2.STAGE 1 – PROCEDURE MEETING – PRINCIPALS AND VICE-PRINCIPALS

2.1IDENTIFYING A VACANCY

When a vacancy for a Principal or Vice-Principalis identified, the first requirement is for the Board of Governors, in consultation with the Human Resources Branch, to convene a meeting for the purpose of agreeing the arrangements for filling the post. All meetings of the Board of Governors, convened for the purpose of considering such appointments,are attended by a Link Officer (Adviser)and by a Human Resources Representative (Human Resources Manager) who will be responsible for convening meetings and acting as Secretary to the Board of Governors.

In the case of an appointment of a Vice-Principal, the Principal will be required to attend all meetings of the Board of Governors. The Principal is not permitted to attend any meetings of the Board of Governors relating to the appointment of his/her successor.

2.2CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH POSTS SHOULD BE ADVERTISED

When a vacancy for a Principal/Vice-Principal occurs it is recommended that Boards of Governors recruit to the vacant post through public advertisement. Where any vacancy arises for such a post, the prior approval of the Board must be obtained before any action is taken which might remove the possibility of the post being publicly advertised. Where the Teaching Appointments Committee agrees, in very exceptional circumstances[1], that a post of Principal/Vice-Principal should not be publicly advertised, the Board of Governors shall notify the vacancy to all the staff in the school.

2.3POINTS TO CONSIDER PRIOR TO COMMENCING THE PROCEDURE MEETING

  • Elect a Chairperson

Normally the Chairperson of the Board of Governors, if present, will chair all meetings associated with the appointment process. If the Chairperson or the Vice-Chairperson are not present, then the voting members present shall elect one of their members, who is not a member of staff, to be Chairperson of that meeting. (See Annex 3, Ref Article 43(3) of the Scheme of Management for Controlled Schools).

  • Ensure the Selection Panel is Quorate

When meeting as a Selection Panel ata Procedure, Shortlisting or Interview meeting, the Panel must be quorate. (See Annex 2 for detailed Guidance on the Quorum for Appointments carried out by a Board of Governors or a Staffing/Appointments Committee for teaching and non-teaching appointments in Controlled Schools).

Note: In Controlled schools, the Principal is a non-voting member in
all appointments (ie teaching and non teaching appointments).

Without a quorum, the Panel is not legally constituted and the Procedure meeting cannot proceed. (See Annex 3, Ref Article 41(1-4) of the Scheme of Management for Controlled Schools).

  • Governor Training

It is already established good practice that only Governors with appropriate training in Recruitment and Selection should serve on Panels. In addition, Department of Education Circular 2006/08 requires that at least one Governor on the Interview Panel has been trainedin Child Protection as part ofRecruitment and Selection Training.

The Chairperson of each Panel is required to detail on Section 1 of the Child Protection Pro-forma (Annex 4) the name(s) of the Governor(s) on Selection Panels who have received this training.

  • Continuity

Governors should be aware of the need for the Panel to remain the same, for reasons of continuity, throughout the process. For practical reasons it may be difficult for a Governor to participate, eg in the interviews when they were not involved at shortlisting. It is also acknowledged that there will always be those occasions when a Governor is unable to attend both the Shortlisting and the Interview meetings. In these cases the Chairperson should note the change of Governor(s) and the associated reason.

  • Maintain Confidentiality

It is vitally important that all stages of the Recruitment and Selection proceedings in relation to the appointment of staff remain confidential.

  • Declaration of Family Relationships of Members

Voting or non-voting members in any part of the Shortlisting or Selection process shall withdraw from the process if a relevant family relationship is known to exist between the Panel member and any person who is applying for a particular post within the school. A relevant family relationship shall be deemed to exist between a Panel member and a person who is a candidate for employment or promotion if they are husband, wife or partner, or living together as husband or wife, or if the person who is a candidate for employment or promotion is the:

Parent

Grandparent

Grandson or granddaughter

Son or daughter

Brother or sister

Uncle or aunt

Nephew or niece

First Cousin.

This also applies to all equivalent step-relations.

It is the responsibility of Panel members to declare if they feel their knowledge of, or their relationship with a candidate, which may also be a business-type relationship, is such that it could be deemed to compromise their objectivity.

For full guidance on Declaration of Family Relationships of Members(See Annex 3, Ref Article 46(1-3) of the Scheme of Management for Controlled Schools).

