The Management of Substitution Cover for Teachers ... - NISTR
Transcript of The Management of Substitution Cover for Teachers ... - NISTR
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The Management of Substitution Cover for Teachers: Follow-up Report
REPORT BY THE COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL26 May 2010
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BELFAST:TheStationeryOffice £5.00
ReportbytheComptrollerandAuditorGeneralforNorthernIreland
OrderedbytheNorthernIrelandAssemblyto be printed and published under the authority of the Assembly, in accordance with its resolution of 27 November 2007
TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
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ThisreporthasbeenpreparedunderArticle8oftheAudit(NorthernIrelandOrder1987forpresentationtotheNorthernIrelandAssemblyinaccordancewithArticle11ofthatOrder.
KJDonnelly NorthernIrelandAuditOfficeComptrollerandAuditorGeneral 26May2010
TheComptrollerandAuditorGeneralistheheadoftheNorthernIrelandAuditOfficeemployingsome145staff.He,andtheNorthernIrelandAuditOfficearetotallyindependentofGovernment.HecertifiestheaccountsofallGovernmentDepartmentsandawiderangeofotherpublicsectorbodies;andhehasstatutoryauthoritytoreporttotheAssemblyontheeconomy,efficiencyandeffectivenesswithwhichdepartmentsandotherbodieshaveusedtheirresources.
ForfurtherinformationabouttheNorthernIrelandAuditOfficepleasecontact:
NorthernIrelandAuditOffice106UniversityStreetBELFASTBT71EU
Tel:02890251100email:[email protected]:www.niauditoffice.gov.uk
©NorthernIrelandAuditOffice2010
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
Contents
Page
ExecutiveSummary 1
Part1
Background 8
Part2
Thecostofsubstitutioncoverhasincreasedsignificantlysince 12PACreportedin2003
Themanagementinformationonsubstitutioncovercostsremainslimited 13Thereissubstantialvariationintheaverageratesbeingpaidforsubstitution 17coverbyschoolsinthedifferentEducationandLibraryBoardareas
EstablishmentoftheNISTRhasbeenasuccessbuttherehavebeen 19teethingproblems
Part3
Whiletherehasbeenamodestdeclineintheaveragesickdaystaken 22byteachers,therearevariationsacrosstheschoolsectors
Greatereffortisrequiredtoreduceteachersicknessabsencesothat 25potentiallysignificantsavingscanberealised
TheDepartmenthasonlyrecentlyre-introducedtargetsforthereductionof 26teachers’sicknessabsence
Theimpactofstressasafactorinteacherabsences 27
Therelationshipbetweensicknessabsenceandmaternityleaverequires 29Departmentalattention
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
Absenceinterventionstrategies 29
Implementationofbestpracticeprinciplesinschoolshasbeenpoor 30
Part4
DespiteconcernsraisedbyPACatWestminsterin1992and2003, 35there-employmentofprematurelyretiredteacherscontinuesatasignificantlevel
Appendices 41
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
CCEA CouncilfortheCurriculumExaminationsandAssessment
CCMS CouncilforCatholicMaintainedSchools
ESA EducationandSkillsAuthority
GTCNI GeneralTeachingCouncilforNorthernIreland
LMS LocalManagementofSchools
NICIE NorthernIrelandCouncilforIntegratedEducation
NISTR NorthernIrelandSubstituteTeachers’Register
OFSTED OfficeforStandardsinEducation
PAC PublicAccountsCommittee
TNC TeachersNegotiatingCommittee
Abbreviations
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Executive Summary
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2TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
Executive Summary
Introduction
1. Whenateacherisabsentfromtheclassroom,schoolsregularlyusetemporaryemploymentcontracts,full-timeandpart-time,tohelpthemdealwithsuchoccurrences.Thisisknownassubstitutioncoverandisanormalandunavoidablepartofschoolmanagement.In2003,thePublicAccountsCommittee(PAC)atWestminster1concludedthatinNorthernIrelandtherewas:
• ineffectivemanagementofteachers’sicknessabsence;
• inadequatecontroloverthere-employmentofprematurelyretiredteachers;and
• alackofreviewofsubstituteteaching.
2. SincethepublicationofthePACreport,therehavebeensignificantdevelopmentsinthestrategiccontextofeducation.WiththeestablishmentoftheEducationandSkillsAuthority(ESA)2andtheimplementationofEvery School a Good School,schoolsarebeingaskedtodemonstrategreateraccountabilityanddelivery.Withinthiscontext,thelevelofteacherabsencewillbeakeyindicatorfortheDepartmentofEducation(theDepartment)asitseekstodriveupstandards.ResearchfromtheUnitedStatesshowsthatteachersarethemostimportantfactordeterminingstudentachievement3,andthereisrecentevidence
todemonstratethatteacherabsencessignificantlyreducepupilachievement4.
3. Againstthisbackground,wefoundthat,whiletheDepartmentandteacheremployingauthorities(theEducationandLibraryBoards(Boards)andCouncilforCatholicMaintainedSchools(CCMS))havemadeconsiderableprogressintakingforwardtherecommendationsofPAC,themanagementofteacherabsenceandsubstitutioncoverisanareawheretherecontinuestobescopeforimprovementandsavingstobeachieved.
4. InrespondingtothePACreportin20035theDepartmentacknowledgedthattherewereweaknessesintheoperationoftheinformationsystemonsubstitutioncoverandsicknessabsenceandsaiditplannedtoimplementanewcomputersystemby2005whichwouldgiveimprovedmanagementinformation.TheDepartmentalsotoldtheCommitteethatitwoulddevelopanactionplantoensurethatallstakeholdershadaccesstotheinformationnecessaryforefficientmanagementofteacherabsenceandsubstitutioncover.ItisdisappointingthatithastakensixyearssincethePACreporttoimplementthesystemandthatduetosoftwareproblemsasounddatasystemtoassisttheDepartment,employingauthoritiesandschoolsinmanagingteacherattendancehasstilltobeproperlyestablished.Thiscontinuestopreventeffectiveinsightintosubstitutioncoverandsicknessabsence.
1 The management of substitution cover for teachers,CommitteeofPublicAccounts,27thReport,Session2002-03,HC4732 TheEducationandSkillsAuthority(ESA)willreplacethefiveEducationandLibraryBoardsandthefunctionscurrently
performedbytheCouncilfortheCurriculumExaminationsandAssessment(CCEA)andtheYouthCouncil.Itwillalsotakeonthefront-linesupportandrelatedfunctionscurrentlyundertakenbytheCouncilforCatholicMaintainedSchools(CCMS),theNICouncilforIntegratedEducation(NICIE)andComhairlenaGaelscolaiochta(CnaG).SomeofthefunctionscurrentlyperformedbytheStaffCommissionfortheEducationandLibraryBoardswillbeabsorbedintotheAuthoritywhileotherswillnolongerberequired.SomefunctionsfromwithintheDepartmentofEducationwillalsotransfertoESA.
3 Teachers, Schools and Academic Achievement,S.Rivkin,E.HanushekandJ.Kain,Econometrica,73(2):417-584 Theimpactofindividualteachersonstudentachievement,J.Rockoff,AmericanEconomicReview,94(2):247-525 NorthernIrelandDepartmentofFinanceandPersonnelMemorandumonthe27thReportfromtheCommitteeofPublic
Accounts,Session2002-03,London:theStationeryOffice,CM5953
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport3
Thecostsofsubstitutioncoverforteachers
5. Thelegalrequirementfortimetabledclassestobesupervisedmeansthatwhensubstitutioncoverisneeded,ithasanimmediateanddirectfinancialconsequence.Expenditureonsubstituteteachershasincreasedinrealtermsby41percentsince2000-01–from£46.9million(at2008-09prices)toover£66millionin2008-09(paragraph2.1).Againstthisbackground,increasinguseofsubstitutecovercanalsoposeachallengetotheefficientdeliveryofteaching.
6. TheDepartmentmakesteacherabsencedataavailabletotheemployingauthoritiesandittoldusthatitiscurrentlyworkingcloselywithconsultantsinspecifying,designingandwritingreportsforthenewpayrollandpersonnelsystemusinganewreportingtool.Itisessentialinthisprocessthatanyunder-reportingofsicknessabsenceisrectifiedsothatthescopeforimprovedservicedeliveryandsavingsisfullyunderstood.Werecommendthat,infurtherdevelopingthissystem,thereisaneedtobuildupaprofileofteacherabsenceacrossschoolswhichwillallowmanagerstoidentifypatternsofabsencesandhelpthemtounderstandandrespondtotherangeoffactorswhichinfluence,andareinfluencedby,teacherabsence.
7. Substitutioncovercostsvaryconsiderablyacrossschools.ThissuggeststhatthereisaneedonthepartoftheDepartmentandemployingauthoritiestoensurethattheycontinuetodemonstrateaclearcommitmenttoengagingregularlywitheachotherandschoolsiffurtherprogressistobe
madeinnarrowingtherangeofcosts.TheDepartmenttoldusthatanexpectedbenefitofthecreationofESAwillbetheimpetusforeveningoutregionalvariationsinsubstitutioncostsandallowingamoreconsistentinfluencetobebroughttobearonschoolgovernorsandschoolleaders.
Teachersandsicknessabsence
8. AveragesicknesslevelsforteachersinNorthernIrelandstoodat10.1daysperannumin2000-016.By2004-05sicknesslevelshadfallentoalowof7.52days,howevertheycreptbackupto9.52daysin2005-06.Sincethenthelevelhasreducedgraduallyandcurrentlystandsat7.81days.Whileweacknowledgethedecreasesince2000-01,followingthePACreport(seefootnote1)theDepartmentsetatargetthatitwouldaimtobringsicknessabsencelevelsintolinewiththoseinEngland.In2001,sicknessabsenceinEnglandwas5.47daysperteacher.Thisfigureremainedatthislevelinsubsequentyearsanddroppedto5.0daysin2008.
9. Employingauthoritiesandschoolsectorsvaryconsiderablyintheirteachersicknessabsencerates.Forinstance,sickabsencesincontrolledschoolsare7.1days,comparedwith8.5daysinthemaintainedsector;teachersinspecialschoolshaveaparticularlyhighlevelofabsence–9.7days,whichaccordingtotheDepartmentreflectsthechallengingnatureofteachinginadifficultsetting;andtheSouthernBoardcurrentlyhasahigherabsenceratethantheotherBoards.Thesevariationssuggestthatthereareopportunities
6 Themanagementofsubstitutioncoverforteachers,NIAO,NIA53/02,December20027 Ourreportin2002recordssicknessabsenceinEnglandas6daysin2000.Thiswasaroundingfigurebasedona
provisionalfigureatthattime.
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4TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
forreductionsinsicknessabsenceifappropriatestepsaretakentoimprovemanagement,oversightandexpectationsofteacherattendance.
10. WithabsencelevelsinNorthernIrelandschoolscontinuingtocompareunfavourablywiththeirEnglishcounterparts,theDepartmenttoldusthatitbelievesareductiontoEnglishlevelsremains“extremelychallenging”.Italsotoldusthat,initsview,thecreationofthenewESA,alongwithensuringthatallschoolsworkwithinthepolicyframeworkofEvery School a Good Schoolandtakestepstostrengthenschoolgovernance,industrialrelationsandstaffsupport,shouldyieldfurtherimprovementsinthelevelsofsicknessabsenceamongteachers.
11. FollowingthePACreportin2003(seefootnote1),theDepartmentsetthetargetsuggestedbytheCommittee-thattheBoardsandCCMSshouldreduceteacherabsencetothelevelsinEnglishschoolsby2008(6daysasreportedatthattime).Thistargetwasnotachieved.TheDepartmenttheninitiallydecidednottosetafurtherspecifictarget,butduringthecourseofourreport,itre-establishedatarget–areductiontoanaverage6daysayearby2010-2011.
12. Theimportanceofsettingchallenging
targetswasstressedbyPACin2008initsreportonmanagingsicknessabsenceintheNorthernIrelandCivilService(seefootnote14),withparticularemphasisontheuseofindividualdepartmentaltargets.Italsoadvocatedtheuseofdetailedactionplanssothattargetswouldbeachieved.
WerecommendthattheDepartmenttakesaccountoftheCommittee’sproposalsandseekstoensurethatsuchanapproachistailoredtothemanagementofteachersicknessabsencewithinindividualschools.
13. AfeatureoftheremodellingprocessoftheschoolworkforceinEnglandwastointroducelimitsontheamountofcoverforabsentcolleaguesthatteachersandheadteacherscouldprovidewhileatthesametimemakingnewarrangementsfordeployingsupportstaff.Employersandteachers’tradesunionsinNorthernIrelanddidnotagreethatsupportstaffshouldbeprofessionalisedtoundertaketeaching-typeduties;therefore,theonlywaytoreduceteachercoverforabsentcolleaguesistoemploysubstituteteachers.GiventhefundingconstraintstheDepartmenthasidentifiedinpursuingasimilarcourseinNorthernIreland,itwillbeimportantthatitisabletodemonstratethatactionstopreventorreduceteachersicknessabsencecanatleastpayforthemselveswithoutcreatingafinancialburdenforthetaxpayer.
14. Weacknowledgetheprogressthathasbeenmadeinreducingteachersicknessabsencetothecurrentaverageof7.81days.Inordertosustainandimproveonthisperformance,effortstosupportattendancewillbeasimportantasthosefordeterringabsence.Theparticularcombinationofapproachesthatwillworkbestinanyschoolorsectorwill,tosomeextent,dependuponananalysisoftheirsicknessabsenceproblem.ItisimportantthattheDepartmentandemployingauthoritiesdevelopreportingstructuresthatallowananalysisofthecausesof
Executive Summary
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport5
teachersicknessabsencesothatspecificinterventionscanbeputinplace.IntheDepartment’sview,theestablishmentofESAandamoreextensiveuseofC2Kbyschoolsshouldprovideamorestreamlinedandconsistentadministrativecontextwithinwhichtodevelopandcontinuouslyimproveeffectivemanagementinformationandreportingsystems.
15. Aclearpolicystatementonabsencemanagementisthefirststepinimprovingthemanagementofattendance,andobtainingthesupportofgovernorsandteachersinitsimplementationiscriticaltoitssuccess.Wehavehighlightedtoemployingauthoritiestheneedtoaddressanapparentculturalresistancetoimplementingateacherattendancepolicywithinsomeareasoftheschoolsystem.WehavealsorecommendedthattheDepartmentstronglyencouragesprincipalsandgoverningbodiestoshowleadershipbyattendingrelevanttrainingsessionsontheapplicationofattendancepolicies.
