Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)

I will reply to this matter on behalf of my colleague and Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe.

I am glad to have this opportunity to update the House on the current position of the probation of primary teachers. As a result of the very significant increase in teaching posts that the Department has provided to primary schools in recent years, the number of applicants for probation as primary teachers has increased significantly from 1,000 in the school year 2001-02 to 2,639 in the 2007-08 school year.

The Department of Education and Science undertakes a range of activities to ensure that newly qualified teachers are informed about the probationary process. Department inspectors make presentations to all final year students in colleges of education each year. Guidelines for probationary teachers have been published and are widely disseminated among probationary teachers. They are also available on the Department's website. In conjunction with the education centre network, probationary teachers are invited to seminars to inform them of the probationary process in September each year.

Revised application procedures for probation were introduced in 2006. All primary schools are now advised in June each year to notify the Department regarding teachers who may be eligible for probation. A series of dates are nominated for submission of applications. The due date for round one is by the end of June, round two by the middle of September, round three by the beginning of November and round four by the middle of January.

The parameters surrounding the probationary process are outlined in the Department of Education and Science circular 0140/2006. There are two dimensions to the probationary process, namely, service and professional. Normally, probation is completed within a school year. However, circumstances may arise where there is a need to extend the process, whether because of concerns regarding the teacher's competence, or because he or she is absent from school for prolonged periods. While on probation, a teacher is visited by an inspector who provides two reports on the teacher's work and makes the judgment whether the teacher's work is satisfactory. Satisfactory completion of probation is currently a condition required for full registration with the teaching council.

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