest to our members. What is a Iterest Rebate? A iterest rebate is TUI Credit Uio s ackowledgemet of the loyalty of borrowers ad rewards accordigly. A iterest rebate of 10% was applied to all loas ad has bee lodged to the members shares accout. e.g member paid 500 i loa iterest for year eded 30th September 2016 so a iterest rebate of 50 will be lodged. Iterest rebates are ot liable for D.I.R.T. ad thus the member receives the full rebate ito their shares accout. CAR LOAN TYPICAL REPAYMENTS AMOUNT BORROWED PERIOD (MONTHS) REPAYMENT TOTAL INTEREST PAYABLE 10, , , , , , , , Repaymets based o 60 mothly repaymets, ledig criteria, terms ad coditios apply. Rate quoted at 7.5% APR is correct as at ad is subject to chage. Credit Uio No Hidde or Additioal Costs No Set Up or Documetatio Fees Make Larger Repaymets - No Pealty Speedy Loa Decisios Iterest Paid o the Reducig Loa Balace Life Savigs ad Loa Protectio Isurace Provided at No Extra Cost Subject to T&C s YOU OWN THE CAR FROM DAY 1 Promotios ad Wiers Mothly Member Draw Wier PRIZES November December Car Ala Dodd 1,500 Joh Mcgover Corelius Lucey 1,000 Mary Booth William Fitzpatrick 500 Joh Liae Sharo Hickey New Member Draw Wier MONTH PRIZE WINNER November 100 Oe4All voucher Patricia Culle December 100 Oe4All voucher Eogha Fox Schools Visits PCP Fiace READ THE SMALL PRINT V You kow the old sayig If it s too good to be true... YOU DON T OWN THE CAR Compare the real cost of a TUI Credit Uio loa with that of other fiacial istitutios. Take ito accout our advatages ad we thik you ll agree you re better off talkig to TUI Credit Uio. Do you wat a represetative from TUI Credit Uio to call to your place of work to promote your credit uio ad the services we offer to your colleagues? So if you would like us to arrage a visit to your area drop us a to ifo@tuicu.ie or give us a call. - TUi NeWS 11

12 istitute ews coversio process for hourly Paid assistat lecturers (hpals)/ associate lecturers to assistat lecturers The Haddigto road Agreemet put i place a process for the phased coversio of Hourly Paid Assistat Lecturers (HPALs)/Associate Lecturers to Assistat Lecturers. Phase Oe of the process, which dealt with variable hour HPAL/Associate Lecturer CiDs ad also some mixed situatios where members had two cotracts (e.g. oe pro rata cotract ad the other a hourly paid cotract), has bee completed. Those coverted i Phase Oe of the process had their revised cotracts backdated to September Those eligible for coversio to pro-rata cotracts i Phase Two with effect from 1st September 2015 are HPALs with CiDs who had two years' service or more at 1st September 2015, ad who taught over two semesters i 2014/15. i order to be deemed eligible for coversio, a HPAL/Associate Lecturer eeds to be able to aswer Yes to the followig statemets. 1. i am iterested i beig coverted from Hourly-Paid Parttime Assistat Lecturer to Pro-rata Part-time Assistat Lecturer o a cotract of idefiite duratio basis. 2. i am fully qualified for a Pro-rata Part-time Assistat Lecturer post. That is to say, i hold a first or secod class hoours degree i a relevat area or a approved equivalet qualificatio ad i have 3 years appropriate post-qualificatio experiece. 3. The hours of the cotract of idefiite duratio will be the hours for which you were egaged o a fixed term cotract i the academic year 2014/15 (uless varied by the terms of Circular Letter 15/05). i am available to teach such hours as may be assiged by the Head of School i uderstad that the Head of School will determie the days/weeks/semesters i which i will teach. 4. i am available to carry out all of the duties of a Pro-rata Part-time Assistat Lecturer as set out below as determied/required by the Head of School i accordace with the cotractual duties as agreed atioally. if you thik that you are eligible to be coverted from a HPAL/Associate Lecturer cotract to the atioally agreed Assistat Lecturer cotract ad have ot received a letter regardig same from your employer, please cotact your local brach officers, as a matter of urgecy. campaigig for researchers rights TUi has established a researchers Workig Party to idetify the eeds ad cocers of researchers workig i the istitute of techology sector. The uio is cocered by the precarious ature of employmet for researchers. Withi the sector there are various types of employmet cotracts with limited terms ad coditios, with some istitutes treatig researchers as temporary staff who ca be hired ad fired with very little otice. i some cases, researchers do ot eve have a pay scale ad are istead placed o a sigle pay poit ad, i most cases, researchers do ot have access to a pesio scheme. To date, there have bee two meetigs of the researchers Workig Party. its mai objective is to orgaise researchers i the sector with a view to egotiatig atioal employmet cotracts, pay scales, terms ad coditios, career paths ad access to the educatio sector s superauatio scheme. Braches i the istitute of techology sector are curretly orgaisig iformatio ad recruitmet meetigs for researchers. researchers who joi TUi ca atted ad raise their issues at brach meetigs as well as gaiig access to isurace ad icome cotiuace schemes ad the opportuity to joi the TUi Credit Uio. tui ivolvemet i europea erasmus+ Projects i November 2016, the TUi completed a erasmus+ project with colleagues from Swede, icelad ad romaia. The project, etitled Opposig Force, sought to idetify tools that commuities i rural areas could use to assist youg adults i gaiig employmet. The key aim was to fid ways of reducig the brai drai of youg adults movig from rural to urba areas. Arisig from the project, a hadbook of tools ad techiques is available to dowload from the TUi website. i 2016, TUi commeced a ew erasmus+ project with colleagues from Norway, Scotlad ad Frace. This project, etitled Optimal, will explore mechaisms to facilitate the recogitio of prior learig for vocatioal educatio ad traiig, with a particular focus o the aquatic sector. TUi also submitted a applicatio for erasmus+ fudig with the europea Trade Uio Committee for educatio which focused o teacher egagemet to support refugees i society. Ufortuately, this applicatio did ot receive fudig. However, the parties are cosiderig submittig a ameded applicatio for the ext roud of fudig calls. The uio is also ivolved i the developmet of applicatios for future projects which will focus o: supportig refugees, youth uemploymet, quality appreticeship systems, sports for social iclusio ad skills for a ageig populatio. The uio, as a social parter, is ope to discussig project ideas with other educatio ad traiig providers ad agecies. 12 ovember TUi NeWS

