Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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My Department, through the teacher support services and education centres, engages teachers on a full time basis annually for the provision of continuing professional development (CPD) through secondment from their schools. These secondments are subject to annual review. The arrangements provide flexibility and ensure that the in-service needs of teachers and other support priorities of the school system can be met within the resources available.

Having teachers with relevant and recent teaching experience and expertise is a key requirement for the role. It is a condition therefore that the maximum length of time that a teacher may be on secondment is five years, following which they return to their teaching roles within their schools. Returning to the teaching role is always planned and is seen as one of the strengths of the policy and in this way, their expertise and knowledge is not lost to the system. These teacher secondment arrangements were disseminated extensively so the necessary planning could take place at all levels including education centres, support services, school boards of management and individual teacher.

It is Department policy to extend a secondment in certain limited situations, for example, where a seconded teacher is engaged in a leadership role, has a specialism or expertise where retention is necessary for continuity, quality planning and management.   The implementation of this policy is a matter for the services concerned and the relevant section of my Department.