The Management of Substitution Cover for Teachers ... - NISTR

The Management of Substitution Cover for Teachers: Follow-up Report

REPORT BY THE COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL26 May 2010

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ReportbytheComptrollerandAuditorGeneralforNorthernIreland

OrderedbytheNorthernIrelandAssemblyto be printed and published under the authority of the Assembly, in accordance with its resolution of 27 November 2007

TheManagementofSubstitutionCoverforTeachers:Follow-upReport

ThisreporthasbeenpreparedunderArticle8oftheAudit(NorthernIrelandOrder1987forpresentationtotheNorthernIrelandAssemblyinaccordancewithArticle11ofthatOrder.

KJDonnelly NorthernIrelandAuditOfficeComptrollerandAuditorGeneral 26May2010

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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


Absenceinterventionstrategies 29

Implementationofbestpracticeprinciplesinschoolshasbeenpoor 30

Part4

DespiteconcernsraisedbyPACatWestminsterin1992and2003, 35there-employmentofprematurelyretiredteacherscontinuesatasignificantlevel

Appendices 41


CCEA CouncilfortheCurriculumExaminationsandAssessment

CCMS CouncilforCatholicMaintainedSchools

ESA EducationandSkillsAuthority

GTCNI GeneralTeachingCouncilforNorthernIreland

LMS LocalManagementofSchools

NICIE NorthernIrelandCouncilforIntegratedEducation

NISTR NorthernIrelandSubstituteTeachers’Register

OFSTED OfficeforStandardsinEducation

PAC PublicAccountsCommittee

TNC TeachersNegotiatingCommittee

Abbreviations

Executive Summary

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

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.


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


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


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

Part One:Introduction


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


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.

Part Two:While substitute teachers are needed to maintain the smooth running of schools, costs have risen dramatically


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



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)


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.



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


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



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


2.16 Thefiguresaboveshowasubstantialvariationbetweentheaveragecostincurredforaday’ssubstitutioncoverbycontrolledschoolsandbymaintainedschools.Theaveragecostincurredbycontrolledschools(£138.14)isover3percentabovethatincurredbymaintainedschools(£133.95).

2.17 Thevariationsbetweentheratespaidforhourlycoverareevengreater(seeFigure5).Thedifferencebetweenthelowestaveragehourlyrate,paidbymaintainedschoolsintheWesternBoard(£17.99),

15

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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



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


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.


Part Three:The Department has had only limited success in sustaining improvements in the level of sickness absence among teachers


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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Figure8:Rangeofteachers’sicknessabsenceacrossallschools,2008-09

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Figure9:Rangeofteachers’sicknessabsencebyemployingauthority,2007-08*

Board/Sector Lowest Highest Average

Belfast 0.00 49.00 7.31

NorthEastern 0.00 126.50 7.45

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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



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


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



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)


• 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



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.


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.



• 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


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).



Caseexample2

InconjunctionwiththeRegionalTrainingUnitforNorthernIreland,CCMSispilotingtrainingontheimplementationofthemanagingattendancepolicyforaselectionofschoolprincipals.Thistargetedtrainingwillseektoconcentrateontheskillsneededbyprincipalstofullyimplementthepolicyamongstteachers,suchasinterviewingskills.Duringprincipals’meetingsheldinMarch2008,skills-basedtrainingwasidentifiedasimportanttothesuccessfulimplementationofthepolicy,byenablingprincipalstofeelconfidentincarryingouttherequirementsofthepolicy.

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


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.


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


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


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



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


atemporarynature;andgivingpreferencewherepossibletonewlyqualifiedteacherswhenfillingvacanciesoremployingsubstitutes;

• changingthebalanceinfundingforsubstitutioncostsbetweencentralanddelegatedbudgets;

• introducingaflatrateofpayforsubstituteteachers(likelytobechallengedonlegalgroundsbyteacherunions);

• suspending,ratherthanabating,pensionpayabletore-employedteacherswhoretireundertheprematureretirementscheme;and

• introducingaconditionthat,insomecases,teacherswhoacceptprematureretirementtermswouldbeineligibleforfutureemploymentingrant-aidedschools.