13 tui ews upcomig pay improvemets for tui members 1,000 pay icrease brought forward by five moths to 1st april 2017 A 1,000 flat rate icrease to every poit o aualised salaries (i.e. salaries exclusive of allowaces) up to 65,000, which was origially due for paymet from 1st September 2017 uder the Lasdowe road agreemet (LrA), has bee brought forward by five moths. it will ow be paid from 1st April The improved arragemet is the result of egotiatios betwee public service uios ad the Departmet of Public expediture ad reform. The uios had isisted o early egotiatios to accelerate public service pay restoratio last November. The Public Services Committee of ictu has recogised the value of this paymet but has advised the maagemet side that outstadig issues will be pursued i the further talks to take place followig the iitial report of the Public Service Pay Commissio. Amog the key issues beig pursued is the establishmet of pay parity for all based o the pre-2011 rates. As part of this overall objective, we are seekig the reistatemet of the Professioal Masters of What? educatio/higher Diploma i educatio allowace for those teachers appoited o or after 5th December recet pay improvemets 1st september 2016: 796 was added to each poit of the Teachers Scale: This represets the first half of the agreed restoratio of the S&S paymet. 1st Jauary 2017: First half of adjustmet to icorporate the value of Hoours Primary Degree allowace to the scale of those teachers appoited o or after 1st February 2012 upcomig pay improvemets 1st april 2017: 1,000 flat rate icrease to every poit o aualised salaries up to 65,000. This paymet has bee brought forward from 1st September This flat icrease applies to each poit of the relevat salary scale/s. Allowaces that are held i additio to salary e.g. Post of resposibility, Pricipal, Deputy Pricipal, Coordiator (etc.) allowaces - are ot icluded i the calculatio of the 65,000. This is a pay icrease, as opposed to restoratio of a pay cut. Therefore, whe the process of pay restoratio is completed, the effective salary will be the fully restored salary plus 1,000. 1st April 2017: Pay restoratio for those earig above 65,000. This is the first half of the agreed restoratio of the Haddigto road Agreemet pay-cut. 1st september 2017: 796 will be added to each poit of the Teachers Scale. This represets the secod half of the agreed restoratio of the S&S paymet. 1st Jauary 2018: Secod half of adjustmet to icorporate the value of Hoours Primary Degree allowace to the scale of those teachers appoited o or after 1st February st Jauary 2018: Pay restoratio for those earig above 65,000: This is the secod half of the agreed restoratio of the Haddigto road Agreemet pay-cut. Pesio calculatio grace period Please ote that the grace period - that allows calculatio of retiremet lump sum ad pesio o the basis of the Jue 2013 salary ad allowaces (i.e. before the Haddigto road Agreemet cuts were applied) has bee exteded to April aual cogress 2017 a remider tui s aual cogress 2017 Whe? Where? 18th to 20th april 2017 clayto silver sprigs hotel, cork See for full details - TUi NeWS 13

14 tui ews family leave force majeure family Bereavemet marriage leave materity leave adoptive leave Leave Etitlemets Checklist Purpose Paid maximum Period Paid sub-cover details teachers Terms & Coditios of employmet for registered Teachers i recogised Primary ad Post Primary Schools (Webdetails other etb grades* Urget tedig to a ill perso for whom you have carig resposibilities, icludig accompayig to the hospital i emergecy situatios Yes A maximum of three days i each period of 12 moths or five days i 36 moths. Yes, apart from first day. S&S is used to cover first day. Circular Letter 17/99 The TUi is curretly egotiatig a circular with the DeS. i the iterim the provisios of the Paretal Leave Acts 1998 ad 2006 apply Leave related to bereavemet Yes 5 days i the case of a spouse, child or paret; 3 days i the case of a brother, sister, grad-paret, aut, ucle or paret-i-law. Yes Circular Letter 19/00 The TUi is curretly egotiatig this circular with the DeS.i the iterim, the custom ad practice is to apply the provisios of the teachers circular Member s ow weddig ad days either side (if workplace is ope) Yes 7 cosecutive caledar days (icludig the date of the marriage) No As per DeS/eTB policy As per etb policy Birth ad early Care Yes 26 cosecutive weeks (& optio of additioal upaid leave) Yes Terms & Coditios of employmet for registered Teachers i recogised Primary ad Post Primary Schools (Web- Book) Chapter 2 (pg. 24) Circular Letter 80/2015 To allow adoptig member a period with placemet of adopted child Yes 24 cosecutive weeks (& optio of additioal upaid leave) Yes Circular Letter 65/ february TUi NeWS