There-employmentofprematurelyretiredteachers
16. Along-runningfeatureofteachersubstitutioncoverhasbeenthere-employmentofteacherswhohaveretiredearly.PACsessionsatWestminsterin1993and2003recommendedthatstrictercontrolsshouldbeexercisedoverthere-employmentofthoseteacherswhohadbenefitedfromprematureretirementterms.However,wehavefoundthatattemptstocurbtheuseofprematurelyretiredteachersforsubstitutioncoverhavemetwithlittlesuccess.Weacknowledge
thatprematurelyretiredteachersaccountforonly13percentofsubstitutiondaysworked.However,whiletherehasbeenafallinthenumberofprematurelyretiredteachersbeingre-employed,the62,310substitutiondaysworkedin2008-09wasanincreaseof40percentcomparedwith2000-01and81percentcomparedwith1996-97.Thisisalsoreflectedinthefactthat,ofallsubstitutioncoverdays,theproportionworkedbyprematurelyretiredteachershasremainedaroundthesamelevelsince2000-01.
17. At31March2008,almost50percentof
teachersontheNorthernIrelandSubstituteTeachers’Register(NISTR)were50yearsofageormore,withoverathirdagedbetween50and59.OnlyaquarterofthoseontheRegisterwereunder30yearsofage.Twenty-sevenpercentofthe20,000teacherscurrentlyemployedingrant-aidedschoolsinNorthernIrelandareovertheageof50.Onthebasisofthesestatistics,weconsiderthatareductionintheproportionofsubstitutioncoverdaysworkedbyprematurelyretiredteacherscurrentlyontheNISTRmaytakeasignificantperiodoftimetoberealised.
18. Asthecurrentarrangementsdonotencourageemployerstobehaveprudently,theDepartmentisbringingforwardlegislationwhichwillmakeemployingauthoritiesliableforthefullcostofteachers’prematureretirementcompensationfrom2010.TheDepartmentanticipatesthatthiswilllimitthegrantingofprematureretirementbenefitstoamoresustainablelevelinfuture,thepracticeofawardingenhancementshavingalreadyeffectively
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6TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
ceasedwhenemployersbecameliableforthecostsin2008.Theminimumpensionageincreasedfrom50to55witheffectfrom6April2010.Thisisamatteroftaxlegislationandiscontainedinthe2004FinanceAct.(Therefore,teachersaged50-54willnolongerbeeligibletobegrantedprematureretirement).Asthepoolofprematurelyretiredteachersreducestherewillbeanassociateddecreaseintheextentofsubstitutioncoverprovidedbysuchteachers.Theexpectationisthatthiswillensuremorenewlyqualifiedteachersgetagreateropportunitytofilltemporaryvacanciesandprovidesubstitutioncover.
19. TheDepartmentisconsideringwhatfurthermeasuresmaybetakeninrespectoffutureprematureretirements.Itislikelythatemployingauthoritieswillmakeincreasinguseofseveranceprovision(plannedfor2010underproposednewregulations)tosecuretheearlyreleaseofteachers,ratherthanthemoreexpensiveprematureretirementtermswhichinvolvetheearlyreleaseofunreducedpensionbenefits.There-employmentofteacherswhohavebeenmaderedundantalsocannotbeprohibitedastherewouldbeariskthattheDepartmentcouldbesubjecttoTribunalclaimsbyteacherspreventedfromapplyingforcertainjobs.Theywouldhavetoreceivesomeformofcompensationbeyondthestatutoryminimum,withre-employmentconditionsattached.
20. Theabilityofnewlyqualifiedteacherstogetteachingexperiencebyprovidingsubstitutioncoverforpermanentteachers,hasbeensignificantlyconstrainedbythewillingnessofschoolstore-employ
prematurelyretiredteachers.Fallingschoolenrolmentsarealsoafactorintheavailabilityofemploymentopportunities.TheDepartmenthastakenactiontoreducethenumbersenteringteachertrainingsince2004by27percent,however,ittakessomeyearsforthistoimpactontheoverallnumberofnewlyqualifiedandrecentlyqualifiedteachersseekingemployment.Itcontinuestobeimportantthatteacherworkforceplanningatastrategiclevelcanensurethatthenumbersofnewlyqualifiedteacherscomingthroughthetrainingsystemisinlinewiththenumbersneededtofillvacanciesandprovidesubstitutecovergiventhenumbersofre-employedteacherswhocontinuetoprovidetemporarycoverinschools.
Executive Summary
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Part One:Introduction
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8TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
1.1 Whatevermeasuresschoolstake,itisinevitablethattherewillbetimeswhentheywillneedtousesubstitutioncoverfortheabsenceofteachers.Thereisnoeasysolutiontotheproblemofsubstitutioncovercosts,buteffectiveactioncanreducenegativeimpacts.FollowingareportbytheNorthernIrelandAuditOffice(NIAO),8in2003thePublicAccountsCommittee(PAC)atWestminster9concluded,amongotherthings,thatinNorthernIrelandtherewas:
• ineffectivemanagementofteachers’sicknessabsence;
• inadequatecontroloverthere-employmentofprematurelyretiredteachers;and
• alackofreviewofsubstituteteaching.
1.2 Inaddressingtheseissues,itisimportantthattheDepartmentofEducation(theDepartment),employingauthorities,schoolleadersandschoolBoardsofGovernorsworkinclosepartnership.ThisreportexaminestheextenttowhichprogresshasbeenmadeinimplementingthePACrecommendationstoimprovethemanagementofteachersubstitutioninNorthernIreland.Appendix1providesasummaryofprogressagainstPAC’srecommendations.
Background
1.3 Teachersemployedtoprovidesubstitutioncoverinschoolscanhavecontractsrangingfromtheoccasionaldayin
8 Themanagementofsubstitutioncoverforteachers,NIAO,NIA53/02,December20029 The management of substitution cover for teachers,CommitteeofPublicAccounts,27thReport,Session2002-03,HC47310 InaccordancewiththeEducation(NI)Order1998personsemployedasteachersingrant-aidedschoolsandasperipatetic
teachersarerequiredtoregisterwithGTCNI.GTCNIisaself-regulatoryprofessionalbodyforteacherswhichhasastatutorydutytodeterminewhoshouldbeamemberoftheteachingprofessioninNorthernIreland.Aspartofitsregistrationprocess,GTCNIwillapprovequalifications,forthepurposeofregistrationandeligibilitytoteach.
ordertoprovideshortnoticecover,tolongerperiodscovering,forexample,maternityabsences.(Figure3providesmoredetailonthevariousreasonsforteachersubstitutioncover.)Awholerangeofteachersareemployedtoprovidesubstitutioncover,forexample:
• newlyqualifiedoryoungmobileteacherswhoarenotyetinfull-timeemployment;
• teacherswithyoungfamilieswhoarereturningtoteachingafteracareerbreak;and
• teacherswhohavetakenearlyretirementandusuallyonlywishtofindoccasionalwork.
1.4 In2006,theDepartmentadvisedschoolsthatonlyteachersregisteredontheNorthernIrelandSubstituteTeacherRegister(NISTR)shouldbeemployedassubstituteteachersfrom1September2006.Currently,therearearound7,300teachersontheregister.NISTRchecksthatteachersareregisteredwiththeGeneralTeachingCouncilforNorthernIreland(GTCNI)10(andchecksperiodicallythattheycontinuetoberegistered),inordertomaintaintheirdetailsonthe‘liveregister’,whichismadeavailabletoschoolsseekingsubstituteteachers.
1.5 UnderLocalManagementofSchools(LMS)arrangements,thefinancialconsequencesofateacher’sabsencefromworkcanfalloneithertheschool’sdelegatedbudgetoronthenon-delegatedfundsheldcentrally
Part One:Introduction
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport9
bytherelevantBoard(ortheDepartmentinthecaseofGrant-MaintainedIntegratedschools)(seeAppendix2).11Forexample,inschoolswithmorethanfourfull-timeequivalent(FTE)teachers,whereapermanentmemberofstaffisabsentforaperiodinexcessof20workingdays,substitutioncostsfromthe21stdayofillnessarechargedtocentralfunds.ForschoolswithfourFTEteachersorfewer,thiswillbefromthe11thdayofabsence.Whereteachersubstitutioncostsarepaidfromcentrefunds,thisislimitedtoamaximumofpoint4ontheteachers’mainsalaryscaleandanysubstitutioncostsinexcessofthisarechargedtotheschool’sdelegatedbudget.Whereapermanentteacherhasbeenabsentfor20daysormore,he/shehastogivethePrincipaloneweek’snoticeofintentiontoreturntoworksothatarrangementsforcovercanbediscontinued.
11 Thisreportexcludedthe54voluntarygrammarschoolswhichexistwithintheNorthernIrelandschoolsystem.Eachoftheseschoolshasitsownpayrollsystem.Giventhedifficultiesassociatedwithcollectingdatafromalargenumberofindependentsystems,ourreviewexcludedtheseschools.
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Part Two:While substitute teachers are needed to maintain the smooth running of schools, costs have risen dramatically
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ThecostofsubstitutioncoverhasincreasedsignificantlysincePACreportedin2003
2.1 Inits2003report,PACnotedthatsubstitutioncoverforteacherabsencesinNorthernIrelandcost£38millionin2000-01.Thecostofsubstitutioncovercanbeproblematicalforthebudgetsofschoolsandemployingauthorities,giventhatsuchexpenditureisunpredictableanddifficulttocontrol.DespitetheDepartment’s
effortsintryingtocontainthesecosts,Figure1showstheycurrentlystandatover£66million–takingaccountofinflation,anincreaseof41percentovertheperiod.(Appendices3and4provideabreakdownofsubstitutioncovercostsbyschoolsectorandPhaseforeachoftheyearssincethePACreport.)Figure1alsoshowsthatsubstitutioncovercostscurrentlycomprisearound11percentoftotalsalarycosts.
Figure1:TeacherSubstitutionCostsbyBoardorSector,2008-09
Board/Sector SubstitutionCosts TotalSalaryCosts Substitutioncostsas £m £m proportionofsalarycosts %
BelfastAreaControlled 5.6 41.2 13.6
BelfastAreaMaintained 5.2 46.6 11.2
BelfastTotal 10.8 87.8 12.3
NorthEasternAreaControlled 10.1 84.2 12.0
NorthEasternAreaMaintained 4.2 35.7 11.8
NorthEasternTotal 14.3 119.9 11.9
SouthEasternAreaControlled 8.6 73.4 11.7
SouthEasternAreaMaintained 3.7 29.7 12.5
SouthEasternTotal 12.3 103.1 11.9
SouthernAreaControlled 6.3 59.1 10.7
SouthernAreaMaintained 8.3 68.1 12.2
SouthernTotal 14.6 127.2 11.5
WesternAreaControlled 4.3 38.0 11.3
WesternAreaMaintained 6.9 60.2 11.5
WesternTotal 11.2 98.2 11.4
GMI 2.8 31.7 8.8
Total 66.0 567.9 11.6
Source: Department *SalarycostsforSpecialschoolsareincludedintotalsforBoards
Part Two:While substitute teachers are needed to maintain the smooth running of schools, costs have risen dramatically
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2.2 Theincreasedcostofsubstitutioncoverisreflectedalsointheincidenceofsubstitutionasaproportionofavailableteachingdays.Thishasincreasedfrom10.7percentin2000-01to14.55percentin2008-09(seeFigure2).
Figure2:Proportionofsubstituteteachingdays,2000-01to2008-09
2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09
Totalteaching 3,154,320 3,158,025 3,142,620 3,145,935 3,124,290 3,254,355 3,195,075 3,214,965 3,235,440days
Substitutiondays 338,330 384,965 388,526 394,450 401,561 397,939 407,327 438,114 470,860
%substitutiondays 10.70 12.19 12.36 12.54 12.85 12.23 12.75 13.63 14.55
Source: Department
Themanagementinformationonsubstitutioncovercostsremainslimited
2.3 Figure3showsthatthebreakdownofsubstitutioncovercostsreplicatestheformatwhichwasavailableatthetimeofour
Figure3:Breakdownofsubstitutioncovercostsbycategory
Reason 2000-01* 2008-09 % £ £ change*
Vacantposts 11,451,500 23,304,120 +104.0
Sickness 10,687,900 11,309,694 +5.8
Training/curriculum 3,751,900 2,698,916 -28.1
Maternity/adoption 3,967,000 13,087,730 +230.0
Personalbusiness 677,400 668,994 -1.2
Educationalvisits 454,300 799,524 +76.0
Reliefforteachingprincipal 162,800 179,743 +10.4
Unionbusiness 100,100 38,335 -61.7
Other** 3,335,600 13,988,433 +319.4
Total 34,318,500 66,075,489 +92.5
Source: DepartmentNotes:*2000-01costdatarelatesonlyto“daily”substitutioncover.Atthattime,costdataon“hourly”substitutioncoverwasnotavailable.Figuresfor2008-09includebothtypesofcover.(Dailysubstitutioncoveraccountsfor90percentofallcosts.)The%changefigureswillthereforebeoverstated.**Forexample,publicserviceabsence(seeAppendix2)
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14TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
reportin2002.Whilethelevelofdetailisquitelimited,itindicatesanumberofareaswheretherehasbeenasignificantincreaseincosts,particularly,“vacantposts”,“maternity/adoption”and“other”.Intermsofvacancies,whichaccountforathirdoftotalsubstitutioncosts,therisemightreflectanincreaseinvacanciesofatemporarynatureand/oratendencybyschoolstorecruitonatemporarybasis.However,thecategoryof“vacantposts”isalsousedbytheDepartment,toanunknownextent,asadefaultwhenschoolsfailtoprovideitwithareasonfortheabsenceofapermanentteacher,sowillbeoverstated.Reasonsforthesubstantialincreaseinthe“other”category,whichaccountforover20percentoftotalsubstitutioncosts,arealsodifficulttodeterminewithoutabreakdownofthefigure.Intermsof“maternity/adoption”,theDepartmenttoldusthat,inadditiontoanincreaseinthenumberstakingmaternityleaveinrecentyears,therehadbeenanincreaseintheaveragelengthoftimetakenbecauseofanincreaseinthenumberofweeksduringwhichstatutorymaternitypayispayable(i.e.from26weeksto39weeks).TheDepartmentalsotoldusthattheintroductioninrecentyearsofextendedleaveofabsenceforpaternityandadoptionwillalsohavehadsomeimpactontheuseofsubstitutecover.
2.4 InrespondingtothePACreportin200312,theDepartmentacknowledgedthattherewereweaknessesintheoperationoftheinformationsystemonsubstitutioncoverandsicknessabsenceandsaiditplannedtoimplementanewcomputersystem(tobeknownastheTeachers’PayrollReplacementProject)by2005whichwould
giveimprovedmanagementinformation.Thenewpayrollreplacementcomputersystem,Resourcelink,isnowinplacewiththePermanentTeacherspayrollgoingliveinApril2009andtheTemporaryTeachersgoingliveinNovember2009.TheDepartmenttoldusthatthepayrollsystemwillremaintheprimarytoolforprovidingthedatanecessarytomonitorteacherabsence.HoweverC2K13would,whenfullyembeddedandutilisedinschools,allowforamoresensitiveanalysisofthefullrangeofemploymentdata.
