Northern Ireland Substitute Teacher Register (NISTR)

Key Events in Development of NISTR

June 2015

Development of NISTR

• Dec 2002 – Publication of NIAO Report – Management of Substitute Cover

• Sept 2003 – Project Initiation Proposal for 3 year pilot to DE– Mini-pilot – Oct 2003 – March 2004 – Full-pilot – 3 Board Areas from Jan 2004 & all schools from April

2004 to end March 2007

• Oct 2003 – Working Group established to develop NISTR– Funding Approval for mini pilot (continuing funding subject to evaluation)

• March 2004 – Launch date for register on- line (all board areas)

Development of NISTR

• April 2004 – Continuing funding approved for full pilot (subject to progress against targets in project plan)

• March 2005 – Initial Project Evaluation– Recommendation regarding link to payroll / mandating use of register

• April 2005 – Dec 2006 – Development and testing payroll interface.

• March 2006 – DE Circular 2006/7 – Child Protection: Employment of Substitute Teachers – from 1 Sept 2006 only substitute teachers on NISTR to be employed

Development of NISTR

• Jan 2007 – DE Circular 2007/4 - Payroll interface launched in pilot schools

• April 2007 – Launch of interface to schools in all board areas supported by information sessions

• April 2008 – new vetting arrangements introduced – AccessNI. (DE Circular 2008/3)

• May 2008 – DE Circular 2008/10 – Mandated use of NISTR

Development of NISTR

• Current Register– over 9200 teachers on live pool– Over 326K days booked from Sept 2014– Ongoing Data Cleansing

• Development of New System– Increased reliability of calendars– More responsibility placed on teachers– Clear application process (steps)– Improved communication / reporting

Benefits of NISTR

• Access to regional database / on-line booking system• Central vetting / child protection arrangements• Link to payroll • GTCNI registration check• Reporting• Support for system users• Potential for future development