15 tui ews Book) Chapter 3 (pg. 38) Paterity leave Carig resposibilities soo after the birth or placemet of a child Yes 2 weeks withi 6 moths of birth Yes Circular Letter 57/2016 Circular Letter 66/2016 Paretal leave Care of Childre uder 13 ad childre with Special educatioal Needs uder 16 No 18 weeks per child Yes Terms & Coditios of employmet for registered Teachers i recogised Primary ad Post Primary Schools (Web- Book) Chapter 6 (pg. 66) The TUi is curretly egotiatig this circular with the DeS. i the iterim, the Paretal Leave Acts 1998 ad 2006 ad the europea Uio (Paretal Leave) regulatios 2013 (S.i. No. 81 of 2013) apply. carer s leave Care for perso medically certified as i eed of care No 104 weeks (i respect of oe relevat perso) Yes Circular Letter PPT 17/03 Circular Letter 0078/2015 career break Break from ormal duties for the purpose of carig, study, travel etc. No 10 school years, maximum of 5 years cosecutively Fixed Term replacemet Appoited (may qualify for a CiD as per Ward report). Terms & Coditios of employmet for registered Teachers i recogised Primary ad Post Primary Schools (Web- Book) Chapter 4 (pg. 50) Circular Letter 0079/2015 Job-sharig Work flexibility for family or other reasos Yes Uspecified, but must be applied for aually ad take i periods of oe year. Fixed Term replacemet Appoited Terms & Coditios of employmet for registered Teachers i recogised Primary ad Post Primary Schools (Web-Book) Chapter 5 (pg. 56) The TUi is curretly egotiatig this circular with the DeS. i the iterim, custom ad practice is to apply the etb s polic Terms & Coditios of Employmet for Registered Teachers i Recogised Primary ad Post Primary Schools (Web-Book) is available at Registered-Teachers-i-Recogised-Primary-ad-Post-Primary-Schools.pdf All Circular Letters are available from tui.ie or educatio.ie All legislatio is available at *Applicable grades set out i the relevat circular - TUi NeWS 15

16 tui ews Juior cycle reform dispellig some miscoceptios i September 2015, TUi members accepted, i a atioal ballot, the proposals set out i the documet - Juior Cycle Reform: Joit Statemet o Priciples ad Implemetatio (icludig the Appedix Professioal Time to support Implemetatio ). evidece from schools suggests that, otwithstadig the extesive iformatio provided durig ad after the Uio s successful campaig o the issue, some miscoceptios persist. Therefore, the followig clarificatio is provided to dispel the miscoceptios. state certificatio Teachers are ot assessig their ow studets for state certificatio purposes. The Departmet of educatio ad Skills (DeS) ad the State examiatios Commissio (SeC) have cofirmed that studets for whom a Assessmet Task (AT) is ot submitted to the State examiatios Commissio, will ot be marked out of 100%. They will be marked out of 90%; 10% of the marks will ot be available to them. The oly subject to which this applies i the curret school year is eglish. All Assessmet Tasks irrespective of subject will be exterally assessed by the State examiatios Commissio. Professioal time guarateed ad fuded With effect from September, 2017 uder the agreemet accepted by TUi ad fuded i Budget 2017 every fulltime teacher who has a ivolvemet with Juior Cycle will have a guarateed 40 miutes each week for professioal time, regardless of whether or ot the revised subject specificatio for her/his subject has bee itroduced. Teachers o fewer tha full hours will have guarateed professioal time o a prorata basis. To accommodate this professioal time, a full-time teacher will have a maximum of 21 hours ad 20 miutes of class cotact each week. i Budget 2017, fudig is provided for the creatio of 550 additioal Whole- 16 february TUi NeWS Time equivalet teachig positios to facilitate the guarateed professioal time for teachers from September By operatio of Circular Letter 59/2016, egotiated by the TUi with the Departmet of educatio ad Skills uder the terms of the DeS/TUi Agreemet, May 2016, these posts, traslated ito hours, must be offered, i the first istace, to existig parttime teachers i accordace with the madatory sequece set out i that Circular Letter. classroom Based assessmets (cbas) The Classroom Based Assessmet (CBA) is etirely separate from the state certified Juior Certificate which is exterally assessed by the SeC. Two CBAs per subject are to be udertake by studets oe i secod year ad the other i third year. These are coducted withi the school ad are reported upo to parets by the school. A CBA will be completed i dedicated class cotact time withi a atioally specified time-frame ad will replace a existig school assessmet such as a i-house examiatio (Christmas or summer exam). The TUi is curretly i talks with the Departmet of educatio ad Skills ad other relevat agecies o developig simple, user-friedly templates for school reports to parets/studets. Juior cycle sec/state certified results The results achieved by a studet i the Juior Certificate examiatio (i.e. the Jue examiatio ad the Assessmet Task both of which are exterally assessed by the SeC) will issue from the SeC to the school i September ad will issue through the school to the studet, as is curretly the case. Juior cycle Profile of achievemet (JcPa) a school report The Juior Cycle Profile of Achievemet (JCPA) is a school report that will issue i late autum/witer, after a studet completes 3rd Year. The Juior Cycle Profile of Achievemet (JCPA) is ot a state certificate. The Juior Cycle Profile of Achievemet (JCPA) will iclude a copy of the Juior Certificate examiatio results achieved by a studet, copies of the school reports o the Classroom Based Assessmets (CBAs) completed by the studet i 2d Year ad 3rd Year ad may also iclude a school report o other areas of achievemet by the studet. implemetatio committee Uder the Juior Cycle Agreemet of September, 2015, a implemetatio Committee was established to moitor implemetatio of the agreemet ad to address ay issues as they arise. The implemetatio Committee comprises represetatives of the DeS ad the teacher uios. To date, the TUi is the oly teacher uio to have atteded meetigs of the Committee. it has met regularly ad is operatig effectively. other issues Stadardised Testig of 2d Year studets i Maths, eglish ad Sciece has bee suggested by the Departmet of educatio ad Skills. Stadardised Testig has othig whatsoever to do with the Juior Cycle reform as is made clear i a footote to paragraph 6.1 of the Joit Statemet o Priciples ad implemetatio. As a separate matter, i its ow right, Stadardised Testig - i the cotext of the Natioal Literacy ad Numeracy Strategy - is the subject of o-goig discussio betwee the TUi ad the DeS. The uio has set out cocers about the educatioal ad practical implicatios of such testig ad, i particular, has made it clear that additioal workload for members would ot be acceptable. Should ay further clarificatio be required, please cotact your Brach, Area represetative ad TUi Head Office (tui@tui.ie).