2.5 TheDepartmentprovidesanannualbreakdownofsicknessabsenceinformationtoeachemployingauthorityusinga“trafficlights”system,withsix-monthlyupdatesavailableonrequest.Schoolswithlowabsencelevelsareshowningreen,thosewithmid-rangeabsencesareshowninamberandschoolswithhighabsencelevelsareshowninred.Thepreviousyear’sdataisalsoshownforcomparison.ThisinformationissubsequentlydiscussedatregularAccountabilityReviewswithemployingauthorities.Theyareaskedtoinvestigate“red”schoolstoascertainthereasonsforhighabsencelevelsandtoensurethatappropriatemanagementinterventionsaremadebythePrincipaland/ortheBoardofGovernors.
2.6 Allemployingauthoritiestoldusthat,as
in2002,theystillhadconcernsabouttheamountandqualityofdatatheyareabletoaccess.TheyalsosuggestedthattheinformationreceivedfromtheDepartmentwasnotsufficientlytimelytoenableeffectivemanagementactiontobetaken.TheDepartmentacknowledgedthat,priorto
12 Seefootnote513 TheC2Kprojectisagovernmentinitiativedesignedtoprovidecommunicationandinformationtechnologywithina
managedlearningenvironmentforallschoolsinNorthernIreland.Itwillprovidethecontentnecessarytosupport,thecurriculum,professionaldevelopmentandschooladministrationandmanagement.
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport15
theintroductionofResourcelink,thereweresomelimitationsinsomeofthereportsthesystemproducedbutconsideredthattheywouldstillhaveallowed“realtime”reporting.Itstated,also,thatitwastheresponsibilityofemployingauthoritiestoensurethattheyreceivedinformationfromschoolsatsuchintervalsastheyrequired(forexample,monthly,termlyetc),throughC2Korbymeansofpaperrecords,tomanagesicknessabsence.
2.7 TheDepartmenttoldusthat,usinganewreportingtool(Cognos),ithasdevelopedarangeofabsencereportsforeachoftheBoards,includingforexample:
• absencesrelatedtostress;
• absencesofmorethan6casualdaysina12monthrollingperiod;and
• continuousabsencesof4weeksormore.
However,currentlythereisaconflictbetweenthesoftwareversionsofthereportingtoolusedbytheDepartmentandtheemployingauthoritieswhichmeansthattheemployingauthoritiesareunabletorunreports,althoughtheyretainenquiryaccesstoindividualteacher’ssicknessrecords.Moreover,CCMSstilldoesnothaveaccesstoResourcelinkand,therefore,anyofthesereports.TheDepartmenttoldusthatititwashopedCCMSwouldgainaccesswhentheESAnetworkisestablished.
2.8 WeacknowledgetheestablishmentofResourcelinkandtheDepartment’sassurancesthat,throughthis,stepswill
betakentoaddresstheissueofteacherabsencewiththeutmosturgency.However,itisdisappointingthatithastakensixyearssincethePACreporttoimplementthesystemandthatduetosoftwareproblems,asounddatasystemtoassisttheDepartment,employingauthoritiesandschoolsinmanagingteacherattendancehasstilltobeproperlyestablished.
2.9 Inordertoensuretheefficientmanagementofsubstitutioncover,itiscrucialthatgoodqualitymanagementinformationisavailablesothattheDepartment,employingauthoritiesandschoolscandevelopaneffectiveinsightinto,andunderstandingof,thecosts,patternsandlevelsofsubstitutioncover.Inparticular,giventheproportionofsubstitutioncostswhichthe“vacancy”and“other”categoriesaccountfor,itisimperativethattheambiguitysurroundingtheircompositionisrectifiedandthatarobustmechanismisputinplacetovalidatethecompletenessandaccuracyofreportedabsences.TheDepartmenttoldusthattheestablishmentofESAshouldresultinamoreconsistentandcommonapproachtothewideanddisparateuseofreasonsforsubstitutioncurrentlyusedbyemployingauthorities.
2.10 WeacknowledgetheactionswhichtheDepartmentandtheemployingauthoritieshavetakeninresponsetotherecommendationsofthePAC.However,itremainsimportanttorecognisethattherangeofpotentiallyusefulmanagementtoolssuggestedcanonlybeeffectiveaspartofamuchwiderstrategyofidentifyingtheactualcausesofabsenceandtargetingtheseappropriatelytopreventstaffbecomingill
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16TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
inthefirstplace.In200814,PACreinforcedthebestpracticeprinciplethat,inmanagingsicknessabsence,goodmanagementinformationisvitalinprovidinganimprovedunderstandingofabsenceproblems.ThisechoesguidanceproducedpreviouslybytheCabinetOfficein199815whichcallsfortherecordingofspecificcoredatainallinstancesofemployeesicknessabsence.Efficientdatacollectionandmonitoringwillbeparamountifthenatureofsicknessabsenceamongteachersistobeproperlyunderstood.
2.11 Inordertomanageunscheduledteacherabsence,aneffectiveprofileofschool-levelabsencesneedstobebuiltup.Thiswouldinvolvebeingabletocompareabsencedata-bydaysoftheweek,reason,datesofabsenceandcost-againstfactorssuchasemployeeageandgender,lengthofserviceandschoollocation.Itwouldbeimportant,too,thatthedatasetwouldallowtherelationshipsbetweenteacherabsenceandenrolment,pupilattendance,pupilsocio-economicstatusandpupilachievementtobeexplored.
14 ManagingsicknessabsenceintheNorthernIrelandCivilService,PublicAccountsCommittee,4September2008,38/07/08R
15 Workingwelltogether–managingsicknessabsenceinthepublicsector,CabinetOffice,199816 ManagementofSicknessAbsenceintheNorthernIrelandCivilService,NIAO,NIA132/07-08,May2008.
2.12 AccordingtotheDepartment,alackofconsistencyinthedefinitionandrecordingofteacherabsencesremainsduetothewiderangeofabsencecodingspecificationsusedbythevariousemployingauthorities.Thismakesmeaningfulsubstitutionfiguresverydifficulttocollate.However,theDepartmentconsidersthattheestablishmentofESAshouldprovidethebasisforensuringthatacommonapproachtotherecordingofabsenceacrossallschoolsisputinplace.Inourview,thecollectionanddisseminationofabsencedatacouldbestructuredundertheheadingsinBox1,asaminimum.
2.13 EchoingasimilarfindinginourreportonstaffabsenceacrosstheNorthernIrelandCivilService16,informationsuchasthatdetailedinBox1shouldbesharedregularlywithseniormanagersinschoolsandBoardsofGovernors.Inourview,itwouldbeusefulalsoifESA,whenitisestablished,weretopublishanannualprofileofteacherabsenceacrosstheregioncoveringelementssuchasthosesuggestedinBox1.
Box1
Absence-dates,daysoftheweek,reasons,numberandduration
Teacher-scalepoint,gender,ageandlengthofservice
School–employingauthority,schoolsector,schoolsizeandfreeschoolmealentitlement
Employmentstatus–permanent/temporary,full/part-time
Leavetype–sick(usingNICScategoriesofillness),personal,bereavement,etc
Cost -totalsubstitutioncost,substitutioncostbycategory,averagecostpersubstitute,totalsickpaybillandaveragesickpayperteacher
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport17
ThereissubstantialvariationintheaverageratesbeingpaidforsubstitutioncoverbyschoolsinthedifferentEducationandLibraryBoardareas.
2.14 FollowingthePACreportin2003,theDepartmentimposedamaximumlevelonthecompensationavailabletoschoolswherethecostofemployingasubstituteteacherismetfromcentralbudgets17(seeAppendix2).Thiswasintendedtoprovideanincentiveforschoolstoemploylower-costnewlyqualifiedteachersassubstitutes.From1September2008to31August2009,
17 TheCommonFundingSchemestatesthattheonlyexceptiontothiscappingiswherethesubstituteteacherhasbeenemployedascoverforateacherwhoisanaccreditedrepresentativeandisengagedontradeunionbusiness.WeacknowledgethatBoardsmayapprovethepaymentofsubstitutionratesabovePointM4fortradeunioncoverandtheDepartmenttoldusthatinitsviewtheexpenditureonsubstitutioncoverfortradeunionbusinessshowninFigure3isclearlyunderstated.
themaximumlevelequatestoadailyrateof£132.81(equivalenttopointM4ontheteachersalaryscale).
2.15 Figure4showsthatthereisa5.1percentdifferencebetweenthelowestaveragedailyrateof£132.75,paidbyschoolsinthemaintainedsectorintheBelfastBoardarea,andthehighestaveragedailyrateof£139.58,paidbycontrolledschoolsintheBelfastBoard.Inaddition,theaverageratespaidbyschoolsinallfiveBoardareasareabovethemaximumcompensationratepaidtoschoolsfromcentrefunds.
128
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Figure4:Dailysubstitutioncoverratespaidbyschoolsbyemployingauthority2008-09
Source: Department(Thedailycostdoesnotincludeemployer’snationalinsuranceorsuperannuationcontributions).FiguresforGMISchoolshavebeenomittedfromtheabovedataasthenumbersinvolvedareminimal
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18TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
2.16 Thefiguresaboveshowasubstantialvariationbetweentheaveragecostincurredforaday’ssubstitutioncoverbycontrolledschoolsandbymaintainedschools.Theaveragecostincurredbycontrolledschools(£138.14)isover3percentabovethatincurredbymaintainedschools(£133.95).
2.17 Thevariationsbetweentheratespaidforhourlycoverareevengreater(seeFigure5).Thedifferencebetweenthelowestaveragehourlyrate,paidbymaintainedschoolsintheWesternBoard(£17.99),
15
17
19
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Figure5:Hourlysubstitutioncoverratespaidbyschoolsacrossemployingauthorities2008-09
Source: Department(Thedailycostdoesnotincludeemployer’snationalinsuranceorsuperannuationcontributions).FiguresforGMIschoolshavebeenomittedfromtheabovedataasthenumbersinvolvedareminimal.
andthehighestaveragehourlyrate,paidbycontrolledschoolsintheWesternBoard(£24.99),isover38percent.Themaximumrateforcompensationfromcentralfundingforhourlysubstitutioncoverwas£20.47duringthe2008-09academicyear.
2.18 Ifallschoolsmatchedthelowestaveragecostsincurred-£132.75perdaybymaintainedschoolsintheBelfastBoardand£17.99perhourbymaintainedschoolsintheWesternBoard-thiswouldreleasepotentialefficiencysavingsof
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport19
almost£2.5millionperannum.WeacknowledgetheDepartment’sviewthatthescopeforsavingsintheuseofsubstitutioncovercannotbecharacterisedinsuchsimplisticterms.Forinstance,oneofthebigstumblingblocksfacedbyschoolsattemptingtoaccesssubstitutioncoverisoftenthereluctanceofmanyofthoseteachersontheregistertotravellongerdistancestowork.Inthesecircumstances,schoolscanoftenbeleftwithlittlealternativebuttoemployolder,moreexpensiveretiredteacherswhomayhavecloselinkswithaparticularschool.Wedo,however,notethatthehighestaveragedailycostsareincurredinthegeographicallysmallBelfastarea.However,whilewerecognisethatthechoicesavailableinemployingsubstitutioncovermayoftenbelimited,schoolsneedtocontinuetopaycarefulattentiontothecostsofsubstitutioncovertoensurethatresourcescommittedinthiswayarespentinthemostcost-effectiveway.
2.19 Againstabackgroundofwidevariations
inteachersubstitutioncosts,itisvitalthatemployingauthoritiescontinuetodemonstrateacommitmenttotheeffectivemanagementoftheimpactofteachersubstitutioncover-reviewingthecostsofemployingsubstituteteachersandensuringthatthesecostsarereasonable,bothataschoollevelandatanoveralllevel.Itisimportant,too,thattheDepartmentsustainsitsengagementwithemployingauthoritiesonthisissue,toensurethatitsexpectationswithregardtothevalueformoneyofsubstitutioncoveraremet.TheDepartmenttoldusthatanexpectedbenefitofthecreationofESA
willbetheimpetusforreducingregionalvariationsinsubstitutioncostsandallowingamoreconsistentinfluencetobebroughttobearonschoolgovernorsandschoolleaders.
EstablishmentoftheNISTRhasbeenasuccessbuttherehavebeenteethingproblems
2.20 TheNISTRwasestablishedbytheDepartmentin2006,inpartnershipwiththeemployingauthorities,toprovidearegionaldatabaseofqualifiedteacherswhocanprovidesubstitutecoverforschoolsthroughoutNorthernIreland.Thesystemprovidesacentralreal-timesubstitutebookingsystemwhichoperatesonageographicalbasistoservethewholeoftheregion.
2.21 Oneoftheproposedmainbenefitsofacentralisedsystemistoavoidduplicationofeffortamongbothemployersandsubstituteteachersintherangeofrecruitment,applicationandselectionproceduresthathavetobeundertaken.Thesystemalsoperformsenhanceddisclosurechecksonthereferences,qualificationsandcriminalrecordsofeachregisteredteacher.Thisremovestheneedforschoolstocompletesuchchecks,andreducestheadministrativeburdenontheDepartment.
2.22 At31March2009,therewere7,306teachersontheregister.Figure6providesabreakdownofthecompositionoftheregisterandtheextenttowhichthoseregisteredhavebeenemployedtoprovide
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20TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
substitutioncover.FiguresavailableforJune2009showthatschoolshavebooked96percentoftheirsubstitutioncoverdaysand85percentofsubstitutioncoverhoursthroughNISTR.Theremainingsubstitutioncoverdaysorhourswerebookeddirectlybyschoolsfromtheirowncontacts.
2.23 WeconsiderthattheDepartmentcouldhaveestablishedtheNISTRinatimeliermanner.Havingadvisedschoolsthat,from1September2006,onlythoseteachersregisteredwithNISTRshouldbeemployedinschools,itcontinuedtoacceptmanualrequestsforthepaymentofsubstituteswhowerenotemployedviaNISTR.TheDepartmenttoldusthatthereweresomedifficultiespriortotheimplementationdate,includingapoorschooluptakeofNISTRtraining,whilesomeschools,particularlynurseries,didnothaveaccesstotheregister.ItwasnotuntilMay2008that
theDepartmentinformedschoolsthattheuseofNISTRwouldbemandatoryfrom1August2008.
2.24 TheDepartmentnowissuesamemorandumtoallemployingauthoritiesandschoolsonamonthlybasisoutliningitsrequirementsforthereceiptofinformationfromthem,andincludingareminderaboutthemandatoryuseoftheNISTRtosourceteachersforsubstitutioncover.ANISTRworkinggroupcommunicatestherequirementsofNISTRtoallteachertrainingcollegesinNorthernIrelandviaseminars,togetherwithanemailtoallfinalyearstudentsatteachertrainingcolleges.ItisimperativethatschoolspaycloseattentiontotheDepartment’sguidanceandtakeallreasonablestepstousetheNISTR,inordertoobtainthemostcosteffectivemeansofprovidingsubstitutecover.
