Management and Other Education Staff   

Management

Early Childhood

Pre-school services are generally owner-managed or managed by a Childcare Manager (private/community). A pre-school’s management is typically responsible for:

• The direction and supervision of the work of all staff in the service;
• Recruitment, induction, training, development and performance management of staff;
• Overall safety and well-being of the children in their care;
• Setting policies and procedures for the service and ensuring their implementation;
• Ensuring compliance with the Child Care (Pre-School Services) Regulations 2006 and all other relevant legislation;
• Management of the finances of the service and reporting of same to the committee/board of management/investors (private/community).

School Education

The main administrative post in a school in Ireland is that of principal. The principal is assisted by a deputy principal, or deputy principals, depending on the size of the school. The management authority is the school board of management which is generally comprised of patron's nominees, principal teacher representatives, parent representatives and two co-opted members of the community.

Monitoring

Early Childhood

Under the Child Care Act 1991, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is charged with ensuring the health, safety and welfare of children attending pre-school services. Pre-school providers are required to notify the HSE that they are providing services. In addition, they are required to take all reasonable measures to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of pre-school children attending their service.

The Child Care (Pre-School Services) Regulations 2006 outline the standards of health, safety and welfare that must be in place before services can commence in any facility. The Regulations cover fundamental areas such as child/adult ratios, premises and facilities, child/floor space ratios, ventilation, sanitation, food, safety measures, facilities for rest and play, insurance and discipline. Overall, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs has responsibility for these Regulations and for developing policy in this area. The HSE is required to inspect and regulate pre-school child care services.

School Education

The Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills is headed by a Chief Inspector, who in turn is supported by two Deputy Chief Inspectors and a number of assistant chief inspectors, form the Senior Management Group (SMG). Each assistant chief inspector is responsible for one of the nine Business Units within the Inspectorate.

The Inspectorate is responsible for the evaluation of primary and post-primary schools and centres of education and for the provision of advice to the educational system and to policy makers. Essentially, the work of the Inspectorate is concerned with improving the quality of learning for children and young people in educational settings.

Guidance

School Education

The main categories of support and guidance staff in schools in Ireland are support teachers in primary schools, school guidance counsellors in post-primary schools and home-school-community-liaison officers for disadvantaged areas at both primary and post-primary levels.

School guidance counsellors operate in post-primary schools. The qualifications normally required are those of a post-primary teacher with an additional postgraduate diploma in guidance. The role of these guidance counsellors is to provide for the personal, social, educational and vocational development needs of students. They carry out assessments, prepare students for interviews and job-search activities, help them to plan careers, and liaise with various public and voluntary community agencies. They are recruited, appointed and employed on a contractual basis by the relevant school management authorities. School guidance counsellors work under the same general employment and salary conditions as the mainstream teaching force.