17 Would your plas sta tay o track without your icome? The reality is that you have less paid sick leave from your employer sice If you fall ill, it may leave you with a reduced icome or oe at all, depedig o your sick leave history. The TUI Icome Cotiuace Pla aims to provide you with a replacemet icome to keep the importat thigs i your life o track; like your bills, your mortgage, your savigs for the future Joi the 4,700 TUI members i the Pla who already ejoy this peace of mid.** A replacemet icome of up to 75% of salary if you ca t work due to illess* A lump sum of of salary if you 25% suffer a Specified Illess*** Life cover of twice your aual salary Joi the TUI Icome Cotiuace Pla today. Call us o (01) 470 or visit Terms ad coditios apply. *Less ay other icome to which you may be etitled e.g. half pay, Ill Health Early Retiremet Pesio,Temporary Rehabilitatio Remueratio, State Illess Beefit. **Source: Cormarket, September ***This beefit was itroduced o the 1st Jauary Please cotact Cormarket for the policy defiitio of each Specified Illess ad its pre-existig coditios. Cormarket Group Fiacial Services Ltd. is regulated by the Cetral Bak of Irelad. Cormarket is part of the Great-West Lifeco group of compaies, oe of the world s leadig life assurace orgaisatios.telephoe calls may be recorded for quality cotrol ad traiig purposes. The Pla is uderwritte by New Irelad Assurace Compay plc. New Irelad Assurace Compay plc is regulated by the Cetral Bak of Irelad. A member of Bak of Irelad Group TuI ICP Ad 01/ TuI ICP Ad 01/17

18 tui ews educatio workers most likely to suffer work-related stress, axiety ad depressio Those workig i the educatio sector are most at risk of experiecig workrelated stress, axiety ad depressio (SAD), accordig to ew research from the esri. Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders ad Stress, Axiety ad Depressio i Irelad idetifies the types of workers who are most at risk of developig the two most commo types of work-related illess SAD ad work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). i irelad, these accout for 50 per cet ad 18 per cet of workrelated illess respectively. The research was compiled usig data from the Quarterly Natioal Household Survey for the years , ad outlies implicatios for measures to assist those most at risk of developig work-related MSD ad SAD. msd ad sad i irelad a overview Work-related MSD affects differet parts of the body that are used for body movemet, for example, the skeleto, muscles, tedos ad ligamets. Work-related stress is defied by the WHO as the respose people may have whe preseted with work demads ad pressures that are ot 18 february TUi NeWS matched to their kowledge ad abilities ad which challege their ability to cope. Depressio ad axiety are distict psychiatric disorders with defied diagostic criteria. i 2013, a estimated 55,000 workers i irelad suffered from a work-related illess, resultig i the loss of 790,000 days of work. The research measured the umber of days abset for the most recet illess reported by workers i a 12-moth referece period. The average legth of absece was 15.9 days for MSD ad 17 days for SAD. Both ivolve loger abseces tha the average for all other types of work - related illesses (12.8 days). The rates of both illesses, especially MSD, icreased durig the ecoomic boom years ad decreased durig the recessio (cotrollig for the compositio ad size of the work force). factors associated with Work-related stress, axiety ad depressio (sad) Wome have a higher risk of SAD illesses, with 5.8 per 1,000 female workers experiecig this type of illess compared to 4.0 per 1,000 male workers. Workers aged 35 to 54 years are most likely to experiece SAD: 6 per 1,000 workers i this age bracket experieced SAD illesses. The risk of SAD illess is highest for workers i the educatio sector, followed by those i health, public admiistratio, trasport ad other services, which icludes fiace, iformatio ad commuicatios. Workers i the agriculture, costructio ad idustry sectors have the lowest risk of SAD (less tha 3 per 1,000 workers). The self-employed have a lower risk of SAD illesses tha employees. There is a greater risk of SAD illess for those workig log weekly hours. Those workig over 50 hours are three times more likely to experiece SAD tha those workig less tha 30 hours. Shift workers have a greater risk of SAD. New recruits have a higher risk of SAD per moth worked. implicatios for policy what ca be doe? The high proportio of SAD cases amog work-related illesses suggests that a greater awareess of metal health issues is required. employers fid it difficult to assess ad maage metal health risks. Therefore further iformatio ad supports, such as stress audit tools may prove useful. The high icidece of MSD amog self-employed workers poits to the ecessity for assistace specifically targeted at this group. There is a ecessity to moitor workrelated illesses i sectors with greater risks of SAD ad MSD ad i orgaisatios which operate shiftwork ad ight work. Addressig the log-hours culture i workplaces is likely to reduce SAD. Specific measures, such as traiig ad supervisio, are required to assist ew recruits who face higher risks of SAD ad MSD illesses.