Figure6:TeachersregisteredandemployedthroughNISTR,April–September2009
Teachers Numberregisteredto Numberemployedto providecover providecover
Qualified/Newlyqualified 4,974 3,023
Age-retired 433 231
Premature-retired:
Redundancy 1,779 1,169
Efficientdischarge 74 33
Illhealth 7* -
Actuariallyreducedbenefits 39 24
TOTAL 7,306 4,480
Source: Department*TheDepartmenttoldusthataprospectiveemployerwouldneedtobesatisfiedthattheseseventeachersmeetthehealthrequirementforteachingbeforeofferingthememploymentasateacher.Ifsuchteachersarere-employed,theirpensionwouldbesuspendeduntilnormalretirementageandanyenhancementremoved.
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Part Three:The Department has had only limited success in sustaining improvements in the level of sickness absence among teachers
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22TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
Whiletherehasbeenamodestdeclineintheaveragesickdaystakenbyteachers,therearevariationsacrosstheschoolsectors
3.1 InresponsetoPACrecommendations,theDepartmentandemployingauthoritieshaveputinplaceclearproceduresformanagingsicknessabsencesamongteachers(seeAppendix1).However,individualschoolsarevitalagentsindeliveringtargetedreductions.
3.2 Averagesicknesslevelsforteachersstoodat10.1daysperannumin2000-0118.By2004-05,sicknesslevelshadfallentoalowof7.52days;howevertheycreptbackupto9.52daysin2005-06.Sincethenthelevelhasreducedgraduallyandcurrentlystandsat7.81days(seeFigure7).Whileweacknowledgethedecreasesince2000-01,afterthePACreporttheDepartmentsetatargetthatitwouldaimtobringsicknessabsencelevelsintolinewiththoseinEngland.In2001,sicknessabsenceinEnglandwas5.4daysperteacher19.Thisfigureremainedatthislevelinsubsequentyearsanddroppedto5.0daysin200820.
3.3 Figure7alsohighlightssomeinterestingcomparisonsbetweenschoolsectorsandemployingauthorities.Forexample,averagesicknessabsenceincontrolledschoolsisaround7.1days,comparedwith8.5inthemaintainedsector.TheregularAccountabilityReviews(paragraph2.5)heldwithemployingauthoritieshaveprovidedtheDepartmentwiththeopportunitytostresstoCCMStheneed
forimprovementinabsencemanagementinCatholicmaintainedschools.WhiletheCatholicmaintainedsectorhasimproved,itstilllagsbehindthecontrolledsector.Teachersinspecialschoolshaveaparticularlyhighlevelofabsence–9.73days.AccordingtotheDepartment,ingeneral,thisreflectsthechallengingnatureofteachinginadifficultsetting.
3.4 Figure8providesanoverviewoftherangeofaveragesicknessabsencelevelsacrossallschoolsin2008-09.Figure9providesfurtherdetailontherangeofaveragesicknessabsenceratesacrossemployingauthoritiesandsectors.Datafor2007-08showsthataroundtwothirdsofallschoolshadanaveragesicknesslevelofunder8days.DatapreparedfortheAccountabilityReviewsshows,inthesameyear,173schools(about13percent)wereidentifiedashavingsignificantlyimprovedonprevioushighlevelsofabsence,while127schools(abouttenpercent)weredesignatedashavinghighabsencelevels.ComparativedataforEnglish,ScottishandWelshschoolsfor2007-08(Figure10)showsthat,whiletheperformanceofNorthernIrelandschoolsisclosertothatofschoolsinScotlandandWales,theystillhaveasubstantiallyhigherlevelofsicknessabsencethanEnglishschools.
18 Seefootnote819 Seefootnote720 ThefigureforEnglandincludesestimatesforthreelocalauthoritieswhoprovidedinformationthatwaseitherincompleteor
notfullycredibleduetoproblemswiththeirdatarecording.
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport23
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24TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
Source: Department
Figure8:Rangeofteachers’sicknessabsenceacrossallschools,2008-09
0
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0-2 2-4 4-60 8-10 10-12 12-146-8 16-18 18-20 20-2214-16 24-26 26-28 28-3022-24 32-34 34-36 36-3830-32 40+38-40
average sick days
Figure9:Rangeofteachers’sicknessabsencebyemployingauthority,2007-08*
Board/Sector Lowest Highest Average
Belfast 0.00 49.00 7.31
NorthEastern 0.00 126.50 7.45
SouthEastern 0.00 32.67 6.95
Southern 0.00 140.50 7.95
Western 0.00 92.67 7.27
CatholicMaintained 0.00 90.25 9.77
GMI 0.00 22.82 7.38
Source: Department*2007-08datausedtoallowcomparisonwiththelatestavailableGBdatainFigure10
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport25
3.6 Thelackofcomprehensivemanagementinformation(seeparagraph4)onteachersicknessabsenceacrossschoolsinNorthernIrelandlimitstheextenttowhichithasbeenpossibletobenchmarktheperformanceoflocalemployingauthoritiesagainstthoseinEnglishregions.Asaresult,theprecisereasonsfordifferencesinperformancearenotreadilyidentifiable.TheDepartmentmustestablishaperformancemanagementsystemwhich
willfacilitateadeeperunderstandingofcomparativeperformanceandhelpinformlocalpracticeonsicknessabsencemanagement.
Greatereffortisrequiredtoreduceteachersicknessabsencesothatpotentiallysignificantsavingscanberealised
3.7 AsshowninFigure3(paragraph2.3),coverforsicknessabsencecostover£11millionin2008-09.Inadditiontothecostsofsubstitutioncover,anothersignificantcostofteachersicknessabsenceistheongoingsalariespaidtothepermanentteacherstheyreplace.In2008-09thesickpaybillforteacherswas£15.8million.Todemonstratethepotentialfinancialeffectofreducingsicknessabsences,wecalculatedthatifcurrentabsencelevelswerereducedtothoseinEngland(ie.by36percent),pro-ratasavingsonsubstituteteacherswouldbearound£4million,whiletheteachingandlearningbenefitsof£5.7millionworthofpermanentteachers’timewouldnotbelosttotheclassroom–atotalofover£9.5million.
3.8 Inadditiontotakingactiontoreducesicknessabsencesamongteachers,theDepartmentisconsideringwaysofcontrollingsubstitutioncostsforsicknessabsence,forexample:
• reducingtheceilingforcentrereimbursementtoalowerpointontheteachersalaryscale;
• requiringschoolstomeethalfthesubstitutioncostswhenanabsent
Figure10:Comparisonofteachers’sicknessabsencerates,2007-08*
Region Sickdaysperteacherinpost
NorthEast 6.3
NorthWest 6.3
YorkshireandHumber 6.0
EastMidlands 6.1
WestMidlands 6.0
EastofEngland 5.1
London 4.8
SouthEast 4.5
SouthWest 4.5
TOTALS
England 5.4
Scotland 8.3
Wales 9.0
NorthernIreland 8.6
Source: Department, Department for Children, Schools and Families, Scottish Government Statistics, and Wales National Statistics.*Latestavailablefiguresforcomparativepurposes
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26TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
teachermovesontohalfpay.Thiswouldencouragethemtoemploycheapersubstitutes;and
• requiringschoolstomeetallthecostsofsubstitutioncoverforsicknessabsence.
3.9 ThecomparativedatapresentedinFigures9and10showthattheperformancegapbetweenNorthernIrelandschoolsandtheirEnglishcounterpartsstillexists.TheDepartmenttoldusthat,initsview,areductioninteachersicknessabsencestothelevelsinEnglishschoolsremainsextremelychallenging.Whilemaintainingabalancebetweenteachingtimeandanacceptablelevelofabsencecanprovedifficultforschoolprincipalsandemployingauthorities,westillbelievethat,basedontheEnglishexperience,astagedreductioninteachersicknessabsencetothelevelsinEnglishschoolsremainsafeasiblegoal.TheDepartmenttoldusthat:thecreationofESA(seeparagraph2);ensuringthatallschoolsworkwithinthepolicyframeworkofEvery School a Good School;andtakingstepstostrengthenschoolgovernance,industrialrelationsandstaffsupportshouldyieldfurtherimprovementsinthelevelsofsicknessabsenceamongteachers.
TheDepartmenthasonlyrecentlyre-introducedtargetsforthereductionofteachers’sicknessabsence
3.10 FollowingthePACreportin2003,theDepartmentsetthetargetsuggestedbytheCommittee,thattheBoardsandCCMSreduceteacherabsencetothelevelin
Englishschoolsby2008.Thetargetwasaimedatfocussingattentiononthepotentialsavingsfromareductioninthecostsofsubstitutioncoverandfromnotlosingtheteachingandlearningbenefitsofpermanentteachers’timetotheclassroom.
3.11 TheDepartmenttoldusthat,fromtheoutset,itconsideredthistargettobe“ambitious”,aspotentialsavingswerenotionalandnotbasedonarobustdefinitionofthecostofsickabsence.WhilethetargetwashighlightedindiscussionswiththeBoardsduringtheresourceallocationplanningprocessfortheyears2005-06to2007-08,ithasnotbeenreferredtosinceandthetargetwasnotachieved.
3.12 Followingthisperiod,theDepartmentinitiallydecidednottosetaspecifictargetforthereductionofteachersicknessabsence.Rather,aspartofitsefficiencydeliveryplans,itsetatargettoreducetheoverallcostsofsubstitutionbytenpercentby2011.Thiswastobeachievedthrougharangeofmeasurestopromoteeffectivemanagementoftheschoolworkforce,includingthebetteruseofICTtoreducetheextenttowhichteacherswereawayfromtheclassroom,forexample,onin-servicetraining.
3.13 Inourview,changingthenatureofthetargettoonefocussedonareductionintheoverallcostsofsubstitutioncovercloudedtheissueandfailedtoaddresstheconcernstheWestminsterPACexpressedaboutsicknessabsenceamongteachers.Inthecourseofourreport,theDepartmentre-establishedatargetforteachersickness
Part Three:The Department has had only limited success in sustaining improvements in the level of sickness absence among teachers
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport27
absence–areductiontoanaveragesixdaysayearby2010-11–and,towardsthis,ithassetindividualtargetreductionsfortheemployingauthoritiesfor2009-10(rangingfrom7-15percent,dependingontheirperformancetodate).
3.14 Werecognisethatachievingthe
reductionsinteacherabsencesenvisagedbytheWestminsterPACwillbeabigtask,butinourviewnotimpossible.WedonotconsiderthereisanythinginherentinthenatureofNorthernIrelandschools,comparedwiththoseinEngland,whichshouldmakehigherabsenceratesaninevitablefeatureofourschoolsystem.WeacknowledgethattheDepartmenthasre-establishedatargetforthereductionofteacherabsences.Itisonlybymonitoringperformanceagainsttargetsthatproblemsinthemanagementofteacherattendancecanbehighlightedandpositiveactiontakentoaddressanydeficiencies.
3.15 TheimportanceofusingtargetswasstressedbyPACin2008(seeparagraph2.10),withparticularemphasisontheuseofindividualdepartmentaltargets.Italsoadvocatedtheuseofdetailedactionplanssothattargetswouldbeachieved.WerecommendthattheDepartmenttakesaccountoftheCommittee’sproposalsandseekstoensurethatsuchanapproachistailoredtothemanagementofteachersicknessabsencewithinindividualschools.
Theimpactofstressasafactorinteacherabsences
3.16 ItisdifficulttoisolatethereasonswhysicknessabsenceshouldbesomuchlowerinEnglandcomparedwithNorthernIreland.Work-relatedstressamongteachersisoftenhighlightedasaparticularproblemandasurvey21in2005rankedteachingasthesecondmoststressfuljoboutof26occupations(morestressful,even,thanbeinganambulancedriver).
3.17 StresshasbeenidentifiedasasignificantprobleminNorthernIrelandandelsewhereintheUnitedKingdom.Paragraph2.7indicatedworkcarriedoutindevelopingthenewpayrollsystemhasenabledtheDepartmenttoidentifyteachersicknessabsenceswhichareduetostress.Recentreportsfromthesystemshowthatstressabsencesaccountedfor14percentofallsicknessabsencedaysin2008-09.Aconfidentialsurvey22ofteachersinNorthernIrelandin2001-02hadalreadyraisedimportantconcerns:
• almosthalfoftherespondentsreportedtheirjobstobeveryorextremelystressful-toomuchwork,toomuchadministrationandlackoftimetopreparelessons;
• teachingprincipalsfoundtheirjobsverystressful;
• teachingprincipalsandheadsofdepartmentshadlowerjobsatisfactionandhigherlevelsofstresscomparedtoallotherteachers;and
21 The experience of work-related stress across occupations,S.Johnsonetal,JournalofManagerialPsychology,178-187(10),2005
22 ThehealthandwellbeingsurveywasundertakenbyPricewaterhouseCoopersandreceived12,500responses(50percent)
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28TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
• asignificantminorityhadbeenthreatenedwithphysicalviolenceorexperiencedverbalabuseduringthecourseoftheircareers.
3.18 ItwaspartlyinresponsetotheNorthernIrelandsurveythatanewTeacherAttendanceProcedure,adoptedbytheTeachers’SalariesandConditionsofServiceCommittee(Schools),commonlyknownastheTeachersNegotiatingCommittee(TNC)23in2008,includedanemphasisonabsencesrelatedtostress.Workison-goingthroughTNCtodevelopaTeacherHealthandWellbeingStrategy,whileacentralisedindependentcounsellingserviceaccessibletoallteachersviaa24hourconfidentialtelephonehelplinewasintroducedon1April2009.TheDepartmenttoldusthatguidanceontacklingviolenceagainstteachershasalsobeendrawnupbyTNCforissuetoallschools.Thiswillincludeadesk-aidforeveryteacher.TheDepartmentsaidthattheCommitteeisalsodrawingupasurveyforissuetoschoolstogaugetheextentandnatureofteacherabuse.
3.19 Apositiveorganisationalbackgroundiscriticalforthesuccessofanyactiontakentomanagesicknessabsence.AreportbyOFSTED24in2007suggeststhataremodellingoftheschoolworkforceinEngland,aimedatraisingstandardsforpupilsbyfreeingteachersfrominappropriateandexcessiveworkload,hashelpedtoreducestress.Partoftheremodellingprocesswastointroduce
limitsontheamountofcoverforabsentcolleaguesthatteachersandheadteacherscouldprovidewhileatthesametimemakingnewarrangementsfordeployingsupportstaff.Employersandteachers’tradesunionsinNorthernIrelanddidnotagreethatsupportstaffshouldbeprofessionalisedtoundertaketeaching-typeduties;therefore,theonlywaytoreduceteachercoverforabsentcolleaguesistoemploysubstituteteachers.
3.20 TheissuesofteacherworkloadandbureaucraticburdenwereaddressedintheNorthernIrelandcontextbythe“CurranReport”25in2004.Itsrecommendationssoughttobringteachers’conditionsofserviceinNorthernIrelandintolinewiththoseoftheircolleaguesinEnglandandWalesbut,significantly,withoutworkforceremodellingand,inparticular,withouttheuseofteachingassistantstoundertaketeaching-typeduties.Instead,thereportrecommended“contextualising”theapproachusedinEngland(seeAppendix5)tosuitcircumstancesinNorthernIreland.TheDepartmenttoldusthatimplementingalltheworkloadrecommendationsofthereportwouldplaceasignificantdemandontheeducationbudget.Asaresult,todate,theDepartmenthasbeenableonlytoensurethatnoprimaryschoolprincipalneedspendmorethanthreedaysaweekinclasscontact.
