Recruitment drive for 80 new posts

Cavan-Monaghan ETB is in the “final stages of interviewing” teachers as part of a recruitment drive ahead of the new academic year in September.

The teaching posts were secured at all ETB schools across the two counties from the Department for Education, and the recruitment campaign commenced at Easter 2023.

Director of schools, Paddy Flood, provided the update to ETB board members at their May monthly meeting, which took place at Blacklion’s Loughan House.

He revealed that interested candidates had applied from as far as France, Saudi Arabia, and England.

The campaign for recruitment is now entering its “final stages” and will be completed in due course with successful candidates informed thereafter.

Meanwhile, Mr Flood said that school leaders had received “formal support” in conducting end-of-year reporting and reviews of Posts of Responsibility.

A formal review of Posts of Responsibility must take place at least once every two years.

Separately, the ETB is continuing to engage with Dr Johanna Fitzgerald from Mary Immaculate College on developing two staff members as inclusion coaches.

Mr Flood informed that this process will be extended in 2023/24 to additional schools.

“This process assists schools with implementing best practice in terms of allocation of teachers for SEN [Special Education Needs] support,” he said, while 12 more teachers from CMETB schools will attend a Middle Leadership summer school in the University of Limerick organised by ETBI.

Arrangements for all State examinations have also been circulated to all schools, said Mr Flood, with a second sitting of the Leaving Certificate taking place in both a Cavan and Monaghan school.

He explained that this year a student who has to leave an examination due to an emergency while sitting for the first time “may be entitled” to re-sit the text on a second occasion.