This article covers principals and vice principals in grant-aided schools. These roles, collectively known as ‘leadership group’ roles, are subject to specific pay ranges, professional duties and conditions of employment.

The article does not cover other management roles that attract payments for additional responsibilities. Such roles are dealt with under the subheading ‘Payments for additional responsibilities’ in the article ‘Conditions of Service for Teachers’.

Also, this article does not cover management staff in independent schools. Nor does it cover management staff in voluntary and private pre-school provision.

Professional responsibilities of principals 

The professional duties of principals are set out in Schedule 1 of the Teachers’ (Terms and Conditions of Employment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987. They include:

• formulating the overall aims and objectives of the school and policies for their implementation
• participating in the selection and appointment of the teaching and non-teaching staff of the school
• deploying and managing all teaching and non-teaching staff of the school and allocating particular duties to them
• maintaining relationships with organisations representing teachers and non-teaching staff
• determining, organising and implementing an appropriate curriculum
• evaluating the standards of teaching and learning in the school
• ensuring the establishment and maintenance of proper standards of professional performance, participating in staff development and performance reviews, and enabling staff access to training
• ensuring that pupil progress is monitored and recorded
• ensuring that there is a policy for the pastoral care of pupils and that it is implemented
• allocating, controlling and accounting for the financial and material resources of the school which are under their control
• participating in teaching to an extent that is appropriate given his or her other duties.

The role of the principal is also underpinned by the National Standards for Headteachers Northern Ireland Edition, published in August 2005. The Standards are set out in six non-hierarchical areas which, when taken together, represent the role of the headteacher. The areas are:

• shaping the future
• leading learning and teaching
• developing self and working with others
• managing the organisation
• securing accountability
• strengthening community (page 3).

Professional responsibilities of vice principals 

Vice principals are required by Schedule 2 of the Teachers' (Terms and Conditions of Employment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 to:

• carry out the professional duties of a teacher and, in particular, those duties assigned by the principal
• assist the principal in managing the school, or any part of the school, as determined by the principal
• undertake any professional duty of the principal, which the principal delegates to him or her
• undertake the professional duties of the principal in the event of the principal’s absence, to the extent required by the principal or the employing authority (see the section ‘Requirements for appointment’ below).

Requirements for appointment 

Appointment as a principal or vice principal is subject to satisfactory checks on registration with the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI), qualifications, health, and suitability to work with children. These are outlined under the subheading ‘Entry to the profession’ in the article on ‘Conditions of Service for Teachers’.

Irrespective of whether the contract of employment is with the Education Authority (EA), the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS), or the board of governors, much of the responsibility for recruiting, selecting and managing the school principal and vice principal lies with the school’s board of governors. For a guide to the responsibilities of governors in this respect, see chapter 9 ‘School Staff’ of the Governor Guide 2018.

Principals and vice principals apply for specific posts through an open recruitment process. Posts must usually be publicly advertised and applicants must be judged fairly on their merits against the objective requirements for the job. The process must not contravene any anti-discrimination legislation.

In controlled schools, the appointment process is carried out in accordance with the Teaching Appointments Scheme, developed by the Education Authority. This includes that the board of governors:

• develops a job description and person specification for the role that accurately describe the requirements of the post
• advertises the post
• forms a selection panel to interview applicants
• recommends a candidate for appointment to the Education Authority (EA).  

Selection panels for the appointment of a school principal in controlled schools must include at least one assessor appointed by the EA. This assessor, who is normally a principal in a controlled school, advises the selection panel on the appointment but has no voting rights. Further information is provided in The Teaching Appointments Scheme for Controlled Schools and a Guide to the Selection Process, available to download on the EA website.

In Catholic maintained schools, posts are advertised by the local diocesan office of the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) and applications are made direct to that office. A selection panel from the school’s board of governors shortlists and interviews applicants, with a management officer from the local diocesan office in attendance. It is for the board of governors to decide which candidate to appoint, but that decision must be ratified by the CCMS.

For posts in grammar and grant-maintained integrated schools, the board of governors is the employing authority and has full autonomy over the recruitment and appointment process.

Conditions of service 

This section focuses on the pay and conditions, working time and holidays, professional development, and performance management of principals and vice principals, collectively known as the ‘leadership group’, in grant-aided schools.