19 tui ews the Pricipal ad deputy Pricipals associatio (Pda) The Pricipal ad Deputy Pricipals Associatio (PDA) held its aual coferece i Balliasloe i November. The theme of the coferece was reflectio ad reewal, ad the evet was very successful, with presetatios ad workshops o issues as diverse as health ad wellbeig, leadership, timetablig ad cyberbullyig ad iteret safety. The PDA s Actig Presidet Adria Power gave the coferece s keyote address, which was followed by a address from TUi Presidet Joae irwi. Check out the PDA s website at for full details about the associatio ad keyote speeches from the coferece. PiCTUreD AT THe CONFereNCe Are, FrOM LeFT TO right: TUi GeNerAL SeCreTArY JOHN MACGABHANN, TUi PreSiDeNT JOANNe irwin, ACTiNG PDA PreSiDeNT ADriAN POWer, TUi AreA 2 representative PADDY HeALY AND ASSiSTANT GeNerAL SeCreTArY MiCHAeL GiLLeSPie. Vacacies o cca developmet groups From time to time, vacacies arise o Natioal Coucil for Curriculum ad Assessmet (NCCA) developmet groups. Participatio o these NCCA committees provides a valuable opportuity for practisig teachers ad the omiatig teacher uios to ifluece developmets i curriculum ad syllabi. each teacher uio is usually ivited to omiate two represetatives to each developmet group. each TUi represetative will be expected to cotribute thoughtful isights ad the wisdom of his/her experiece to the discussios at the relevat developmet group, withi the cotext of TUi policy. represetatives are required, from time to time, to discuss strategy ad meet with relevat members of the TUi executive Committee ad officials from TUi Head Office. represetatives may also be asked to act as state examiatios spokespersos for TUi i the subjects relevat to their expertise. This ivolves givig cosidered feedback regardig state examiatios papers to the media ad State examiatio Commissio, agai withi the cotext of TUi policy. Correspodece recetly issued to schools ad cetres settig out curret vacacies (see below), guidelies for omiees ad the omiatio form. if you are iterested i becomig ivolved please cotact your local brach for its omiatio. Applicatios (marked NCCA developmet groups ) should reach TUi Head Office o later tha 12 oo o March 8th, it is expected that applicats will be iformed of the outcome by mid-may. it is recommeded by the NCCA ad it is the practice of the TUi that a perso would ot serve o more tha oe developmet group. subject umber of Vacacies Leavig Certificate irish 2 Leavig Certificate Busiess 2 Juior Cycle Classical Studies 2 Juior Cycle Jewish Studies 2 Juior Cycle religio 2 Juior Cycle Techology 2 Juior Cycle Materials Techology Wood 2 Juior Cycle Techical Graphics 2 Juior Cycle Metalwork TUi NeWS 19

20 tui ews school uiforms - a complex balacig of rights ad resposibilities i November 2016, i respose to a request from the Departmet of educatio ad Skills (DeS), TUi made a submissio o school uiforms ad associated costs. The full submissio is available o the TUi website. The mai poits made i the submissio were that: This issue is complex ad requires schools to balace may competig rights ad resposibilities. TUi believes that previous DeS recommedatios o school uiforms were pragmatic ad fully respected the various religious backgrouds of studets i our schools while takig accout of the legal positio. Such guidelies also take accout of the fact that may families have experieced fiacial hardship. For example, statistics show that approximately oe i te childre lives i cosistet poverty ad oe i four lives i relative poverty (NeSF, 2005; CSO, 2009; Barardos, 2008; Hayes, 2008). These figures largely pre-date the ecoomic recessio so there must, logically, be a cocer that the cosistet poverty rate may i fact be higher ow. TUi believes that parets should ot be put i the positio of havig to pay for school uiforms that are eedlessly expesive. The pre-existig system, whereby schools decide their uiform policy at a local level, is reasoable, works ad should be maitaied. No school uiform policy should act i such a way that it, i effect, excludes studets of a particular religious backgroud from seekig erolmet or cotiuig their erolmet i a school. However, this does ot imply support for the wearig of clothig i the classroom which obscures a facial view ad creates a artificial barrier betwee pupil ad teacher. Such clothig hiders proper commuicatio. Schools, whe drawig up their uiform policy, should cosult widely i the school commuity. Schools should take ote of the obligatios placed o them by the equal Status Acts before settig dow a school uiform policy. i may cases, geeric uiforms are perfectly satisfactory ad ca result i sigificatly reduced costs for parets/families. TUi also believes that, where possible, parets should be able to purchase school uiforms from more tha oe source. The issue of competitive tederig seems to make sese but it must be bore i mid that schools are uder tremedous pressure to carry out may diverse govermet iitiatives ad hece time ad/or expertise to carry out competitive tederig processes may ot be available i some schools. A otice from the Teachig Coucil retrospective Vettig statutory vettig requiremet for u-vetted registered teachers The Natioal Vettig Bureau Act requires that employers esure that all members of their teachig staff are vetted by 31 December, To support this process, throughout the year the Teachig Coucil iteds to facilitate the retrospective vettig of all registered teachers who, to date, have ot bee vetted. The retrospective vettig process oly applies to teachers who have ever applied for vettig via the Coucil. Teachers who hold a vettig letter from the Coucil (pre-29 April 2016), or have completed the o-lie vettig offered by the Coucil (sice 29 April 2016), are deemed vetted, ad are thereby excluded from this process. Uder Sectio 33 (registratio reewal) of the Teachig Coucil Act , the Coucil will otify, o a phased basis, the cohort of 33,000 u-vetted teachers o its register ad ivite them to commece the vettig process. The umber of registered teachers that have bee vetted cotiues to steadily icrease, with almost 65% of the circa 94,000 teachers o the Teachig Coucil register ow vetted. employers/school authorities will be iformed of the sequece of the process followig commecemet. The Coucil is axious to esure that retrospective vettig will roll out i a cotrolled ad sequetial maer. For this reaso, the Coucil asks employers/school authorities to respect the sequecig prescribed by the Coucil ad assist the vettig process by esurig that ay u-vetted teacher has complied with the Coucil s vettig otice withi the timeframe prescribed. Oce the vettig process is complete, the employer/school authority may request the vettig disclosure from the teacher. Oly i cases where that disclosure reveals a offece which costitutes a child protectio risk will a disclosure be provided to the employer/school authority by the Teachig Coucil. The requiremets for vettig uder Circular 0031/2016 will cotiue to apply for all teachers who are chagig employmet. Teachers applyig for ew posts requirig vettig should apply directly to the Coucil as part of the ogoig vettig process. employers/school authorities advertisig ew posts, which may require the teacher to be vetted, should esure that this is doe as early as possible i the recruitmet process. 20 february TUi NeWS

