Sonning Common Primary School

Transcription

1 Sonning Common Primary School POLICY STATEMENT FOR EMPLOYEE COMPETENCE Policy 55 Version 1 Summer 1999

2 AIMS POLICY FOR EMPLOYEE COMPETENCE The principal aim of this school concerning employee competence is to enable the employee to become a high quality teacher through continued professional development, support and guidance. INTRODUCTION Lack of competence is defined as a situation in which an employee fails consistently to perform their duties as a professional. Before the formal procedure is invoked, the employee will have been made aware of any concerns, including parental complaints, and relevant advice will have been given by the headteacher during an informal interview. The Oxfordshire County Council considers that the whole procedure, including any disciplinary action required, should reasonably be completed in six months. By the end of the six-month period a decision should have been made that the employee has demonstrated a satisfactory level of competence, or that some progress has been made but further support and monitoring is required, or that the employee should be dismissed. However, in order to ensure that appropriate support is given no employee should be dismissed under this procedure in less than six months except in extreme cases where the education of pupils is jeopardised. The Summer, Christmas and Easter holidays do not count towards the six months but the half-term holidays should count as working weeks. SPECIAL CASES Misconduct Where the employee is willfully refusing to carry out duties or perform them to an acceptable standard, the matter may be treated as misconduct and the OCC disciplinary procedure will then be used. New Staff It is the responsibility of the headteacher to ensure that newly qualified teachers, and non-teaching employees still in a probationary period, are provided with a structured programme of induction and support. Where this has been done and concerns still persist, it is considered that the formal procedure which follows is inappropriate and separate informal procedures be used. 1

3 Ill Health Where it appears that the performance of an employee is affected by a health problem, advice should be sought from the OCC Occupational Health Service and Education Personnel Department so that special measures may be considered including any factors relating to the Disability Discrimination Act. Ill health procedures may then be applied to the employee instead of the formal procedure given in this policy. Governor Involvement Except where the employee concerned is the headteacher, the governing body are not informed or involved in either Stage 1 or Stage 2 of the formal procedure. It may be felt appropriate to inform the chair of governors or the chair of the personnel committee that action is being taken, however, it should be noted that this governor may then be ruled ineligible to take part in any subsequent disciplinary hearings on the matter in question. Headteachers Where the employee concerned is the headteacher, the provisions of this competence policy will still be followed but it will be initiated and progressed by the chair of governors in liaison with the Chief Education Officer. INFORMAL INTERVIEWS Counseling by means of an informal interview may often be a more satisfactory method of resolving problems than a disciplinary interview or the use of the formal competence procedure. The interview should take the form of a discussion with the objective of encouraging the employee to improve. Professional performance problems should be clearly identified and the nature of the problem, its level of seriousness and possible causes should be discussed. A counseling interview must not turn into a formal disciplinary interview. If it is apparent that the matter cannot dealt with informally then the interview should be terminated and arrangements made for a formal interview, either disciplinary or under this competence policy, giving at least five working days notice. It is important that the employee understands the outcome of an informal interview including any improvement required, the method of monitoring of conduct or performance and the period of monitoring. The interviewer should keep a record of the interview and supply a copy to the interviewee. Any disagreement over the accuracy of the record should be noted on 2

4 both copies. No other copies of the record should be made or shown to a third party. The record of the interview should be destroyed after six months if no further action is taken. If, at the conclusion of the interview, the matter is considered of minor importance or is to be dropped immediately then no record is required. FORMAL PROCEDURE The rights of the employee At all stages of the formal procedure the employee has the right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or a colleague or friend. The employee has the right to be given, in advance, written details of all the matters to be discussed, to see any written evidence and to receive a copy of this policy. No action will be taken against a trade union representative until the circumstances of the case have been discussed, either with a full-time officer of the union or other senior trade union representative. Use of the procedure Unless otherwise agreed by both parties the employee will be given at least five working days notice of any formal meeting. A reasonable time of eight to nine weeks will be allowed under both Stage 1 and Stage 2 for improvement and monitoring. The OCC will not support a governing body who vary this timescale, without overwhelming evidence that the education of pupils is jeopardised, even to the extent that any costs whatsoever of a subsequent industrial tribunal would, in such cases, have to be borne entirely by the school. At the end of the monitoring period, if it is decided that the performance has reached a satisfactory level, formal monitoring will end. If there is a subsequent recurrence of similar problems within one year of the end of action under this formal procedure then action may be resumed at the appropriate point of the procedure. STAGE 1 Structured support Where previous informal discussion and guidance has not resolved concerns about the employee's professional performance, the headteacher will arrange, in writing, 3