4.12 Weacknowledgetheactionbeingconsideredtostemtheincreaseintheuseofprematurelyretiredteachersforsubstitutioncover.Itisalsoimportantthatteacherworkforceplanningatastrategiclevelcanensurethatthenumbersofnewlyqualifiedteacherscomingthroughthetrainingsystemisinlinewiththenumbersneededtofillvacanciesandprovidesubstitutecovergiventhenumbersofre-employedteacherswhocontinuetoprovidetemporarycoverinschools.TheDepartmenttoldusthatitplanstoundertakeaSchoolWorkforceReviewwhichisintendedtoprovideaframeworkwithinwhichESAcandevelopstrategicplansfortheeducationworkforce,includingteachers,andwillincludeconsiderationofteachersupplyanddemand,recruitmentandretention,professionalandcareerdevelopment,andredundancy,retirementandre-employment.

Appendices


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)



ABestPracticeGuide,whichaddressesallaspectsofthemanagement,trainingandsupportforsubstituteteachers,waspreparedbytheBeginningTeachersGroup,aninter-Boardgroup.TheGuideissuedtoallschoolsandemployingauthoritiesin2006.

APerformanceReviewandStaffDevelopment(PRSD)SchemewasintroducedinallschoolsinNorthernIrelandfromSeptember2005.TheSchemeinvolvesthesettingofobjectivesforeachteacherandanappraisalattheendoftheschoolyearoftheextenttowhichtheseobjectiveshavebeenmet.PRSDcanthereforeapplyonlytosubstituteteachersemployedforplannedperiodsofadurationforwhichobjectivescanreasonablybeset.Itcannotthereforeapplytosubstituteteachersemployedforshortperiodsonacasualbasis,whoseperformancewillneedtobemonitored,andfeedbackprovided,bytheirlinemanagersasandwhentheyareemployed.

ETIcontinuestomonitortheworkandmanagementofsubstituteteachersaspartoftheannualprogrammeofinspectionsalreadyestablishedforschoolsandtodrawanyissuestotheattentionofschools,CASSandtheDepartment.


TheDepartment,throughtheemployingauthorities,willcirculatetoallschoolsaBestPracticeGuideaddressingallaspectsofthemanagementofsubstitution,includinginduction,training,performancemanagementandtheestablishmentofappropriatemechanismstosupportsubstituteteachers.

Regardingperformanceevaluation,workwillcommenceonaSchoolDevelopmentandPerformanceManagementSchemeatthestartofthe2003-04schoolyear.

TheETIwillevaluateperformanceaspartofitsreviewofsubstituteteachers.

PACConclusion

3.Thereshouldbebettermechanismsinplacetosupportsubstituteteachers.Wefinditremarkablethatsubstituteteacherscanbeputinregularchargeofclasseswithoutproperinduction,trainingandperformanceevaluation.WearepleasedthattheDepartmentistogiveseriousconsiderationtoformalisingtheevaluationofsubstituteteachersandwelookforwardtoittakingpromptactionontheoutcomeofitsdeliberations.



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


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.




transferredredundanciesagainstalternativeoptions:namely,ceasingthepracticeofallowingTransferredRedundancy;orcreatingaTeacherReservePool.Theappraisalconcludedthatthedifferenceinbothmonetaryandnon-monetarytermsbetweenthealternativeoptionswasnegligibleandthateitheroftheseoptionswouldprovideanimprovedposition.TheDepartmenthasnowmovedto‘hardcharge’employersforthecostofenhancedpensionawardedtoprematurelyretiredteachersfromApril2008.Thiswillbringaboutasignificantreductioninthenumberoftransferredredundancies/prematureretirements.AworkinggrouphasbeensetuptofacilitatetheintroductionofhardchargingforthefullcostofprematureretirementcompensationfromApril2009.Thisshouldbringaboutfurtherdownwardpressureonnumbers,andtheneedfornewredeploymentarrangementswillberevisitedatthattimeinconjunctionwiththenewEducationandSkillsAuthority.

