Hands tied when it comes to dealing with staff problems
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Current procedures for underperforming teachers are either inadequate or non-existent when an issue needs to be addressed.
Public confidence in teachers and schools is essential. Accountability is a key element in any profession if true respect and confidence is to be earned. The vast majority of teachers do a sterling job. They not only have nothing to fear from performance management, but have much to gain, as it will enable parents to have greater confidence in them.
Sensible and workable procedures for dealing with teachers who are underperforming would serve the profession.
In describing under-performing teachers, there are three categories: those who can't do their job, those who won't do it and those who prevent others from doing their job.
In the first case, we're talking about teacher competency, or 'unsatisfactory' teaching. The latter two categories are behavioural matters, in other words, 'uncooperative' teachers.
If we use the terms 'unsatisfactory' and 'uncooperative' as an alternative to 'under-performing', it helps us to understand the issues in question.
For decades, the absence of clear and workable procedures has left principals and Boards of Management in an impossible situation. Other than in cases of gross misconduct, such as violent behaviour or child abuse, it has been extremely difficult to resolve the less serious and on-going problems.
Where issues arose with a teacher's competency, the procedure involved formal assessment by a Department of Education inspector, but the length of notice required for such an assessment made it possible for an individual to raise their performance to an 'acceptable' level on the day but rarely resulted in a satisfactory long-term solution.
Where difficulties arose with uncooperative teachers, the absence of an agreed staff disciplinary procedure left principals and Boards of Management floundering.
Unless a board chairperson was experienced in HR management and was confident in his or her role, principals found themselves alone and unable to achieve a resolution and, consequently, were perceived by staff to have lost authority.
Another feature of non-cooperation is sometimes experienced by newly appointed principals, where an unsuccessful internal candidate, along with sympathetic colleagues, will make life difficult for the new principal. In such cases, acts of non-cooperation can have a devastating impact.
It is most unusual and perhaps unique where teachers as employees had, as is their right, an agreed procedure to take a grievance against a principal or Board of Management, without any reciprocal disciplinary arrangements.
Just how well equipped are schools to deal with this? From the recent survey of principals conducted by IPPN, the following picture emerges.
Principals report that only 30pc of their boards have appropriate HR/Employment expertise available and only 23pc have appropriate legal expertise.
While 64pc think the chairperson has appropriate experience to chair effectively, only 50pc think their boards are fully aware of their legal responsibilities surrounding employment.
In the absence of clear procedures and a culture to deal with unsatisfactory or uncooperative teachers, this is not an encouraging picture.
In the same survey, 98.3pc of principals expressed a clear preference for the inspector to have a role as an external assessor following on where local, informal procedures had not produced a resolution.
Principals also expressed a clear preference for the inspector to advise the principal and chairperson on next actions. The final decision should be taken by the Board Of Management on advice from an independent, experienced panel.
Any discussion about underperformance must, of course, also consider the principal may be the one who is unsatisfactory or uncooperative.
Addressing such a problem is an even greater challenge as it requires an independent and external assessment process which must carry unquestioned credibility.
Where underperformance -- whether teacher or principal -- is allowed to continue, the impact is felt across the school.
Sean Cottrell is director of the Irish Primary Principals' Network