It does not deal with ‘Professional status’; ‘Mobility and transfers’; ‘Dismissal’; and ‘Retirement and pensions’, for which there are no specific arrangements for leadership group staff. See the article on ‘Conditions of Service for Teachers’ for these aspects.

Pay and conditions 

The pay and conditions of principals and vice principals are agreed through the Teachers’ Salaries and Conditions of Service Committee (Schools), more commonly known as the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee, or TNC. This comprises the employing authorities / employer representatives, the Department of Education (DE) and the teaching unions. With respect to salaries, the Committee is largely guided by arrangements in England and Wales.

Pay and allowances from 1 September 2018 are contained in DE Circular 2020/04. This sets out a 43-point leadership group pay spine for principals and vice principals. Governors follow the Guidance for Boards of Governors on the Formulation and Implementation of Salary Policy 2008 in determining the principal / vice principal’s position on the spine (pages 5-10). The Board of Governors:

1. Assigns the school to a ‘principal group’ on the pay spine, based on the number of pupils at each key stage and the number of pupils with special educational needs who attend it. (The leadership group pay spine is banded into eight principal groups with overlapping ranges of spine points.)
2. Establishes an ‘Individual School Range’ (ISR) of seven consecutive spine points within the principal group. The principal’s salary must be within this ISR and is determined by taking account of the responsibilities of the post, the background of the pupils at the school and whether the post is difficult to fill.
3. Sets a five-point pay range for each vice principal. The vice principal’s pay range must not overlap with the ISR, and his / her salary must start on a point above the pay of the highest paid classroom teacher (this is a notional salary defined in the pay spine).

For further information on teachers’ pay and conditions in Northern Ireland, see this webpage.

Decisions on pay progression are taken annually, linked to the outcome of the review of the principal’s / vice principal’s performance (see the subheading ‘Continuing professional development' and 'Performance management’ below).

Working time and holidays 

Principals and vice principals are not covered by the provisions which set out the number of days and annual hours that a teacher must be available for work (which are described under the subheading ‘Working time and holidays’ in the article on ‘Conditions of Service for Teachers’). However, like all teachers, principals and vice principals are entitled to regular annual, weekly and daily breaks from work, including a daily break of at least 30 minutes between the hours of 12.00 and 2.00pm, and to a reasonable work-life balance as set out in the Workload Agreement (2011).

Continuing professional development 

The School Development Service (previously known as the Regional Training Unit, RTU) provides a range of programmes to support the professional development of leaders and senior managers. This includes courses for emergent and aspirant leaders, first-time principals and vice principals, and serving principals and managers. Professional development is underpinned by the 2005 National Standards for Headteachers (Northern Ireland Edition), which define the expertise demanded of the headship role.

Performance management 

All principals, vice principals and teachers must participate in an annual review of their performance under the Performance Review and Staff Development (PRSD) scheme. Department of Education guidance on the scheme for governors and principals establishes PRSD as:

‘an integral part of a strategic approach to development and continuous improvement at both school and individual level….. a continuous and systematic process to support principals and teachers with their professional development and career planning. It also provides a framework to help ensure that in-service training and other development provision matches the complementary needs of both the individual and the school’ (page 1). 

The school’s board of governors has a duty to review the performance of the principal. The review includes an assessment of his / her performance against agreed objectives; the identification of any personal and professional development needs; and the agreement of an action plan and objectives for the coming year. It is conducted by a minimum of two governors, who may be assisted by an external advisor. The review is recorded in a review statement, which is taken into account when decisions / recommendations are made regarding the principal’s pay.

The Department of Education has produced guidance to support boards of governors and employing authorities in instances where the work, or aspects of the work, of a principal is giving cause for concern. The Procedure for Supporting Effective Leadership by School Principals, drawn up by the Teachers’ Salaries and Conditions of Service Committee (Schools) (TNC) in 2013, is intended to be invoked when a principal’s performance is causing concern and all informal measures have been exhausted. It aims to ensure that principals receive appropriate professional support, advice and guidance so that they can address identified weaknesses and return to normal levels of performance.

The PRSD process is similar for vice principals whose performance is usually reviewed by the principal.

Article last reviewed April 2021.