SeeresponsetoConclusions7-10below.

AnindependentreviewoftheTDMwascarriedoutbyNISRAanditsreportreceivedinMay2004.Thereviewconcludedthatthemodel,whichissimilartothatusedinEnglandandWales,isrobustintermsofitspredictiveanalysis.Thereviewhighlightedanumberofminorissuestobeconsideredforamendmentwithinthemodel.TheserecommendedchangeswereintroducedinrespectofteachereducationintakesforSeptember2005.


TheDepartmentwilltakeactiontoimprovethemanagementofsubstitutionandabsenteeism.

TheTeacherDemandModelwillbere-examinedintheAutumnof2003.

PACConclusion

6.WerecommendthattheDepartmentcomestoanearlydecisionabouttheteachingworkforceitneedsandtakesurgentactiontostrengthenitsstrategicplanningtoachieveit.



GuidanceissuedbytheDepartment(reissuedinNovember2006)exhortsemployerstogivepreferencetonewlyqualifiedteachersandexperiencednon-retiredteacherswhoareseekingemployment.TheDepartmenthasalsoadvisedemployersthatretiredteachersshouldonlybere-employedtoprovideshort-termcoverwherenewlyqualifiedteachersorexperiencednon-retiredteachersareunavailable.Thecappingofthelevelsofthecentralreimbursementofthecostsofsubstitutecoveralsoprovidesanincentiveforschoolstoemploynewlyqualifiedteachersassubstitutes.

TheNISubstituteTeachers’Register,launchedin2004,allowsemployerstomonitortheavailabilityofnon-retiredteachersandthisinformationenablesthemtomountamorerobustchallengewhereschoolsemployanunqualifiedorprematurelyretiredteacher.

TheDepartmenthasreviewedthearrangementsforPrematureRetirementCompensation(bothRedundancyandEfficientDischarge)andtakenactiontocontrolthecostsassociatedwithprematureretirementbymakingemployingauthoritiesliableforanyenhancedpensiontheydecidetoaward.Thiswillhavetheeffectofreducingtheamountofcompensationavailableandmay,inturn,leadtoareductioninthenumberofteachersdecidingtoavailofprematureretirement.


TheDepartmentwillreviewandmonitorrigorouslytheimplementationofpreviouscommitmentsmadetothePAConthere-employmentofprematurelyretiredteachersaswellasthosecontainedinthisMOR.

TheDepartmentwilltakemeasurestoensurethatopportunitiesforpermanentemploymentaregiventonewlyqualifiedteachersandthattheyarenotdisplacedbylong-termsubstitutionbyprematurelyretiredteachers.TheDepartmentwillwritetoemployingauthoritieshighlightingtheproblemandtheneedforschools,employersandtheDepartmenttohaveeffectivearrangementsinplacetoensureimprovement.

TheDepartmentwillconsidercarefullythereportoftheETIreviewof2002EfficientDischargeretirements.

PACConclusion

7.WerecommendthattheInspectoratere-establishesitsroleinthemonitoringandevaluationoftheprematureretirementofteachers.InviewoftheDepartment’spoorrecordofaction,weareaskingtheC&AGtogiveparticularattentiontomonitoringtheseissues.




TheEducation&TrainingInspectorateproducedareportentitled“TheEffectivenessoftheEfficientDischargeScheme”inNovember2003.Theweaknessesidentifiedinthereportwereaddressedintherevisedguidelinesissued24November2006.

ThePermanentSecretarywroteasindicatedon12September2003.

Arrangementsareinplaceforbiannualmonitoringofteacherabsencesatschoollevel.

Theemployingauthoritieshaverenewedtheircommitmenttomonitoringlevelsofabsenceandtoinvestigationandsupportofthoseschoolswiththeworstabsencerecords.TheTeacherAttendanceProcedurehasbeenthesubjectofamajoroverhaultocloseloopholesinthemanagementofbothcasualandlong-termsickabsence.Revisionsincludetheneedtoself-certifyfromthefirstdayofanyabsence;atighteningoftriggerpointsformanagementintervention;andadutyonemployingauthoritiestoensurethatschoolgovernorsandprincipalsaretrainedintheuseoftheprocedure.TeacherabsencelevelsarenowalsoanitemontheagendasofBoardofGovernorsmeetings.


