Concerns raised by parents about the behaviour of individual teachers will have to be fully investigated by school managements under a new complaints procedure for all primary schools.
According to a draft agreement worked out between the Department of Education and representatives of primary teachers, parents, and school managers the new procedures, seen by The Irish Times, are designed to:
Enable parents/guardians to raise issues of concern in relation to their school.
Provide a fair, equitable and consistent arrangement for the investigation of complaints regarding the actions of primary teachers, recognising the rights of all parties in a spirit of respect.
In practice, the complaints procedure will deal with cases where, for example, a teacher is persistently sarcastic or offensive to a pupil. It specifically excludes issues relating to the professional competence of a teacher, where complaints will remain a matter for the Department of Education.
But when a parent/guardian makes a complaint about the behaviour of a teacher the board of management - after considering whether a complaint warrants investigation - will be obliged to inform parents within five days if their complaint has been upheld.
If the complaint is upheld the board can inform the teacher the conduct which led to the complaint must not be repeated or it could take more serious disciplinary action. But parents will not be entitled to know what, if any, disciplinary action is taken against the teacher if the complaint is upheld or partly upheld.
According to the draft agreement, "any such action will not normally be communicated to third parties", such as parents and guardians. The INTO pressed for this provision which it maintains is in line with standard procedures in industrial relations.
Under the Education Act, the Government is obliged to establish a complaints procedure for primary schools. Discussions on a framework for the new system have been under way for months involving the Department of Education, the principal school management bodies, the Irish National Teachers' Organisation and the National Parents' Council-Primary. In recent weeks, the broad thrust of the new procedures has been agreed.
The sole unresolved issue is whether parents should be entitled to see the response made by a teacher to his/her principal in response to the original complaint. The NPC (Primary) would like to see this response but the INTO says that would be against natural justice.
Three stages in school complaints procedure: page 4