21 cormarket group fiacial services ltd TEACHERS GET UP TO 60 % % OFF F * YOUR CAR INSURANCE As well as great beefits icludig: Widscree cover Motor Rescue Legal expeses cover Call us toda ay o (01) *60% discout available to customers who have bee claims free for the past 5 years (subject to a miimum premium of , iclusive of Govermet levy). Eligibility, terms ad coditios apply. RSA Isurace Irelad DAC tradig as RSA is regulated by the Cetral Bak of Irelad. DAS Legal Expeses Isurace Compay Limited is authorised by the Prudetial Regulatio Authority ad regulated by the Fiacial Coduct Authority ad the Prudetial Regulatio Authority of the Uited Kigdom ad regulated by the Cetral Bak of Irelad for coduct of Busiess rules. MAPFRE ASISTENCIA Compaia de Seguros y Reaseguros SA tradig as MAPFRE ASSISTANCE Agecy Irelad ad MAPFRE WARRANTY is authorised by the Direccio Geeral de Seguros y Fodos de Pesioes del Miisterio de Ecoomia y Hacieda i Spai, ad is regulated by the Cetral Bak of Irelad for coduct of busiess rules. Reg No Cormarket Group Fiacial Services Ltd. is regulated by the Cetral Bak of Irelad. Cormarket is part of the Great-West Lifeco group of compaies, oe of the world s leadig life assurace orgaisatios. Telephoe calls may be recorded for quality cotrol ad traiig purposes.

22 tui ews update o curriculum developmet i irelad, the power to prescribe the curriculum is withi the legal power of the Miister for educatio ad Skills uder the educatio Act However, such decisios are iformed by extesive work udertake by the Natioal Coucil for Curriculum ad Assessmet (NCCA). A extesive rage of stakeholders is represeted o the NCCA, icludig the teacher uios ad maagemet bodies. recet moths have see developmets i a sigificat umber of areas, as summarised below. Juior cycle Work is cotiuig o the specificatios for special eeds. Those specificatios are at Levels 1 ad 2 (depedig o level of eed) o the Natioal Framework of Qualificatios (Juior Certificate is Level 3). Work is also ogoig o Music, Home ecoomics, Maths, History, irish, Pe ad Geography. Cosultatios o Home ecoomics ad Geography closed recetly. A cosultatio process o Music is due to ope soo. Work is due to begi soo o Jewish Studies, religious Studies, Classical Studies ad the techology subjects. Specificatios have bee completed i Visual Art (formerly Art, Craft ad Desig), Wellbeig ad the moder foreig laguages. These specificatios have bee set to the Miister for approval. leavig certificate research is beig doe o the impact of recet chages i the marks awarded for the oral compoet of the irish examiatio. research is beig carried out o the possible roll-out of a programme i Computer Sciece. Work is ogoig o the revisio of specificatios (syllabi) i Applied Mathematics ad Classical Studies. Politics ad Society, as a subject, has bee itroduced i approximately 40 schools this year. A ew specificatio for Agricultural Sciece is almost complete. A cosultatio o the draft ecoomics specificatio closed o Jauary 31st. Specificatios for Pe (both exam ad o-exam frameworks) were recetly approved by the NCCA ad set to the Miister for approval. Prelimiary work o Art is begiig. All cosultatios are accessible through the NCCA website at Juior cycle traiig Members should ote that the ext phase of traiig for teachers of Juior Cycle eglish, Sciece ad Busiess started at the ed of Jauary ad will be rolled-out atioally i the ext few moths. Traiig for teachers of Visual Art ad moder foreig laguages will begi before midterm with traiig of teachers of irish also likely to begi aroud mid-term. Traiig for teachers of Pe, CSPe ad SPHe is curretly beig plaed. tui golf society The TUi Golf Society cocluded 2016 with the aual overseas trip. This was the society s 12th trip abroad, ad this year we travelled to Marbella i Spai at the ed of October. it was a most ejoyable evet ad all are eagerly lookig forward to ext year s trip. The followig outigs have bee orgaised for 2017: 1. February 23rd - Palmerstow Stud Golf Club 40 icludig luch. 45 for o-members. 2. April 12th ad 13th - Faithlegg Golf Club o the 12th ad Tramore Golf Club o the 13th. 189 for two ights B&B ad oe eveig meal plus golf. Complimetary luch o Wedesday. 30 sigle supplemet per ight. 3. September 23rd - Captai s Prize i roscrea Golf Club November 1st ad 2d - Headford Golf Club. 1st November - Old Course - Captai s Drive i. 2d November - New Course. 177 per perso sharig for two ights B&B ad oe eveig meal i the Headford Arms. We ask you to cotiue to support our sposors, TUi Credit Uio ad Cormarket. Membership of 20 for 2017 is ow due. Frieds, parters of TUi members ad sposors ca ow become members of the Golf Society. Cotact: Mr. Tom Buckley, Membership Sec, 10 Verbea Park, Sutto, Dubli 13. We hope all our members have a happy ad healthy all gaeltacht schools should be covered by deis programme tui i November 2016, i the cotext of the ogoig review of the DeiS programme, TUi made a submissio to the Departmet of educatio ad Skills o the resourcig eeds of Gaeltacht schools. The mai poits made i the submissio were that: 85% of Gaeltacht schools are i the DeiS programme. There is a cocer that the other 15% could fall behid. The cost implicatio of the DeiS programme beig exteded to cover the remaiig 15% would be miimal. The ew policy for the Gaeltacht regios (November 2016) advocates the immersio mode of liguistic advacemet. it is essetial that schools have proper resources to implemet this policy. Beig automatically icluded i DeiS would be of huge importace i this regard. Uder the Gaeltacht Act 2012, local groups, or lead orgaisatios as they are termed, have bee tasked with formulatig ad implemetig laguage plas to esure the retetio of Gaeltacht status for Gaeltacht areas. DeiS is a essetial compoet withi the Act so that local schools would have the correct resources to implemet the laguage policy as set out. 22 february TUi NeWS