TheDepartmentwillwritetoemployingauthoritiesotherthanELBshighlightingtheCommittee’sconclusionsandrecommendationsregardingteacherabsencesandemphasisingtheneedforeachschooltosettargets.

TheDepartmentwilldeveloparrangementstoensurethattheperformanceofindividualschoolsissubjecttoregularmonitoringbytheDepartment.

TheDepartmentwilldrawupaplansettingoutactioninfourkeyareas:

TheDepartmentwillensurethatemployingauthoritiesimplementtheircommonpoliciesandproceduresonmanagingattendancemoreeffectivelyandprovidetrainingforschools.

PACConclusion

8.SicknessabsenceratesamongteachersinNorthernIrelandaremuchhigherthantheircounterpartsinEnglandandtheCommitteeisdisturbedthattheDepartmenthasfailedtosettargetsfortheirreduction.WerecommendthattheDepartmentdevelopsanactionplanandestablishessicknessreductiontargetsaimedatachievingthesavingsidentifiedintheC&AG’sReport.

8.1Managementofattendancepolicy.



Thetoplevelgrouplastmettowardstheendof2005.ItsworkfinishedwiththeproductionofthereportoftheTeacherHealthandWellbeingStrategyGroupwhichwascompletedinFebruary2006.ManagementSideoftheTeacherNegotiatingCommitteeconsideredthereport’srecommendationsandacceptedalimitednumberofthem.Asub-groupoftheTNCJointWorkingPartywasestablishedtobringforwardaworkableactionplantoincludeconsiderationoftheexistingcounsellingservicesofferedbyemployingauthorities.

Employingauthoritieshaveagreedtodevelopamoreconsistentapproachtotheprovisionofwelfareservicesandtocentralisetheprovisionofcounsellingservices,includinga24-hourtelephonehelplineavailabletoallteachers.TheDepartmentisworkingwiththeemployingauthoritiestoaddressassaultsonandabuseofteachers.Aworkshopisplannedfortheautumnwithhead-teacherandteacherrepresentatives,theemployingauthorities,legaladvisorsandPSNItoexplorethescaleoftheproblemandreviewtheadequacyofexistingguidance.

TheDepartmentcontinuestoworkwithemployingauthoritiestoestablishimprovedbenchmarkinginformationandtoimprovethequalityofinformationavailable.AdataminingpilotwascompletedtodeterminethepotentialbusinessbenefitsfortheDepartmentincludingtheprovisionofmeaningful,informative,accurateandtimelymanagementinformation.Fourdatasourceswereselectedatrandom,oneofthembeingTeacherAbsences.


Atop-levelgroupestablishedbytheDepartmentandtheemployingauthoritieswilltakeforwardtherecommendationsofthe2002reportonTeachers’HealthandWell-being.

AGroupestablishedbytheDepartmenttoimprovemanagementinformationaboutteachersicknessabsenceswillexaminetheapproachelsewhereinthepublicserviceinNIandGBandidentifyappropriatebenchmarkinginformation.

PACConclusion

8.2Healthawarenessprogrammesforstaff.

8.3Managementinformation.




Twosoftwareproductswereusedinthepilot,CognosandDiver.Thepilotdidconcludethattherewerebenefitsinusingdataminingtoolstoanalyseandpresentmanagementinformation.Inthecaseofteachers’absencesthelessonslearntfromthepilotcontributedtotheOperationalRequirementsfortheTeachers’PayrollReplacementSystem.ThedevelopmentofthatsystemiswellunderwayandCognossoftwareisbeingusedinitasthepreferreddataminingandpresentationtool.

Itisanticipatedthatthenewcomputerisedpayrollsystemwillimprovetherecordingofinformationonsubstitutioncoverandalsothenatureofsicknessabsence;andthatitwillassistwiththeprovisionofinformationforbenchmarking.FullimplementationforpayrolliscurrentlyscheduledforendMarch2009andpensionsbyendDecember2009.