3.21 TheDepartment’sviewisthattheworkforceremodellingpolicychangesimplementedinEnglandmaybeone
23 ThefunctionoftheTeachersNegotiatingCommitteeistonegotiatetheremunerationandtermsandconditionsofserviceofteachersingrantaidedschoolsinNorthernIreland.ItconsistsofmembersappointedtorepresenttheDepartmentofEducation,EducationandLibraryBoards,theGoverningBodiesofVoluntaryGrammarSchools,theCouncilforCatholicMaintainedSchools,theNorthernIrelandCouncilforIntegratedEducationandtheComhairleNaGaelscolaíochtaandmembersappointedtorepresenttheTradeUnionsrepresentedontheNorthernIrelandTeachers’Council.
24 Reforming and developing the school workforce,OfficeforStandardsinEducation,200725 Improvingconditions,raisingstandardsandnegotiatingarrangements,FinalReport–Part2,Teachers’PayandConditions
ofServiceInquiry,February2004
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport29
reasonwhyteacherabsenceratesarelowerthaninNorthernIreland.GiventhefundingconstraintsithasidentifiedinpursuingasimilarcourseinNorthernIreland,itwillbeimportantthatitisabletodemonstratethatactionstopreventorreduceteachersicknessabsencecanatleastpayforthemselveswithoutcreatingafinancialburdenforthetaxpayer.Cost-effectivenessevaluationisonecriterionthatcanhelptheDepartmentdeterminethemostappropriateprogrammes,basedonboththeneedtolimitthecostsassociatedwithteacherabsencesandresourcesavailable.
TherelationshipbetweensicknessabsenceandmaternityleaverequiresDepartmentalattention
3.22 TheDepartmentdrewourattentiontothespecificimpactofsicknessabsenceamongfemaleteachersfollowingmaternityleave.AroundthreequartersoftheteachingworkforceinNorthernIrelandisfemaleandeachyeararound1,000willbeonmaternityleave.TheDepartmenttoldusthat,in2007-08,thenumberofteacherstakingsicknessabsenceimmediatelyfollowingmaternityleavefellby50percentcomparedwiththepreviousyear.AccordingtotheDepartmentthisislikelytobeduetoanextension,in2007,inthemaximumlevelofadditionalmaternityleaveto26weeks,andtheextensionofstatutorymaternitypayentitlementto39weeks.However,theDepartmenttoldusthattherelationshipbetweenmaternityandsicknessisacomplexoneandwillrequirefurtherresearchinthelightofthe
mostrecentstatistics.Thereis,forexample,evidencethatsometeachersarecontenttoendtheirmaternityleaveearlyinordertoavailofthemoregeneroussickpayprovisions.
Absenceinterventionstrategies
3.23 WhiletheDepartmentcarriesultimateaccountabilityforteacherabsencemanagementacrosstheschoolsystem,theemployingauthoritiesandschoolsshouldacceptindividualresponsibilityforabsencemanagement.AnexampleofhowteacherabsencehasbeenmanagedmoreproactivelybytheWesternBoardisoutlinedinCaseExample1.
CaseExample1-Provisionofaccuratemanagementinformation
TheWesternBoardhaspreparedasuiteofreportsthatenableschoolstorecordandreportinternallyforthefirsttimeonsicknessrelatedabsence,throughtheC2Ksystem.ThesystemwillallowschoolsinallBoardstofocusonprovidingconsistencyofpracticeintherecording,monitoringandreportingofteacherabsence.FollowingasuccessfulinitialpilotinasampleofnineschoolsintheWesternBoardareaduringthe2007-08summerterm,thereportingsystemhasbeenrolledoutacrossallschoolsintheWesternBoard.ThereportsallowprincipalsandgovernorstoquicklyidentifythoseteacherswhohavebreachedtherelevanttriggerpointsintheManagingAttendancePolicyandenablemanagementtotaketimelyactiontoaddressanyissuesorconcernshighlighted.
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30TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
3.24 The2003WestminsterPACreport26recognisedthat,inadditiontoafocusonpreventingabsence,themanagementofabsencealsoneededtopromoteandencourageacultureofattendanceorwellbeing.OurreportonstaffabsenceacrosstheNorthernIrelandCivilService27identifiedexamplesofgoodpracticeintheareaofhealthpromotion.Forexample,somebodieshaveprovidedfreehealthscreeningfortheiremployees,manyhaveadoptedaseparatestresspolicyaimedatreducingtheincidencesofwork-relatedstress,andsomehaveoffereddiscountedaccesstoleisureandfitnessfacilitiesinanefforttoimprovegeneralhealth.Inparticular,theWestminsterPACcalledforthepilotingofcounsellingservicesforteachers.Asnotedatparagraph3.18,acentralisedindependentcounsellingserviceaccessibletoallteachersviaa24hourconfidentialtelephonehelplinehasbeeninplacesinceApril2009.
3.25 Thebeneficialeffectsofhealthpromotionactivitycannotbeguaranteedandmaynotbeasstrongasanticipated.Forexample,overrecentyears,theSouthernBoardhashadthehighestspendingonteacherwelfareamongtheBoardsbut,asFigure9shows,itcurrentlyhasthehighestlevelofteachersicknessabsence.Inaddition,accordingtotheDepartment,CCMSwouldcontendthatthehighlevelofabsenceamongschoolsinthemaintainedsectormaybe,inpart,theresultofitsethosofpastoralcare(sympatheticattitude)towardsitsstaff.
3.26 Weacknowledgetheprogressthathasbeenmadeinreducingteachersicknessabsencetothecurrentaverageof7.81days(seeparagraph3.2).Inordertosustainandimproveonthisperformance,effortstosupportattendancewillbeasimportantasthosefordeterringabsence.Theparticularcombinationofapproachesthatwillworkbestinanyschoolorsectorwill,tosomeextent,dependuponananalysisoftheirsicknessabsenceproblem.Inourview,theproblemsassociatedwiththeavailabilityandusemadeofmanagementinformation,asdiscussedinparagraphs2.3to2.13,inhibittheeffectivetargetingofactiontodealwithparticularcausesofabsence.ItisimportantthattheDepartmentandemployingauthoritiesdevelopreportingstructuresthatallowananalysisofthecausesofteachersicknessabsencesothatspecificinterventionscanbeputinplace.IntheDepartment’sview,theestablishmentofESAandamoreextensiveuseofC2Kbyschools,shouldprovideamorestreamlinedandconsistentadministrativecontextwithinwhichtodevelopandcontinuouslyimproveeffectivemanagementinformationandreportingsystems.
Implementationofbestpracticeprinciplesinschoolshasbeenpoor
3.27 In2008,TNCupdatedits1999managingattendancepolicyandassociatedproceduresinlinewithbestpracticeliterature.28TeacherAttendanceProceduresnowincludethesethreebasicsteps:
26 Seefootnote127 Seefootnote1628 Current thinking on managing attendance: a short guide for HR professionals,NationalAuditOffice,TheInstitutefor
EmploymentStudiesandTheInstituteofWorkPsychology,Aresearchpaper,2005.
Part Three:The Department has had only limited success in sustaining improvements in the level of sickness absence among teachers
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport31
• employingauthoritiesshoulddevelopclearteacherattendancenormsandexpectations;
• whenpatternsofabsenceexceednorms,designatedpersonnelshouldinitiateareviewandtakeadditionalactionifnecessary;and
• absencedatashouldbeanalysedandregularlyreportedatschoolandemployingauthoritylevel.
3.28 WefoundthatthepolicydevelopedbyTNCcontainsmanyoftheelementsnecessarytoimprovethemanagementofteacherattendance:itprovidesdirectionforthepromotionofattendance;rolesandresponsibilitiesofschoolprincipals,governorsandemployingauthoritiesareclearlyestablished;proceduresaresetouttoassistinthemanagementofshortand
long-termabsences;andtraininghasbeenmadeavailableforschoolprincipalsandgovernors.
3.29 Wenotethatthenewpolicystrengthensthetriggerpointsformanagementinterventionthatwerecontainedinthepreviouspolicy(seeFigure11),inparticular,thelevelofcasualabsencerequiredforinterventionhasbeenreducedfrom8daysto6days.Figure11alsoshowshowthetriggerpointsforteachers’sicknessabsencecomparewiththosewhichoperateintheNorthernIrelandCivilService.
3.30 TheDepartmenttoldusthatallthetriggerpointswerethesubjectoflengthydiscussionatTNC.TheDepartmentdecidedthatthesacrificeofatriggerpointforanindividualabsenceratewasafaircompromisetosecureanagreed
Figure11:Comparisonofteacherabsencetriggerpoints
1999teachersicknessabsence 2008teachersicknessabsence NICSsicknessabsencepolicypolicy policy Absences:Absences: Absences: a)4occasionsor10workinga)Morethan8dayscasual a)morethan6dayscasual daysinarolling12-monthperiodabsenceinarolling12monthperiod absenceinarolling12month period b)20workingdaysb)continuousabsenceoffourweeksormore b)continuousabsenceof20 workingdays(orfourweeks)orc)morethanthreeperiodsofabsence, moreeachofatleast3daysinarolling12monthperiod c)relatedtostress
d)staffmemberswithanabsencerateof5percentormoreSource: Department; Department of Finance and Personnel
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32TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
policysupportedbytheunions,especiallyasthefivepercenttriggerpointwaslessrigorousthanthesixdaytriggerpoint.Thenewpolicyalsoincludesareferencetothepossibleuseofdisciplinaryproceduresincasesofpersistentshort-termabsence.TheDepartmentalsopointedoutthat,incontrasttothepreviousimposedpolicy,thenewTeacherAttendancePolicyandProceduresareendorsedbytheteachertradeunions.
3.31 Thenewpolicyrequires“…governorstoadoptandpromotetheTeacherAttendanceProcedure…”However,wefoundevidenceofinconsistentadherencetothisdirectionbyschools.Forexample,aninternalauditinvestigationbytheSouthernBoardrevealedlowlevelsofimplementationofthenewpolicyamongstschoolswithinitsarea:only69percentofcontrolledschoolswerefoundtohaveadoptedtheabsencepolicyandonly44percentcarriedoutreturntoworkinterviews.AccordingtotheDepartment,resistancetoanattendancepolicyappearstobeanhistoricalprobleminsomeschoolswhereprincipalsbelieveabsencemanagementtobetheresponsibilityofemployingauthorities.Our2008reportonsicknessabsence(seefootnote27)emphasisedthatbestpracticeproceduresarewellknownandaregenerallyinplaceinthepublicsector,butthereislittlepointinhavinggoodpracticeproceduresiftheyarenotbeingappliedbymanagement.
3.32 Trainingfortheimplementationofthenewpolicyhasconsistedofawarenesssessionsaimedatgovernorsandprincipals.Whilst
thefeedbackreceivedfromthetrainingwaspositive,itwasnotedbyemployingauthoritiesthat,aswithtrainingingeneral,ithadbeendifficulttopersuadeallprincipalsandallrelevantgovernorstoattendtraining.Weacknowledgethatschoolgovernorsareengagedinavoluntarycapacityand,whiletheycanbeencouragedtoundertaketraining,theycannotbecompelledtodoso.Thesituationismademoreproblematicbythefactthatprincipalsareresponsibleforrollingthepolicyouttostaffintheirschools.The2008PACreport(seefootnote14),identifiedseniormanagementcommitmentasafundamentalprerequisiteforasustainedandpermanentreductioninabsence.
3.33 Weacknowledgethattherearecompetingprioritiesfortheresourcesallocatedtotraining.However,werecommendthatemployingauthoritiesmusttakestepstotacklethiscultureofresistance,toensureabsencemanagementproceduresarefullyimplementedandoperatingeffectivelyinschools.OnewayofdoingthiswouldbetoincorporateareviewoftheimplementationofthepolicyintotheInternalAuditprogrammeforschoolvisits.
3.34 Employingauthoritiesshouldalsoconsidertheprovisionofskillbasedtraininginadditiontoinformationsessionsonthenewpolicy.Whereneedshavebeenidentified,suchasinterviewskillsforthosecarryingoutreturntoworkinterviews,employersshouldconsiderprovidingthese(seecaseexample2).
Part Three:The Department has had only limited success in sustaining improvements in the level of sickness absence among teachers
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport33
Caseexample2
InconjunctionwiththeRegionalTrainingUnitforNorthernIreland,CCMSispilotingtrainingontheimplementationofthemanagingattendancepolicyforaselectionofschoolprincipals.Thistargetedtrainingwillseektoconcentrateontheskillsneededbyprincipalstofullyimplementthepolicyamongstteachers,suchasinterviewingskills.Duringprincipals’meetingsheldinMarch2008,skills-basedtrainingwasidentifiedasimportanttothesuccessfulimplementationofthepolicy,byenablingprincipalstofeelconfidentincarryingouttherequirementsofthepolicy.
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Part Four:Despite concerns raised by PAC at Westminster in 1992 and 2003, the re-employment of prematurely retired teachers continues at a significant level
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36TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
Re-employmentofprematurelyretiredteachers
4.1 In1984andagainin1988theDepartmentadvisedemployingauthoritiesthatteacherswhohadbeenretiredprematurelyongroundsofredundancyorintheinterestsofefficientdischargeshouldbere-employedassubstituteteachersinonlythemostexceptionalcircumstances.However,despitethisguidance,areportbyNIAOin199229foundthatlargenumbersofprematurelyretiredteacherswerestillre-employedonatemporarybasis.Ourreportin2002(seeFootnote5)returnedtotheissueandrecordedthattemporarydaysworkedbyretiredteachersinprovidingsubstitutioncoverhadrisenfrom34,000in1996-97tojustover50,000in2000-01.
4.2 Figure12demonstratesthatattemptstocurbtheuseofprematurelyretiredteachersforsubstitutioncovermetwithlittlesuccess
inthesubsequentyears.Indeed,thenumberofdaysworkedbyprematurelyretiredteachershasincreasedby40percentsince2000-01and75percentsince1996-97.
4.3 Figure13showsthatthepercentageofdaysworkedbyprematurelyretiredteachersiscurrentlythesameasin2000-01.In2008-09,the62,310substitutiondaysworkedbyprematurelyretiredteachersequatedtoaround320wholetimeequivalentpermanentteachers.AdditionalstatisticsprovidedbytheDepartmentshowthat,whilethenumberofsubstitutioncoverdaysworkedbyprematurelyretiredteachershasincreased,theoverallnumberofprematurelyretiredteacherswhosubsequentlybecamere-employedintheyearfollowingtheirretirementhasfallenbyalmost60percent,from386in2005-06to156in2008-09.