  • Declaration of Knowledge of Canvassing

Where a member of the Selection Panel has knowledge of any instance of canvassing in relation to the appointment, he/she is required to declare this knowledge before the issue is discussed. The Board of Governors shall determine any action to be taken arising from a declaration. Canvassing of Panel members, directly or indirectly, may disqualify the candidate. (See Annex 3, Ref Article 48 of the Scheme of Management for Controlled Schools).

2.4AGREEING THE CRITERIA FOR THE ADVERTISEMENT

At the Procedure meeting, the Human Resources Representative will:

  • Explain the Appointments Procedure confirming his/her attendance as Secretary at all three meetings of the Board of Governors (Procedure, Shortlisting and Interview) and at the Teaching Appointments Committee.
  • Table a folder for each member of the Board of Governors containing general background information about the school, the school profile (provided by the school), draft advertisement including salary scale for the post, conditions of appointment to the post of Principal/Vice-Principal, personnel specification, job description comprising statement of the general functions and professional duties of a Principal or job description comprising general duties of a Vice-Principal and the Scheme for the Appointment of Teachers.

The Link Officer will also be in attendance at all three meetings of the Board of Governors and the Teaching Appointments Committee to provide advice in general on curriculum and educational matters relating to the appointment.

The first task that the Board of Governors must undertake is the completion of the Personnel Specification.

The Personnel Specification details the ideal candidate in terms of qualifications, experience, knowledge, skills and personal qualities/leadership skills required for the post.

The essential and, if applicable, desirable criteria for the post must be completed under each of the criterion headings, as detailed below:

Qualifications: / Determine the level of qualifications required for the post.
Experience: / Examine the key tasks and duties outlined in the job description.
Knowledge: / Determine what knowledge is required of the post eg for a Vice-Principal awareness and understanding of the main educational issues facing Primary/Post-Primary Schools.
Skills: / Determine the skills required for the post, eg have effective conflict resolution skills.
Personal Qualities/
Leadership Skills: / Determine what personal qualities are essential for the post, eg good level of communication skills and presentation skills.

The criteria contained in the Personnel Specification are the criteria which are present at each stage of the recruitment and selection process. These criteria will form the basis of the advertisement; they will be used to shortlist applicants and to mark candidates against at the interview stage.

It is important to note that the criteria should be job-related, justifiable and measurable.

The advertisement should be written in such a way as to attract the widest possible pool of applications. However, at the same time the criteria should be written to allow sufficient scope to shortlist, using the staged approach, in order to reach a manageable number to interview.

  • School Profile

Schools may wish to provide general information about the school and the post. This information will be provided in the Appointment Booklet allowing applicants to create an overview of the school which can be useful when preparing for interview.

  • Job Description

The job description for the post of Principal and Vice-Principal comprises the Statement of the General Functions and Professional Duties of the Principaland the Terms and Conditions of Employment of Vice-Principals which are in accordance with the Teachers’ (Terms and Conditions of Employment) set out in the Teachers’ Regulations (NI) 1987.

2.5SHORTLISTING AND INTERVIEW ARRANGEMENTS

During the Procedure meeting, the Human Resources Representative will agree a schedule of relevant dates, ie date of public advertisement, closing date, shortlisting and interview dates.

2.6ADVERTISING THE POST

Advertisements for Principal/Vice-Principal posts appear in the provincial papers in line with the Board’s Recruitment and Selection Advertising Strategy and on the SELB website –

The normal practice is for advertisements for Principal and Vice-Principal posts not to be combined with other advertisements for SELB teaching posts, unless requested to do so by a Board of Governors. The closing date is normally on a Tuesday, two weeks following the insertion date.

  • Application Pack

The Application Packis issued by the Human ResourcesBranch to applicants on request or it can be downloaded from the Board’s website; it contains the following documentation:

-Application Form and Equal Opportunities Monitoring Questionnaire and Summary of Equal Opportunities Policy

-Guidance Notes

-Appointment Booklet containing:

General background information and School Profile

Copy of Job Advertisement

Conditions of Appointment to Post of Principal/Vice Principal

Personnel Specification

General Duties of Principal/Vice-Principal

Job Description comprising statement of the general functions and professional duties of the Principal or Job Description comprising general duties of the Vice-Principal.

A sample Appointment Booklet for a PrincipalPost is included atAppendix 1.

[1] Very exceptional circumstances, while difficult to give all the factors, will include the following:

(i) re-organisation/amalgamation of schools

(ii) services budgetary difficulties leading to redundancies (advice from the Chief Finance Officer may be required)