TheInspectoratecontinuestoensurethatarrangementsforsubstitutecoverareconsideredwithinallmajorinspections.Ingeneral,allteachers,regardlessofwhethertheyaresubstituteorpermanent,aretreatedequallyintermsofinspectioncoverage,andnoconcernshavebeensosignificant(inrelationtotheissuesinquestion)inthesampleofinspectionssofarastohaverequiredafollow-upbytheDepartment.

Theemployingauthoritieshaverenewedtheircommitmenttomonitoringlevelsofabsenceandtoinvestigationandsupportofthoseschoolswiththeworstabsencerecords.


TheETIwillgiveahigherprioritytotheexaminationofabsenceandsubstitutionaspartofeachmajorinspection.TheDepartmentwilltakeappropriateactionwhereconcernsarehighlighted.

TheDepartmentwillworkcloselywithallemployingauthoritiestoexplorewiththemthereasonsforthehighsicknessabsenceratesandtoidentifytheactionsnecessarytoresolvedeficiencies.

PACConclusion

8.4Inspection

9.IntheCommittee’sview,reducingsicknessabsenceisnotrocketscience.TheDepartmentneedstoexplorewiththeemployersandschoolsthereasonsforhighsicknessabsenceratesandensure



HavingconsideredtheresultsofresearchinEnglandandWales,ScotlandandtheRepublicofIreland,theyarecurrentlyprogressinganumberofmeasuresthatmaybeexpectedtohaveapositiveimpactonabsenteeism.Theseincludethedevelopmentofastrategytoimproveteacherhealthandwell-being,includingmoreconsistentandeffectiveprovisionofwelfareandcounsellingservices;andamajorrevisionoftheManagingAttendancepolicy.ELBshavebeenrequired,intheirResourceAllocationPlans,togivedetailsoftheirtargetsforreducingsicknessabsencelevels,whichmustbesufficientlyrobust.

ThereportoftheTeacherHealthandWellbeingStrategyGroupwascompletedinFebruary2006.ManagementSideofTNCconsideredthereport’srecommendationsandacceptedalimitednumberofthem.Asub-groupoftheTNCJointWorkingPartywasestablishedtobringforwardaworkableactionplantoincludeconsiderationoftheexistingcounsellingservicesofferedbyemployingauthorities.

TheissueofcounsellingservicescouldnotbeaddressedseparatelyfromtheworkoftheTeachersHealthandWellbeingStrategyGroup.TheGroup’sreportwasfinalisedinFebruary2006andcontainedarecommendationaboutcounselling-thisisnowbeingtakenforwardafterlongdebatebyManagementSide.Therewasthereforenopilotexercisein2003-04.


TheDepartmentwillensurethatBoardsandschoolsbenchmarktheirmanagementpracticesagainstthosewithbetterrecordsbothwithinNIandacrossGB.

TheDepartmentandemployingauthoritieswillreviewtheresultsofapilotsetupbytheemployingauthoritiesduringthe2003-04schoolyeartobuildupontheuseofcounsellingservices,andwillexpandtheprovisionoftheseserviceswhereitcanbeshowntobeintheinterestsofschoolsandwherethereisaclearbusinesscasetodoso.

PACConclusion

thatBoardsandschoolsbenchmarktheirmanagementpracticesagainstthosewithbetterrecords,bothwithinNorthernIrelandandacrossGreatBritain,inordertoidentifyandremedytheirdeficiencies.

10.TheCommitteeagreesthatteachers’employersshouldpilottheuseofcounsellingservicesinschools.WerecommendthattheyandtheDepartmentshouldpromptlyreviewtheresultsofthepilotsandexpandtheprovisionoftheseserviceswherethereisaclearbusinesscasefordoingso.




TheBELBagreedtoleadonbehalfofallemployingauthoritiesandhasbroughtforwardoptionsforgreaterconsistencyofprovisionacrossemployers.Thisincludesanassessmentofthefinancialimplicationsofastandardapproachandablueprintforaunifiedcounsellingserviceinthefuture.ThishasbeenagreedbyManagementSideofTNCandwillberolledoutduring2008-09.