Part Four:Despite concerns raised by PAC at Westminster in 1992 and 2003, the re-employment of prematurely retired teachers continues at a significant level
29 DepartmentofEducationforNorthernIreland:PrematureRetirementofTeachers,NorthernIrelandAuditOffice,February1992,HC248
Figure12:Temporarydaysworkedbyretiredteachersprovidingsubstitutioncover,2000-01to2008-09
2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09
EfficientDischarge 3,656 3,395 3,369 2,737 2,473 2,478 2,224 2,367 2,225Redundancy 40,922 50,211 53,382 54,140 50,204 48,394 49,542 57,983 60,085Sub-total 44,578 53,606 56,751 56,877 52,677 50,872 51,766 60,350 62,310(premature)Age 5,790 6,233 7,037 7,130 7,214 7,371 8,248 10,157 9,364Infirmity 0 0 0 0 0 0 58 11 0ActuariallyReduced 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 148 459RetiredTotal 50,368 59,839 63,788 64,007 59,891 58,243 60,072 70,666 72,133
Source: Department
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30 Seefootnote5
Figure13:Proportionofsubstitutioncoverprovidedbyprematurelyretiredteachers2000-01to2008-09
2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09
Totaldaysworked 44,578 53,606 56,751 56,877 52,677 50,872 51,766 60,361 62,310byprematurelyretiredTeachers
Totalsubstitution 338,330 384,965 388,526 394,450 401,561 397,939 407,327 438,114 470,860days
%prematurely 13.2 13.9 14.6 14.4 13.1 12.8 12.7 13.8 13.2retired
Source: Department
4.4 TheDepartmenttoldusthatitwouldcontinuetobuildontherangeofactionsalreadybeingtakentodiscouragethepracticeofre-employingprematurelyretiredteachers:
• Ithasrepeatedlyaskedemployerstogivepreferencetonewlyqualifiedteachersandexperiencednon-retiredteacherswhoareseekingemployment.Inrespondingtothe[2003]PACreport30,theDepartmentpointedoutthatguidanceonthere-employmentofprematurelyretiredteacherswasre-issuedtoemployingauthorities(mostrecentlyinNovember2006).TheDepartmentalsotoldusthattheNISTR(seeparagraphs1.4and2.20),launchedin2004,allowsemployerstomonitorsubstitutioncoverand“robustlychallenge”theover-useofretiredteachersforsubstitutionwork;
• ithasadvisedemployersthatretiredteachersshouldonlybere-employedtoprovideshort-termcoverwherenewlyqualifiedteachersorexperiencednon-retiredteachersareunavailable.
(However,thedecisiononwhomtoemployrestswiththeBoardofGovernorsofeachindividualschool);
• since1999-2000thelevelofcentralreimbursementforsubstitutecovercostshasbeencappedatpoint4oftheteachersalaryscale(seeparagraph1.5).Thisprovidesanincentiveforschoolstoemploynewlyqualifiedteachersforsubstitutecover,asopposedtomoreexpensiveprematurelyretiredteachers.(However,schoolshavetheflexibilitytoengagehighercostteachersatachargetotheschoolbudget,iftheysodesire);and
• intheDepartment’sview,therulesoftheTeachers’PensionSchemealsomilitateagainsttheemploymentofretiredteachers,inthatsuchteachersmaysufferareductioninpensionasaresultofearningsfromemploymentasateacher.Teacherswhobenefitfromaprematureretirementpackageandaresubsequentlyre-employedareentitledtoearnuptothedifferencebetweentheirannualrateofsalarypriortoretirement
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38TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
andtheircurrentpensionbeforethatpensionisabated.TheDepartmenthasstrictcontrolsinplacetomonitorsuchcasesandemployingauthoritiesmustensurethatthereisabreakofatleast29daysbetweenateacher’sretirementandtheirre-engagement.Weexaminedasampleof20teacherswhohadtakenprematureretirementonthegroundsofredundancyinAugust2007andfoundthatthreehadbeenre-employedassubstitutesintheschoolstheyretiredfrombyMarch2008.Allthreehadreceivedthemaximumaddedyears’compensation.Ofthethree,onehadbeenre-employedonthefirstdayallowableafterthe29daybreakandanotheronthesecondday.
4.5 TheDepartmenttoldusthatthecontinuing
difficultiessurroundingthere-employmentofprematurelyretiredteachershadbeencompoundedbytheprevalenceofprematureretirementamongteachers.Initsviewthiswasduetothefactthat,priortoApril2008,thecostsofprematureretirementwereborneentirelybytheNorthernIrelandTeachers’PensionScheme(NITPS)ratherthanbyschoolsortheemployingauthorities.Thissystemdidnotencourageemployerstobehaveprudentlyandhadresultedinthenumberofprematureretirementsrunningatover500ayear,alevelthatwouldbeunsustainablewithoutasignificantincreaseintheNITPScontributionrate.Asaresult,theDepartmentconsideredthatprematureretirementhadbeenthe“soft”optionforschoolmanagement,andanattractiveoptionforteachersbecauseofthegenerousenhancement.
4.6 At31March2008,almost50percentofteachersontheNISTRwerefiftyyearsofageormore,withoverathirdagedbetween50and59.OnlyaquarterofthoseontheRegisterwereunder30yearsofage(seeAppendix6).Atthesametime,27percentofthe20,000teacherscurrentlyemployedingrant-aidedschoolsinNorthernIrelandwereovertheageof50.Onthebasisofthesestatistics,weconsiderthatareductionintheproportionofsubstitutioncoverdaysworkedbyprematurelyretiredteacherscurrentlyontheNISTRmaytakeasignificantperiodoftimetoberealised.
4.7 TheDepartmentexplainedthatithasnowtakenactiontoaddresstheissueofprematureretirement.RecentchangestotheTeachers’PrematureRetirementCompensationSchemerequirethat,from2008,theemployingauthoritieshavetobearthecostsofanyaddedyearsawardedtoretiringteachers.AccordingtotheDepartment,thishaseffectivelyendedthepracticeofenhancedearlyretirement.Inaddition,anEqualityImpactAssessmenthasbeenundertakenonproposeddraftregulationswhichwouldmeanthat,from2010,employingauthoritieswillalsohavetomeetthecostoftheearlypaymentofunreducedpensionbenefitsincaseswhereteachersaregrantedprematureretirement.Thismeansthatemployingauthoritieswillthenhavetobearthefullcostsofprematureretirementcompensation.Itshouldalsobenotedthattheminimumpensionageincreasedfrom50to55witheffectfrom6April2010.Thisisamatteroftaxlegislationandiscontainedinthe2004FinanceAct.Therefore,teachersaged
Part Four:Despite concerns raised by PAC at Westminster in 1992 and 2003, the re-employment of prematurely retired teachers continues at a significant level
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport39
50-54willnolongerbeeligibletobegrantedprematureretirementandovertimethepercentageofteachersonNISTRinthisage-bracketwillreducesignificantly.
4.8 Inviewofthesechangesandproposals,theDepartmentanticipatesthattherewillbeareductioninthenumberofearlyretirementstoasustainableandaffordablelevel.InEngland,teachershavebeensubjecttosimilarchangesinarrangementsforprematureretirementcompensationsince1997.Recentstatisticsshowthat,afteraninitialsteepdecline,thenumbersretiringearlyarecurrentlyaround60percentoftheformerlevel(Appendix7).Overtime,therefore,itwouldbeexpectedthatthechangesinNorthernIrelandwillhavetheeffectofreducingthenumberofprematurelyretiredteachersavailabletoschoolsforsubstitutioncover.Asaresult,theDepartmentexpectsthatschoolswillhavetolookmorefrequentlytonewlyqualifiedteachersforsubstitutecoverandtofilltemporaryvacancies.
4.9 TheDepartmentisconsideringwhat
furthermeasuresmaybetakeninrespectoffutureprematureretirements.Itislikelythatemployingauthoritieswillmakeincreasinguseofseveranceprovision(plannedfor2010undertheproposednewregulations)tosecuretheearlyreleaseofteachers,ratherthanthemoreexpensiveprematureretirementtermswhichinvolveearlypaymentoffullpensionbenefits.There-employmentofteacherswhohavebeenmaderedundantalsocannotbeprohibited,astherewouldbeariskthattheDepartmentcouldbesubjecttoTribunalclaimsbyteacherspreventedfrom
applyingforcertainjobs.Theywouldhavetoreceivesomeformofcompensationbeyondthestatutoryminimum,withre-employmentconditionsattached.
4.10 Oneoftheconsequencesofthere-employmentofretiredteachersisthatitmakesitmoredifficultfornewlyqualifiedteacherstosecuretemporaryemployment.TheDepartmenttoldusthatprematurelyretiredteachersarerarelyemployedfortwofulltermssoitisunlikelythatengagingthemforsubstitutioncoverwillinterferewiththeinductionofnewlyqualifiedteacherswhorequirethisperiodofemploymenttocompletetheinductionprocess.However,theuseofprematurelyretiredteachersforsubstitutioncovercandeprivenewlyqualifiedteachersofopportunitiesforvaluableteachingexperience.Fallingschoolenrolmentsarealsoafactorintheavailabilityofemploymentopportunities.TheDepartmenthastakenactiontoreducethenumbersenteringteachertrainingsince2004by27percent,however,ittakessomeyearsforthistoimpactontheoverallnumberofnewlyqualifiedandrecentlyqualifiedteachersseekingemployment.
4.11 Intermsofencouragingtheemploymentofnewlyqualifiedandnon-retiredteachers,theDepartmenttoldusthatitisalsoexploringanumberofotheroptions,forexample:
• reinforcingadvicetoschoolsthroughtheissueofanannualcircularremindingemployingauthoritiesoftheneedtoensurethatschoolsfillvacanciesonapermanentbasis,exceptwherethevacancyisof
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40TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
atemporarynature;andgivingpreferencewherepossibletonewlyqualifiedteacherswhenfillingvacanciesoremployingsubstitutes;
• changingthebalanceinfundingforsubstitutioncostsbetweencentralanddelegatedbudgets;
• introducingaflatrateofpayforsubstituteteachers(likelytobechallengedonlegalgroundsbyteacherunions);
• suspending,ratherthanabating,pensionpayabletore-employedteacherswhoretireundertheprematureretirementscheme;and
• introducingaconditionthat,insomecases,teacherswhoacceptprematureretirementtermswouldbeineligibleforfutureemploymentingrant-aidedschools.
Part Four:Despite concerns raised by PAC at Westminster in 1992 and 2003, the re-employment of prematurely retired teachers continues at a significant level
4.12 Weacknowledgetheactionbeingconsideredtostemtheincreaseintheuseofprematurelyretiredteachersforsubstitutioncover.Itisalsoimportantthatteacherworkforceplanningatastrategiclevelcanensurethatthenumbersofnewlyqualifiedteacherscomingthroughthetrainingsystemisinlinewiththenumbersneededtofillvacanciesandprovidesubstitutecovergiventhenumbersofre-employedteacherswhocontinuetoprovidetemporarycoverinschools.TheDepartmenttoldusthatitplanstoundertakeaSchoolWorkforceReviewwhichisintendedtoprovideaframeworkwithinwhichESAcandevelopstrategicplansfortheeducationworkforce,includingteachers,andwillincludeconsiderationofteachersupplyanddemand,recruitmentandretention,professionalandcareerdevelopment,andredundancy,retirementandre-employment.
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Appendices
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42TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
PACReportonTheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers(2003)
UpdateoncommitmentsgivenbytheDepartmentofEducationinMemorandumofReply(CM5953)
ActionTakenbyDepartment
TheETIreport‘ASurveyofSubstituteTeachinganditsManagementinNorthernIreland2003-04’isavailableontheETIwebsitewww.etini.gov.uk.Thereportidentifiedanumberofstrengthsandalsoanumberofareasforimprovement.ETIhasmonitoredprogressintheareasforimprovementthroughongoing,routinevisitstoschoolsandthroughdiscussionswiththerelevantofficersfromtheCurriculumAdvisoryandSupportService(CASS)andtheDepartmentofEducation.ETIcontinuestomonitortheworkandmanagementofsubstituteteachersaspartoftheannualprogrammeofinspectionsalreadyestablishedforschoolsandtodrawanyissuestotheattentionofschools,CASSandtheDepartment.
Therearenowseparate,publishedMemorandaofUnderstandingbetweenETIandtheDepartment,DCALandDELindicatingthatETIisindependentoftheServiceproviders;andbusinessbetweenETIandthethreeDepartmentsisgovernedbySLAs.Asmallinterdepartmentalworkinggroup,establishedtoconsiderthefinancialandbudgetaryarrangementsbetweenETIandtheDepartment,DCALandDEL,hasreportedtotherelevantPermanentSecretaries,andthereporthasbeenendorsed.ThelegislationgoverninginspectionandETIisbeingrevisedwithinthecontextofRPA.
DepartmentalCommitment
TheDepartmentwillinformtheCommitteeoftheoutcomeofthereviewofsubstituteteachingbytheEducationandTrainingInspectorate(ETI).
TheDepartmentwillpursuetheCommittee’sviewongreaterindependencefortheETIindiscussionwiththerelevantMinisters.
PACConclusion
1.GiventhatsubstituteteachersconstituteamuchlargerproportionoftheteachingworkforceinNorthernIrelandthanEngland,theCommitteeissurprisedthattheInspectoratehasnotaddressedtheissueofsubstituteteachingearlier.TheDepartmenthasassuredusthatithasnowcommissionedtheInspectoratetoundertakeareviewandthiswilltakeplaceduringthe2003-04academicyear.
2.WebelievethatgreaterindependencefromtheDepartmentwouldimprovetheNorthernIrelandInspectorate’sstandingbothwithinandbeyondtheeducationcommunity.
Appendix 1:(paragraphs 1.2 and 3.1)
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport43
ActionTakenbyDepartment
ABestPracticeGuide,whichaddressesallaspectsofthemanagement,trainingandsupportforsubstituteteachers,waspreparedbytheBeginningTeachersGroup,aninter-Boardgroup.TheGuideissuedtoallschoolsandemployingauthoritiesin2006.
APerformanceReviewandStaffDevelopment(PRSD)SchemewasintroducedinallschoolsinNorthernIrelandfromSeptember2005.TheSchemeinvolvesthesettingofobjectivesforeachteacherandanappraisalattheendoftheschoolyearoftheextenttowhichtheseobjectiveshavebeenmet.PRSDcanthereforeapplyonlytosubstituteteachersemployedforplannedperiodsofadurationforwhichobjectivescanreasonablybeset.Itcannotthereforeapplytosubstituteteachersemployedforshortperiodsonacasualbasis,whoseperformancewillneedtobemonitored,andfeedbackprovided,bytheirlinemanagersasandwhentheyareemployed.
ETIcontinuestomonitortheworkandmanagementofsubstituteteachersaspartoftheannualprogrammeofinspectionsalreadyestablishedforschoolsandtodrawanyissuestotheattentionofschools,CASSandtheDepartment.