23 STUDY WITH US LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVEE TEACHING INCLUSIVE PRACTICE WELL-BEING EDUCATIONA AL PSYCHOLOGY CHILDREN S RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE UNDERSTANDING THE PAST ucd.ie/educatio F or if ormatio o School o of Educatio, UCD T: (01) please cotact t : E: educatio ucd.ie/ed ducatio U CD Sc hool of Educatio is a leader i its f ield, iteratioall y recogised for its research ad over 100 years of service to the educatio commuity SHORT COURSES PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMAS MASTER S DEGREES DOCTORAL STUDIES Meta al Health ad Well-beig Iclusive Educatio M etorig i Schools Mi dfuless for Schools 10 ECTS UCD provides a series of short courses th hat ca be used as a pathway to our suite of higher diploma programmes. Cotact: educatioequiries@ucd.ie y/shortcourses Graduate Diploma i Special Educatio Needs Professioal Diplom ma i Educatio Studies Professioal Diploma i Educatio Studies (M Metal Health ad Well-beig) Professioal Diploma i Educatio Leadership (Olie) 30 ECTS UCD delivers diploma programme es that pr ovide additio oal professioal qualificati o ad/or ca be use ed as a etry ito further r post-graduate study at master s level. Diploma programmes are geerally offered o a part-time basis. Cotact: educatioequiries@ucd.ie i i d i y/professioaldiploma Master s i Ar ts (M A) Master s i Educatio (M Ed) MEd Additioal Suppor t Needs MEd Leadersh hip (Olie) MSc Childre ad Yo outh Studies MA Ed Psychology Professioal Master of Educatio MSc Maths/Sciece Ed ECTS UCD deliv ers master s programmes that deepe studet uderst tadig of issues ad ideas i educatio i the wider cotext of research ad evidece-based practice. These are geerally offered o a full-time ad/or parttime basis ad iclude bleded compoets to ehace flexibility ad balace with your work commitmets. Master s degrees are typically 90 ECTS. For ew etrats to the teachig professio, the School offers the full-time Professioal Master of Ed ducatio (PME) PhD Educatio PhD Childre ad Yo outh Studies Prof essioal Doctorate t Ed. Psych h ECTS UCD doctor al pr ogrammes are amog the most challegig, rewardig ad excitig graduate programmes i Educatio today. Ejoyig g a iteratioal reputatio, graduates are employed as leaders i the eir fields as academics, researchers, sc hool pricipals, i educatioal psychologists, s, ad educatioal policy makers i the private ad public sectors. Our programmes are carefully tailored to offer studets a high level of support i the completio of their doctoral dissertatios, i additio to structured support/modular provisio i advaced research traiig. The School has a strog record of success i securig competitive fellowship ad scholarship applicatios through the Irish Research Coucil ad the NUI. Cotact: educatioequiries@ucd.ie Cotact: educatioequiries@ucd.ie

24 tui ews ew guidelies for schools o reasoable accommodatios at the certificate examiatios (race) scheme i late 2016, the State examiatios Commissio (SeC) issued revised guidelies to schools o the reasoable Accommodatios at the Certificate examiatios (race) scheme. The full documet (reasoable Accommodatios at the 2017 Certificate examiatios istructios for Schools) is available o the SeC website ( but the most sigificat chages are set out below. TUi ad other stakeholders were ivolved i discussios with the SeC about the chages. At all times, TUi s mai cocer was that o additioal workload be placed o already overburdeed schools ad teachers. Extract from Reasoable Accommodatios at the 2017 Certificate Examiatios Istructios for Schools key chages to the 2017 race scheme a) From this year o, accommodatios that were provided at Juior certificate will be reactivated at leavig certificate subject to cofirmatio by the school authority of a idetified ad cotiuig eed. Schools will retai devolved authority for recommedig the supports to be put i place at Juior Certificate ad will ow also have devolved authority to recommed the supports to be put i place at Leavig Certificate. it is expected that, i most cases, the school s recommedatio i the case of Leavig Certificate will be to reactivate the same supports as were provided to the cadidate at Juior Certificate. i the case of reactivatig arragemets that had bee i place for Juior Certificate, the SeC will accept the recommedatio of the school based o the school s judgemet that the eed for supports persists. i geeral there will be o eed for schools to udertake further testig. Uless some exceptioal 24 february TUi NeWS