IntheirResourceAllocationPlans,ELBshavebeenrequiredtogivedetailsoftheirtargetsforreducingtheincidenceofsicknessabsenceamongteachers.ThePermanentSecretaryholdsAccountabilityReviewswiththeChiefExecutivesofalltheEmployingAuthoritiesatwhichlevelsofsicknessabsencearediscussed.

TheDepartmentcontinuestoworkwithemployingauthoritiestoestablishimprovedbenchmarkinginformationandtoimprovethequalityofinformationavailable.AdataminingpilotwascompletedtodeterminethepotentialbusinessbenefitsforDEincludingtheprovisionofmeaningful,informative,accurateandtimelymanagementinformation.Fourdatasourceswereselectedatrandom,oneofthembeingTeacherAbsences.Twosoftwareproductswereusedinthepilot,CognosandDiver.Thepilotdidconcludethattherewerebenefitsinusingdataminingtoolsto


TheDepartmentwillfurtherengageallinterestedpartiesintheeducationsectortoensurethatallappropriateremedialactionistakenontheissueofabsenteeism.

TheDepartmentwillreviewthecurrentprocessesandinitiateappropriateactiontoensurethatweaknessesareaddressedintheaccuracy,recordingandaccessibilityofinformationonteachers’absencesandsubstitutioncover.

PACConclusion

11.ItappearsthatacultureofhighabsenteeismmayhavebeenallowedtodevelopinsomepartsoftheteachingworkforceinNorthernIreland,whichgivesrisetoaparticularconcernabouthowthiswillimpactonpupils’learning.Evenifteacherabsenteeismdoesnotinducesimilarbehaviouramongpupils,itisclearthatschoolsandtheeducationsystemingeneralhaveakeyroletoplayifthiscultureistobechanged.

13.Abasicstepinmanagingbothteachersubstitutioncoverandsicknessabsencewouldbetoestablishaccurateandcomprehensiveinformationontheirlevels,patternsandcosts.TheDepartmentneedstotakeurgentactiontoensurethatimprovedrecordingarrangementsareintroducedsothatreliableandeasilyaccessibledataisavailableontheuseofsubstitutioncoverandthenatureofsicknessabsence.



analyseandpresentmanagementinformation.Inthecaseofteachers’absencesthelessonslearntfromthepilotcontributedtotheOperationalRequirementsfortheTeachers’PayrollReplacementSystem.ThedevelopmentofthatsystemiswellunderwayandCognossoftwareisbeingusedinitasthepreferreddataminingandpresentationtool.

Itisanticipatedthatthenewcomputerisedpayrollsystemwillimprovetherecordingofinformationonsubstitutioncoverandalsothenatureofsicknessabsence;andthatitwillassistwiththeprovisionofinformationforbenchmarking.FullimplementationforpayrolliscurrentlyscheduledforendMarch2009andpensionsbyendDecember2009.

DepartmentalCommitmentPACConclusion



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.



e) ForotherrepresentationaldutieswherethepersonisamemberofanELB;CCMS;NICIEorCnaGorGeneralTeachingCouncil.WheresubstitutecoverisprovidedforamemberofstaffwhoisabsentonaccountoftheiractivitiesasaDistrictCouncillororarepresentativeonaHealthBoard,supportfromcentrefundswillbelimitedto5daysinafinancialyear.

f) WherethememberofstaffisrequiredtoattendaCourtorIndustrialTribunal,onbehalforattherequestoftheschooloremployingauthority.

g) ForthefollowingstaffdevelopmentandINSETactivities:

• approvedINSET,whetherschoolorBoardbased;

• RTUtraining;or

• trainingassociatedwithHealthandSafety.

h) Whereamemberofstaffhasbeensuspendedonfullpay.

i) OtherexceptionalcircumstanceswhichmaybeapprovedbytheFundingAuthority.



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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.



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



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



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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The Management of Substitution Cover for Teachers ... - NISTR

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