DepartmentalCommitment
TheDepartment,throughtheemployingauthorities,willcirculatetoallschoolsaBestPracticeGuideaddressingallaspectsofthemanagementofsubstitution,includinginduction,training,performancemanagementandtheestablishmentofappropriatemechanismstosupportsubstituteteachers.
Regardingperformanceevaluation,workwillcommenceonaSchoolDevelopmentandPerformanceManagementSchemeatthestartofthe2003-04schoolyear.
TheETIwillevaluateperformanceaspartofitsreviewofsubstituteteachers.
PACConclusion
3.Thereshouldbebettermechanismsinplacetosupportsubstituteteachers.Wefinditremarkablethatsubstituteteacherscanbeputinregularchargeofclasseswithoutproperinduction,trainingandperformanceevaluation.WearepleasedthattheDepartmentistogiveseriousconsiderationtoformalisingtheevaluationofsubstituteteachersandwelookforwardtoittakingpromptactionontheoutcomeofitsdeliberations.
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44TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
ActionTakenbyDepartment
TheNISubstituteTeachers’Register(NISTR)wasestablishedinMarch2004.WhenteachersjoinNISTR,apre-employmentcriminalrecordcheckiscarriedout(subsequentchecksarethencarriedouteverytwoyearsthereafter)andchecksarecarriedouttoensurethattheteacheriseligibletoteach,satisfiesrelevanthealthrequirementsandisregisteredwiththeGeneralTeachingCouncilforNorthernIreland.
FollowingasuccessfultestingperiodoftheNISTRon-linebookingsystem,itwasmadeavailabletoallBoardareasfromFebruary2007andthelastBoardareaswentliveduringApril2007.NISTRnowhasalmost7,000teachersregistered.Theelectronicinterfacetopayrollhasencouragedschoolstousetheregisterandaround60%ofsubstitutedaysarenowbookedthroughNISTR.TheDepartmentintendstomakeuseoftheregistermandatoryforbookingsubstitutionbyqualifiedteachersatthebeginningofthe2008-09academicyear.
ETI’songoingprogrammeofinspectionshasraisednoconcernstodate.
SeeresponsetoConclusion7below.
TheDepartmentsetupaWorkingGrouptoexaminethebenefits,thecostsandthepracticalitiesinvolvedinconnectionwiththeestablishmentofre-deploymentpool(s).ThereportoftheRedeploymentWorkingGroupconsideredthecosteffectivenessofthecurrentpositionofallowing
DepartmentalCommitment
TheDepartmentwillworkwiththeBoardsontheestablishmentofpoolingarrangementsforsubstituteteachersandevaluatethepilotofanon-linesystemproposedbytheBoardsandCCMS.
TheDepartmentwillreviewandupdatetheexistingguidanceregardingcheckstobeundertakenonsubstituteteacherssuppliedbyemploymentagencies.
TheETIwillreviewtheextenttowhichschoolshavecompliedwiththeguidanceaspartofitsreviewofsubstituteteachers.
TheDepartmentwillinitiateinSeptember2003areviewofthearrangementsforretirementongroundsofredundancy.
TheDepartmentwillexaminethecosts,benefitsandpracticalitiesofaRedeploymentAgreementbetweentheemployingauthoritiesandtherecognisedteacherunions.Currentlegislationwillalsobeexaminedand,ifnecessary,powerssoughttoimplementanyagreedsolution.
PACConclusion
4.TheCommitteestressesthattheregulationofemploymentagenciessupplyingteachersneedstoberobust.WealsowelcomethefactthattheBoardswillbeestablishingapilotschemetoexaminethecost/benefitsofsettinguptheirown“pooling”arrangementswherebyheadteacherscouldaccessacentraliseddatabasetobooksubstituteteacherson-line.
5.TheCommitteepointedouttotheDepartmentthesavingsmadebysomeEnglisheducationauthoritiesthathaveestablishedredeployment“pools”ofteachers.Werecommend,therefore,thattheDepartmentshouldexaminethoroughlythecost/benefitsofestablishingredeployment“pools”ofteachersinordertodecidewhethertotakepowerstofacilitatetheirintroductionwithintheBoards.
Appendix 1:(paragraphs 1.2 and 3.1)
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport45
ActionTakenbyDepartment
transferredredundanciesagainstalternativeoptions:namely,ceasingthepracticeofallowingTransferredRedundancy;orcreatingaTeacherReservePool.Theappraisalconcludedthatthedifferenceinbothmonetaryandnon-monetarytermsbetweenthealternativeoptionswasnegligibleandthateitheroftheseoptionswouldprovideanimprovedposition.TheDepartmenthasnowmovedto‘hardcharge’employersforthecostofenhancedpensionawardedtoprematurelyretiredteachersfromApril2008.Thiswillbringaboutasignificantreductioninthenumberoftransferredredundancies/prematureretirements.AworkinggrouphasbeensetuptofacilitatetheintroductionofhardchargingforthefullcostofprematureretirementcompensationfromApril2009.Thisshouldbringaboutfurtherdownwardpressureonnumbers,andtheneedfornewredeploymentarrangementswillberevisitedatthattimeinconjunctionwiththenewEducationandSkillsAuthority.
SeeresponsetoConclusions7-10below.
AnindependentreviewoftheTDMwascarriedoutbyNISRAanditsreportreceivedinMay2004.Thereviewconcludedthatthemodel,whichissimilartothatusedinEnglandandWales,isrobustintermsofitspredictiveanalysis.Thereviewhighlightedanumberofminorissuestobeconsideredforamendmentwithinthemodel.TheserecommendedchangeswereintroducedinrespectofteachereducationintakesforSeptember2005.
DepartmentalCommitment
TheDepartmentwilltakeactiontoimprovethemanagementofsubstitutionandabsenteeism.
TheTeacherDemandModelwillbere-examinedintheAutumnof2003.
PACConclusion
6.WerecommendthattheDepartmentcomestoanearlydecisionabouttheteachingworkforceitneedsandtakesurgentactiontostrengthenitsstrategicplanningtoachieveit.
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46TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
ActionTakenbyDepartment
GuidanceissuedbytheDepartment(reissuedinNovember2006)exhortsemployerstogivepreferencetonewlyqualifiedteachersandexperiencednon-retiredteacherswhoareseekingemployment.TheDepartmenthasalsoadvisedemployersthatretiredteachersshouldonlybere-employedtoprovideshort-termcoverwherenewlyqualifiedteachersorexperiencednon-retiredteachersareunavailable.Thecappingofthelevelsofthecentralreimbursementofthecostsofsubstitutecoveralsoprovidesanincentiveforschoolstoemploynewlyqualifiedteachersassubstitutes.
TheNISubstituteTeachers’Register,launchedin2004,allowsemployerstomonitortheavailabilityofnon-retiredteachersandthisinformationenablesthemtomountamorerobustchallengewhereschoolsemployanunqualifiedorprematurelyretiredteacher.
TheDepartmenthasreviewedthearrangementsforPrematureRetirementCompensation(bothRedundancyandEfficientDischarge)andtakenactiontocontrolthecostsassociatedwithprematureretirementbymakingemployingauthoritiesliableforanyenhancedpensiontheydecidetoaward.Thiswillhavetheeffectofreducingtheamountofcompensationavailableandmay,inturn,leadtoareductioninthenumberofteachersdecidingtoavailofprematureretirement.
DepartmentalCommitment
TheDepartmentwillreviewandmonitorrigorouslytheimplementationofpreviouscommitmentsmadetothePAConthere-employmentofprematurelyretiredteachersaswellasthosecontainedinthisMOR.
TheDepartmentwilltakemeasurestoensurethatopportunitiesforpermanentemploymentaregiventonewlyqualifiedteachersandthattheyarenotdisplacedbylong-termsubstitutionbyprematurelyretiredteachers.TheDepartmentwillwritetoemployingauthoritieshighlightingtheproblemandtheneedforschools,employersandtheDepartmenttohaveeffectivearrangementsinplacetoensureimprovement.
TheDepartmentwillconsidercarefullythereportoftheETIreviewof2002EfficientDischargeretirements.
PACConclusion
7.WerecommendthattheInspectoratere-establishesitsroleinthemonitoringandevaluationoftheprematureretirementofteachers.InviewoftheDepartment’spoorrecordofaction,weareaskingtheC&AGtogiveparticularattentiontomonitoringtheseissues.
Appendix 1:(paragraphs 1.2 and 3.1)
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport47
ActionTakenbyDepartment
TheEducation&TrainingInspectorateproducedareportentitled“TheEffectivenessoftheEfficientDischargeScheme”inNovember2003.Theweaknessesidentifiedinthereportwereaddressedintherevisedguidelinesissued24November2006.
ThePermanentSecretarywroteasindicatedon12September2003.
Arrangementsareinplaceforbiannualmonitoringofteacherabsencesatschoollevel.
Theemployingauthoritieshaverenewedtheircommitmenttomonitoringlevelsofabsenceandtoinvestigationandsupportofthoseschoolswiththeworstabsencerecords.TheTeacherAttendanceProcedurehasbeenthesubjectofamajoroverhaultocloseloopholesinthemanagementofbothcasualandlong-termsickabsence.Revisionsincludetheneedtoself-certifyfromthefirstdayofanyabsence;atighteningoftriggerpointsformanagementintervention;andadutyonemployingauthoritiestoensurethatschoolgovernorsandprincipalsaretrainedintheuseoftheprocedure.TeacherabsencelevelsarenowalsoanitemontheagendasofBoardofGovernorsmeetings.
DepartmentalCommitment
TheDepartmentwillwritetoemployingauthoritiesotherthanELBshighlightingtheCommittee’sconclusionsandrecommendationsregardingteacherabsencesandemphasisingtheneedforeachschooltosettargets.
TheDepartmentwilldeveloparrangementstoensurethattheperformanceofindividualschoolsissubjecttoregularmonitoringbytheDepartment.
TheDepartmentwilldrawupaplansettingoutactioninfourkeyareas:
TheDepartmentwillensurethatemployingauthoritiesimplementtheircommonpoliciesandproceduresonmanagingattendancemoreeffectivelyandprovidetrainingforschools.
PACConclusion
8.SicknessabsenceratesamongteachersinNorthernIrelandaremuchhigherthantheircounterpartsinEnglandandtheCommitteeisdisturbedthattheDepartmenthasfailedtosettargetsfortheirreduction.WerecommendthattheDepartmentdevelopsanactionplanandestablishessicknessreductiontargetsaimedatachievingthesavingsidentifiedintheC&AG’sReport.
8.1Managementofattendancepolicy.
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48TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
ActionTakenbyDepartment
Thetoplevelgrouplastmettowardstheendof2005.ItsworkfinishedwiththeproductionofthereportoftheTeacherHealthandWellbeingStrategyGroupwhichwascompletedinFebruary2006.ManagementSideoftheTeacherNegotiatingCommitteeconsideredthereport’srecommendationsandacceptedalimitednumberofthem.Asub-groupoftheTNCJointWorkingPartywasestablishedtobringforwardaworkableactionplantoincludeconsiderationoftheexistingcounsellingservicesofferedbyemployingauthorities.
Employingauthoritieshaveagreedtodevelopamoreconsistentapproachtotheprovisionofwelfareservicesandtocentralisetheprovisionofcounsellingservices,includinga24-hourtelephonehelplineavailabletoallteachers.TheDepartmentisworkingwiththeemployingauthoritiestoaddressassaultsonandabuseofteachers.Aworkshopisplannedfortheautumnwithhead-teacherandteacherrepresentatives,theemployingauthorities,legaladvisorsandPSNItoexplorethescaleoftheproblemandreviewtheadequacyofexistingguidance.
TheDepartmentcontinuestoworkwithemployingauthoritiestoestablishimprovedbenchmarkinginformationandtoimprovethequalityofinformationavailable.AdataminingpilotwascompletedtodeterminethepotentialbusinessbenefitsfortheDepartmentincludingtheprovisionofmeaningful,informative,accurateandtimelymanagementinformation.Fourdatasourceswereselectedatrandom,oneofthembeingTeacherAbsences.
DepartmentalCommitment
Atop-levelgroupestablishedbytheDepartmentandtheemployingauthoritieswilltakeforwardtherecommendationsofthe2002reportonTeachers’HealthandWell-being.
AGroupestablishedbytheDepartmenttoimprovemanagementinformationaboutteachersicknessabsenceswillexaminetheapproachelsewhereinthepublicserviceinNIandGBandidentifyappropriatebenchmarkinginformation.
PACConclusion
8.2Healthawarenessprogrammesforstaff.
8.3Managementinformation.
Appendix 1:(paragraphs 1.2 and 3.1)
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport49
ActionTakenbyDepartment
Twosoftwareproductswereusedinthepilot,CognosandDiver.Thepilotdidconcludethattherewerebenefitsinusingdataminingtoolstoanalyseandpresentmanagementinformation.Inthecaseofteachers’absencesthelessonslearntfromthepilotcontributedtotheOperationalRequirementsfortheTeachers’PayrollReplacementSystem.ThedevelopmentofthatsystemiswellunderwayandCognossoftwareisbeingusedinitasthepreferreddataminingandpresentationtool.
Itisanticipatedthatthenewcomputerisedpayrollsystemwillimprovetherecordingofinformationonsubstitutioncoverandalsothenatureofsicknessabsence;andthatitwillassistwiththeprovisionofinformationforbenchmarking.FullimplementationforpayrolliscurrentlyscheduledforendMarch2009andpensionsbyendDecember2009.
TheInspectoratecontinuestoensurethatarrangementsforsubstitutecoverareconsideredwithinallmajorinspections.Ingeneral,allteachers,regardlessofwhethertheyaresubstituteorpermanent,aretreatedequallyintermsofinspectioncoverage,andnoconcernshavebeensosignificant(inrelationtotheissuesinquestion)inthesampleofinspectionssofarastohaverequiredafollow-upbytheDepartment.
Theemployingauthoritieshaverenewedtheircommitmenttomonitoringlevelsofabsenceandtoinvestigationandsupportofthoseschoolswiththeworstabsencerecords.
DepartmentalCommitment
TheETIwillgiveahigherprioritytotheexaminationofabsenceandsubstitutionaspartofeachmajorinspection.TheDepartmentwilltakeappropriateactionwhereconcernsarehighlighted.
TheDepartmentwillworkcloselywithallemployingauthoritiestoexplorewiththemthereasonsforthehighsicknessabsenceratesandtoidentifytheactionsnecessarytoresolvedeficiencies.
PACConclusion
8.4Inspection
9.IntheCommittee’sview,reducingsicknessabsenceisnotrocketscience.TheDepartmentneedstoexplorewiththeemployersandschoolsthereasonsforhighsicknessabsenceratesandensure
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50TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
ActionTakenbyDepartment
HavingconsideredtheresultsofresearchinEnglandandWales,ScotlandandtheRepublicofIreland,theyarecurrentlyprogressinganumberofmeasuresthatmaybeexpectedtohaveapositiveimpactonabsenteeism.Theseincludethedevelopmentofastrategytoimproveteacherhealthandwell-being,includingmoreconsistentandeffectiveprovisionofwelfareandcounsellingservices;andamajorrevisionoftheManagingAttendancepolicy.ELBshavebeenrequired,intheirResourceAllocationPlans,togivedetailsoftheirtargetsforreducingsicknessabsencelevels,whichmustbesufficientlyrobust.