25 tui ews circumstace arises, the SeC will accept all such reactivatio recommedatios. This ew model of decisio makig will give certaity from a earlier stage of studets post-primary educatio as to the supports that they will have i the state examiatios should they cotiue to be eeded. There is oe exceptio to this, detailed at d) below. b) The category of specific learig difficulty will be broadeed to a ew category to be kow as Learig Difficulty. This will brig race ito lie with the overall eeds-based approach to the provisio of support to studets with special educatioal eeds, advocated by the Natioal Coucil for Special educatio (2014). There will o loger be a eed for the school or cadidate to provide cogitive ability scores or to otherwise cofirm that a cadidate has a specific learig difficulty i order to be eligible for race. istead eligibility will be assessed based o level of eed, without a requiremet for a diagosis of a specific coditio. The chage to a eeds-based approach will eable greater access to the scheme by cadidates with geeral learig disabilities ad will brig race ito lie with the overall eeds-based approach for the provisio of support to studets with special educatioal eeds. There are o other chages to the eligibility criteria. Where testig is required as evidece of eligibility, at Juior Certificate or (i the case of a applicatio for ew accommodatio) at Leavig Certificate, the testig arragemets are the same as before. So the eed for a reader, for example, will cotiue to be evideced by referece to the cadidate s attaimet i a stadardised readig test ad error rates i readig examiatio papers. Other key features of the race scheme for this year, which are set out i greater detail i the remaider of the documet, ca be summarised as follows: c) The role of the Natioal educatioal Psychological Service (NePS) i the ew scheme is chagig. istead of beig cetrally ivolved i the review ad processig of Leavig Certificate applicatios, the role of NePS will be as follows: Deliverig a iitial iformatio programme i cojuctio with the SeC Providig advice, iformatio ad support to schools that are cosiderig whether to make race applicatios, particularly i relatio to complex applicatios egagig with the SeC o a scheme of goverace ad quality assurace of race applicatios. d) A cadidate who had a idividual special cetre at Juior Certificate ad who cotiues to require a special cetre will be approved for a special cetre at Leavig Certificate. However, depedig o the ature of their eed, this approval may be for a shared, rather tha a idividual, special cetre. Cadidates may previously have bee placed i a idividual special cetre whe a shared special cetre might have bee sufficiet. i allowig Juior Certificate accommodatios to be reactivated at Leavig Certificate, the SeC will work with schools to ratioalise the umbers of idividual examiatio cetres. e) i order to esure that the scheme is uderpied by good practice, schools will, as part of the applicatio process for Juior Certificate, idicate that learig support ad itervetios have or will be made by the school to support learig. i order to have the same supports progressed to Leavig Certificate, schools will be required to cofirm that the eed that led to the gratig of supports persists ad that the supports provided to eable access at Juior Certificate are required to eable access to Leavig Certificate. f) Applicatios will be subject to cetral quality assurace checks durig ad followig the applicatio process, ad schools will have access to a SeC referral ad advisory service to assist them i difficult decisios. g) A separate applicatio process will apply to Leavig Certificate cadidates who did ot have ay accommodatios at Juior Certificate or who are applyig for a chage to the accommodatios provided at Juior Certificate. h) A idepedet Appeals process will cotiue to be offered. Those uhappy with the outcome of the Appeal will have recourse to the offices of the Ombudsma or Ombudsma for Childre. i) i order to better maage the scheme ad to provide timely access, if ecessary, to the idepedet Appeals Committee ad to the Offices of the Ombudsma ad Ombudsma for Childre, all closig dates will be strictly applied. The SeC will ot accept applicatios o the regular Applicatio Forms which are received after the closig date. There is a separate process for dealig with late applicatios ad agai the closig date for receipt of the Late Applicatio forms will be strictly adhered to. j) i order to affirm system itegrity, the SeC iteds to arrage audiorecordig i idividual special examiatio cetres i a umber of schools at the 2017 Leavig Certificate. - TUi NeWS 25

26 tui ews TUI PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME PRE-RETIREMENT SEMINAR DATE LOCATION VENUE THURSDAY 23RD MARCH 2017 ATHLONE THE HODSON BAY HOTEL 9:00am 4:30pm Places are limited ad will be allocated o a first-come, first-served basis. Please complete this form i full ad retur to: TUi, 73 Orwell rd., rathgar, Dubli 6. Or Sed by to: receptio@tui.ie for the attetio of Liz Daly/Carol rya Name APPLICATION FORM School/College Telephoe Number Address APPLICATIONS WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED ON OFFICIAL FORM TUi, 73 Orwell road, rathgar, Dubli 6 Telephoe: (01) (Press 0) Fax: (01) february TUi NeWS

27 tui ews rma ews lobbyig o pesios cotiues Lobbyig of local TDs by rma members for pesio restoratio ad the repeal of the Fiacial emergecy Measures i the Public iterest (FeMPi) Act cotiues to be very importat, as it greatly assists the work beig doe by officers of the Alliace of retired Public Servats i their meetigs with the political parties. Alliace represetatives met with officials from the Departmet of Public expediture ad reform (DPer) o 19th December. The Alliace represetatives outlied their cocers i relatio to early restoratio of pesios ad related matters ad also sought official clarificatio i respect of the positio of the Pay Commissio vis a vis public service pesios. The DPer officials idicated that: DPer would be meetig with public service uio represetatives after the Pay Commissio reports i the secod quarter of 2017 i relatio to pay matters ad the widig dow of FeMPi The Pay Commissio advisory report would deal with the widig dow of FeMPi oly i relatio to pay ad ot i relatio to pesios As idicated by the Miister, the widig dow of FeMPi i relatio to pesios ad related matters of cocer would be discussed with the Alliace at the same time as discussios would be held with the public service uios i 2017 The Alliace would have the opportuity i those discussios to outlie its cosidered views o the matters arisig; ad That the Miister recogised the case for priority to be give to the restoratio of pesios i the widig dow of the FeMPi legislatio. rma AUTUMN BreAK, SLiGO autum Break ad sprig Break Our Autum break at the Sligo Park Hotel was extremely successful. The hotel could ot have bee better, with woderful food, comfortable accommodatio ad helpful staff. We ejoyed fatastic guided tours ad i would like to complimet Furey s Bus Hire, Sligo o their excellet service to us durig our visit to Sligo. Thaks, Paul. At our dier o the Thursday ight, rma Chairperso Jim McCarthy made a presetatio to our former Secretary Christy Coville as a thak you for his cotributio to the retired Members Associatio over a umber of years So you ll come o the ext oe? Our Sprig Break will be i Wexford Clayto Whites Hotel. it is accessible by trai or bus ad the break is scheduled for Moday, March 27th to Thursday, March 30th The bookig form ca be dowloaded from ad retured directly to the hotel. You ca also book by phoe. Our tours o Tuesday 28th March may iclude Dubrody Famie Ship, the Keedy Homestead ad/or Arboretum, luch i Kilmore Quay ad a afteroo visit to Johstow Castle (Teagasc research Cetre). O Wedesday 29th March we will visit Ferrycarrig Folk Park i the morig with the afteroo left free to allow exploratio of Wexford tows/shops. See the website for full details. rma flourishig The rma cotiues to grow. The umber of braches is icreasig (two are i the process of beig formed Wicklow ad Cava / Moagha). May braches held a social evet or luch for Christmas. i atteded oe i Kildare as well as my ow brach i Meath ad both were a great success. Fially colleagues, o behalf of the Maagemet Committee, may i wish you a 2017 full of positives ad good health. i look forward to seeig more of you participatig i our Sprig ad Autum breaks ad attedig our AGM. Da Keae, RMA Secretary. - TUi NeWS 27