ThereportoftheTeacherHealthandWellbeingStrategyGroupwascompletedinFebruary2006.ManagementSideofTNCconsideredthereport’srecommendationsandacceptedalimitednumberofthem.Asub-groupoftheTNCJointWorkingPartywasestablishedtobringforwardaworkableactionplantoincludeconsiderationoftheexistingcounsellingservicesofferedbyemployingauthorities.
TheissueofcounsellingservicescouldnotbeaddressedseparatelyfromtheworkoftheTeachersHealthandWellbeingStrategyGroup.TheGroup’sreportwasfinalisedinFebruary2006andcontainedarecommendationaboutcounselling-thisisnowbeingtakenforwardafterlongdebatebyManagementSide.Therewasthereforenopilotexercisein2003-04.
DepartmentalCommitment
TheDepartmentwillensurethatBoardsandschoolsbenchmarktheirmanagementpracticesagainstthosewithbetterrecordsbothwithinNIandacrossGB.
TheDepartmentandemployingauthoritieswillreviewtheresultsofapilotsetupbytheemployingauthoritiesduringthe2003-04schoolyeartobuildupontheuseofcounsellingservices,andwillexpandtheprovisionoftheseserviceswhereitcanbeshowntobeintheinterestsofschoolsandwherethereisaclearbusinesscasetodoso.
PACConclusion
thatBoardsandschoolsbenchmarktheirmanagementpracticesagainstthosewithbetterrecords,bothwithinNorthernIrelandandacrossGreatBritain,inordertoidentifyandremedytheirdeficiencies.
10.TheCommitteeagreesthatteachers’employersshouldpilottheuseofcounsellingservicesinschools.WerecommendthattheyandtheDepartmentshouldpromptlyreviewtheresultsofthepilotsandexpandtheprovisionoftheseserviceswherethereisaclearbusinesscasefordoingso.
Appendix 1:(paragraphs 1.2 and 3.1)
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport51
ActionTakenbyDepartment
TheBELBagreedtoleadonbehalfofallemployingauthoritiesandhasbroughtforwardoptionsforgreaterconsistencyofprovisionacrossemployers.Thisincludesanassessmentofthefinancialimplicationsofastandardapproachandablueprintforaunifiedcounsellingserviceinthefuture.ThishasbeenagreedbyManagementSideofTNCandwillberolledoutduring2008-09.
IntheirResourceAllocationPlans,ELBshavebeenrequiredtogivedetailsoftheirtargetsforreducingtheincidenceofsicknessabsenceamongteachers.ThePermanentSecretaryholdsAccountabilityReviewswiththeChiefExecutivesofalltheEmployingAuthoritiesatwhichlevelsofsicknessabsencearediscussed.
TheDepartmentcontinuestoworkwithemployingauthoritiestoestablishimprovedbenchmarkinginformationandtoimprovethequalityofinformationavailable.AdataminingpilotwascompletedtodeterminethepotentialbusinessbenefitsforDEincludingtheprovisionofmeaningful,informative,accurateandtimelymanagementinformation.Fourdatasourceswereselectedatrandom,oneofthembeingTeacherAbsences.Twosoftwareproductswereusedinthepilot,CognosandDiver.Thepilotdidconcludethattherewerebenefitsinusingdataminingtoolsto
DepartmentalCommitment
TheDepartmentwillfurtherengageallinterestedpartiesintheeducationsectortoensurethatallappropriateremedialactionistakenontheissueofabsenteeism.
TheDepartmentwillreviewthecurrentprocessesandinitiateappropriateactiontoensurethatweaknessesareaddressedintheaccuracy,recordingandaccessibilityofinformationonteachers’absencesandsubstitutioncover.
PACConclusion
11.ItappearsthatacultureofhighabsenteeismmayhavebeenallowedtodevelopinsomepartsoftheteachingworkforceinNorthernIreland,whichgivesrisetoaparticularconcernabouthowthiswillimpactonpupils’learning.Evenifteacherabsenteeismdoesnotinducesimilarbehaviouramongpupils,itisclearthatschoolsandtheeducationsystemingeneralhaveakeyroletoplayifthiscultureistobechanged.
13.Abasicstepinmanagingbothteachersubstitutioncoverandsicknessabsencewouldbetoestablishaccurateandcomprehensiveinformationontheirlevels,patternsandcosts.TheDepartmentneedstotakeurgentactiontoensurethatimprovedrecordingarrangementsareintroducedsothatreliableandeasilyaccessibledataisavailableontheuseofsubstitutioncoverandthenatureofsicknessabsence.
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52TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
ActionTakenbyDepartment
analyseandpresentmanagementinformation.Inthecaseofteachers’absencesthelessonslearntfromthepilotcontributedtotheOperationalRequirementsfortheTeachers’PayrollReplacementSystem.ThedevelopmentofthatsystemiswellunderwayandCognossoftwareisbeingusedinitasthepreferreddataminingandpresentationtool.
Itisanticipatedthatthenewcomputerisedpayrollsystemwillimprovetherecordingofinformationonsubstitutioncoverandalsothenatureofsicknessabsence;andthatitwillassistwiththeprovisionofinformationforbenchmarking.FullimplementationforpayrolliscurrentlyscheduledforendMarch2009andpensionsbyendDecember2009.
DepartmentalCommitmentPACConclusion
Appendix 1:(paragraphs 1.2 and 3.1)
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport53
ExtractfromCommonfundingscheme2008-09
Staffcosts–substitution
Whereteachersubstitutioncostsarepaidfromcentrefunds,thisislimitedtoamaximumofpointM4ontheteachers’scaleinthecurrentfinancialyearand any substitution costs in excess of this are charged to the school’s delegated budget. Theonlyexceptiontothisgeneralruleiswherethesubstituteteacherhasbeenemployedascoverforateacherwhoisanaccreditedrepresentativeandisengagedontradeunionbusiness.
Thefollowingarethecircumstanceswherethecostsofsubstituteemployees(teachingandnon-teaching)willbemetfromcentrefunds:
Absencesowingtoillness
Schoolswithmorethan4FTEteachers–whereapermanentmemberofstaffisabsentforuptoandincluding20consecutiveworkingdays,substitutioncostsareachargetotheschool’sLMSbudget.Whereapermanentmemberofstaffisabsentinexcessof20workingdays,substitutioncostsfromthe21stdayofillnessareachargetothecentre.
Schoolswith4FTEteachersorless–whereapermanentmemberofstaffisabsentforuptoandincluding10consecutiveworkingdays,substitutioncostsareachargetotheschool’sLMSbudget.Whereapermanentmemberofstaffisabsentinexcessof10workingdays,substitutioncostsfromthe11thdayofillnessareachargetothecentre.
Intheeventoftheabsentteachergoingontonopay,thecostofthesubstituteteacherwillbemetinfullbytheschoolfromwithinitsdelegatedbudget
b) Forspecialleavewherethishasbeengrantedwithfullpayforthefollowingreasons:
• asaninternationalsportrepresentative;
• asalaymagistrate;
• juryservice;
• securityforces;and
• DistrictPolicingPartnership.
c) Wheretheteacherhasbeenrequiredto:
• participateinworkingpartiesestablishedbytheBoard,CouncilforCatholicMaintainedSchoolsorDepartmentandwheretheteacherhasatimetabledteachingcommitment;
• moderateexaminationsaccreditedtotheNationalQualificationsFramework;
• beinvolvedinthetransferprocedure;or
• engageincurriculardevelopmentactivityattheinstigationofCCEA.
d) Forabsencesasanaccreditedtradeunionrepresentative,providedtheseareinaccordancewiththefacilitiesagreement.
Appendix 2:(paragraphs 1.3 and 1.5)
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54TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
e) ForotherrepresentationaldutieswherethepersonisamemberofanELB;CCMS;NICIEorCnaGorGeneralTeachingCouncil.WheresubstitutecoverisprovidedforamemberofstaffwhoisabsentonaccountoftheiractivitiesasaDistrictCouncillororarepresentativeonaHealthBoard,supportfromcentrefundswillbelimitedto5daysinafinancialyear.
f) WherethememberofstaffisrequiredtoattendaCourtorIndustrialTribunal,onbehalforattherequestoftheschooloremployingauthority.
g) ForthefollowingstaffdevelopmentandINSETactivities:
• approvedINSET,whetherschoolorBoardbased;
• RTUtraining;or
• trainingassociatedwithHealthandSafety.
h) Whereamemberofstaffhasbeensuspendedonfullpay.
i) OtherexceptionalcircumstanceswhichmaybeapprovedbytheFundingAuthority.
Appendix 2:(paragraphs 1.3 and 1.5)
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport55
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Appendix 3:(paragraph 2.1)
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56TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
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Appendix 4:(paragraph 2.1)
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport57
Keyfeaturesofthe2003NationalAgreementinEnglandandWales
TheAgreementincludesasevenpointplanforcreatingtimeforteachersandhead-teachers:
1. Progressivereductionsinteachers’overallhoursoverthenextfouryears.Thisobjectivewillbepromotedbyallthepartnersandprogresswillbemonitoredandaudited,includingatschoollevel;
2. Changestoteachers’contracts,toensureallteachers,includinghead-teachers:
• donotroutinelyundertakeadministrativeandclericaltasks;
• haveareasonablework/lifebalance;
• haveareducedburdenofprovidingcoverforabsentcolleagues;
• haveguaranteedplanning,preparationandassessmenttimewithintheschoolday,tosupporttheirteaching,individuallyandcollaboratively;
• haveareasonableallocationoftimeinsupportoftheirleadershipandmanagementresponsibilities;andthathead-teachershavededicatedtimewhichrecognisestheirsignificantleadershipresponsibilitiesfortheirschool.
3. Aconcertedattackonunnecessarypaperworkandbureaucraticprocessesforteachersandhead-teachers,includinginEnglandthroughtheestablishmentofanImplementationReviewUnit;
4. Reformofsupportstaffrolestohelpteachersandsupportpupils.Personaladministrativeassistantsforteachers,coversupervisorsandhighlevelteachingassistantswillbeintroduced;
5. Therecruitmentofnewmanagers,includingbusinessandpersonnelmanagers,andotherswithexperiencefromoutsideeducationwheretheyhavetheexpertisetocontributeeffectivelytoschools’leadershipteams;
6. Additionalresourcesandnational“changemanagement”programmes,tohelpschoolleadersachieveintheirschoolsthenecessaryreformsoftheteachingprofessionandrestructuringoftheschoolworkforce
7. MonitoringofprogressondeliverybytheSignatoriestothisAgreement.
Appendix 5:(paragraph 3.20)
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58TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
NumberofteachersregisteredwithGTCNIandontheNISTR,March2008
AgeRange Number %
24andunder 705 9.4
25-29 1,243 16.6
30-34 600 8.1
35-39 458 6.2
40-44 410 5.5
45-49 364 5.0
50-54 928 12.5
55-59 1,602 21.5
60-64 950 12.8
65andover 175 2.4
Total 7,435 100
Appendix 6:(paragraph 4.6)
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport59
31 IncludesActuariallyReducedBenefitretirementsfrom2000-01.32 Figuresfrom1998-99onwardscontinuetobesubjecttoslightrevisionduetotheadditionofretrospectiveawardsand
suspensionofpensionbenefitswhereteachersreturntoservice.33 Figuresfrom2006-07onwardsareprovisionalestimates.34 Asat28February2010.
England&Wales NorthernIreland
Financialyear Premature Prematureas%of Premature Prematureas%of Retirements31 totalretirements Retirements totalretirements
1990-91 7,740 50 340 57
1991-92 6,530 48 353 62
1992-93 7,170 49 261 50
1993-94 8,030 49 229 42
1994-95 7,120 45 207 41
1995-96 8,600 50 180 33
1996-97 10,210 55 278 43
1997-98 11,350 62 390 51
1998-9932 2,370 28 318 45
1999-00 2,650 29 299 44
2000-01 3,150 31 407 51
2001-02 3,470 34 323 46
2002-03 3,950 36 348 46
2003-04 4,930 39 361 49
2004-05 6,050 43 377 50
2005-06 6,640 46 584 60
2006-0733 7,460 43 555 55
2007-08 7,440 41 558 57
2008-09 7,880 41 311 42
2009-10 N/A N/A 17334 35
Source: Pensioner Statistical System (PENSTATS); Department
Appendix 7:(paragraph 4.8)
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60TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
Title HC/NIANo. DatePublished
AbsenteeisminNorthernIrelandCouncils2007-08 – 9January2009
ObesityandType2DiabetesinNorthernIreland NIA73/08-09 14January2009
PublicServiceAgreements–MeasuringPerformance NIA79/08-09 11February2009
ReviewofAssistancetoValenceTechnology: NIA86/08-09 25February2009ACaseStudyonInwardInvestment
TheControlofBovineTuberculosisinNorthernIreland NIA92/08-09 18March2009
ReviewofFinancialManagementintheFurtherEducation NIA98/08-09 25March2009SectorinNorthernIrelandfrom1998to2007/GovernanceExaminationofFermanaghCollegeofFurtherandHigherEducation
TheInvestigationofSuspectedContractorFraud NIA103/08-09 29April2009
TheManagementofSocialHousingRentCollection NIA104/08-09 6May2009andArrears
ReviewofNewDeal25+ NIA111/08-09 13May2009
FinancialAuditingandReporting2007-08 NIA115/08-09 20May2009
GeneralReportontheHealthandSocialCareSector NIA132/08-09 10June2009inNorthernIreland2008
TheAdministrationandManagementoftheDisabilityLiving NIA116/08-09 17June2009AllowanceReconsiderationandAppealsProcess
ThePre-SchoolEducationExpansionProgramme NIA133/08-09 19June2009
BringingtheSSNomadictoBelfast–TheAcquisitionand NIA165/08-09 24June2009RestorationoftheSSNomadic
TheExercisebyLocalGovernmentAuditorsoftheirfunctions – 30June2009
AReviewoftheGatewayProcess/TheManagement NIA175/08-09 8July2009ofPersonalInjuryClaims
Resettlementoflong-staypatientsfromlearningdisability – 7October2009hospitals
ImprovingtheStrategicRoadsNetwork-TheM1/Westlink – 4November2009andM2ImprovementSchemes
ThePerformanceofthePlanningService – 25November2009
ImprovingAdultLiteracyandNumeracy – 9December2009
AbsenteeisminNorthernIrelandCouncils2008-2009 – 11December2009
CampsieOfficeAccommodation/ _ 24March2010Synergye-BusinessIncubator(SeBI)
NIAO Reports 2009-2010
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TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport61
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62TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport
PrintedintheUKfortheStationeryOfficeonbehalfoftheNorthernIrelandAuditOfficePC272705/10
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