5 a formal recorded interview with the employee. This written notification will initiate and constitute the date of entry into the formal procedure. Unless the relationship between the employee and the headteacher has completely broken down, no adviser involvement is required, but the employee may request an adviser to be present to provide an independent assessment of the employee's performance at this stage. The initiation meeting At the meeting the headteacher will explain the purpose of the competence procedure reiterate the standards of work performance expected explain where the perceived deficiencies exist using the job description and any other relevant documentation obtain the employee's observations in respect of the deficiencies identified consider any reason put forward for the employee's alleged deficiencies. This may include health or personal problems, lack of understanding, knowledge or experience, inadequate support or resources, inappropriate timetable or workload decide if further action is still necessary. If so, then establish, in consultation with the employee, a programme of action and support designed to effect an improvement in performance. set relevant targets and a date for a formal review meeting explain the subsequent stages of the procedure and the possible implications of failing to achieve the required improvements. Stage 1 support The headteacher will provide the employee with a written record within one week of the meeting and provide an opportunity for any points of clarification or amendment to be discussed and recorded. During the period of monitoring up to the review date, the employee will be given guidance and any appropriate support to assist in meeting the required targets. Such support may include counseling, examination of timetable commitments and workload or areas of responsibility, provision of resource materials and training and the opportunity to observe good practice in other classrooms or schools. Where appropriate a mentor may be agreed upon. 4

6 The employee's performance will be monitored by the headteacher. A written record of any classroom observation or meeting held to discuss progress during the review period will be provided to the employee. The employee will be given the opportunity to discuss any outcomes of the observation and to record any comments or suggested amendments. The review period will normally be eight or nine weeks for both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Procedure, but an extension may be determined as an outcome of the review process. In extreme cases where the education of pupils is jeopardised, the review period may be shortened and the period given for improvement after the issuing of a formal written warning will be no more than four weeks, either at the end of the Stage 1 or the Stage 2 review meeting. At the end of the review period the headteacher will consider if the employee has achieved the targets set. The proposed outcome of the review will be notified to the employee with other relevant documentation at least one week before the date of the formal review meeting. However, no final decision will be taken until the matter has been discussed fully with the employee at the review meeting. Stage One Review Where the headteacher proposes to regard the standard of performance of a teacher at the date of the Stage 1 review as still unacceptable, the LEA advisor will be informed and they will be invited to the review meeting. At the review meeting the manager will: * remind the employee of the purpose of the competence procedure * review the employee's progress in achieving the relevant targets for improvement and evaluate the benefit or otherwise of action taken to date with reference to any written reports provided and any advice from the appropriate Adviser * provide the employee with the opportunity to state their case in the light of the complaints made * give further consideration, if appropriate, to any reasons affecting the employee's alleged deficiencies in performance * in the light of these discussions determine that: a satisfactory level of performance has been achieved, when the decision will be confirmed in writing to the employee accordingly. a further period of structured support is needed before a decision is made, in which case the purpose and timescale of the extension will 5

7 be clarified and confirmed in writing (this is likely to be for a period of up to 4 weeks) the standard of performance remains unacceptable and that Stage 2 of the procedure will now be applied. Another meeting will then be convened as below the employee has failed to satisfy the targets or performance standards set and a different balance of duties or a suitable alternative post will be considered the education of pupils is jeopardised and that disciplinary action shall be taken against the employee. In such circumstances the Competence Procedure will be discontinued and the matter will be continued under the County Council disciplinary procedure. In such extreme cases any period given for Improvement will be no more than 4 weeks. At the end of the 4 week period, the Disciplinary Panel of the Governing Body will meet again and decide, after advice from the Head and the CEO's representative or Adviser, which of the following courses of action to follow: - to confirm that no further action is needed - to ask the Head to revert to Stage 2 of the normal Procedure, in order to continue support and monitoring - to seek redeployment for the teacher, within the school, to a more appropriate post, or - to dismiss the teacher. The usual appeal rights will then be given. If the decision is taken to dismiss, notice will be given in accordance with the normal notice provisions, unless other mutually acceptable arrangements are be made. It will not usually be appropriate for a teacher to work out the notice period. STAGE 2 Monitoring of performance Performance targets will be reassessed in consultation with the employee and a date for review set. An appropriate programme of support and monitoring will be established. In the case of a teacher, this will include at least two visits by an LEA adviser. The employee will be provided with a written record within one week of the 6

8 meeting and provided with the opportunity to discuss it and to seek clarification or amendment. Any amendments suggested by the employee will be recorded. During the period under review the employee will continue to receive appropriate support but it is important that they are given the opportunity to demonstrate the ability to meet the specified performance targets independently, subject to the normal expectations of professional discussion and guidance from colleagues, including the headteacher or other staff with supervisory responsibilities. The headteacher will continue to monitor the employee's performance with additional input from the LEA adviser (if appropriate) who will provide a written record of each visit and follow up discussion. At the end of the review period the headteacher, in consultation with the LEA adviser (if appropriate), will consider if the employee has now achieved a satisfactory level of performance with regard to the specific targets. The proposed outcome of the review will be notified to the employee as at Stage 1. Stage Two Review The Stage 2 review meeting will be conducted as the Stage 1 review meeting and the outcome confirmed in writing accordingly. DISCIPLINARY ACTION Where, following the Stage 2 review meeting, it is decided that the employee has failed to reach the required level of performance, the employee will be notified in writing that the matter will be referred to a Panel of Governors in accordance with the County Council's Disciplinary Procedure. The Disciplinary Procedure will be dealt with by a Disciplinary Sub-committee of the Governing Body rather than by the headteacher and penalties open to the Subcommittee will be those set out in paragraph of the County Council's Disciplinary Procedure, with the exception of the recorded verbal warning. CASES INVOLVING HEADTEACHERS If the employee in question is the headteacher, the provisions set out above will be initiated and progressed by the Chair of Governors (or other governor designated by the governing body) in liaison with the Chief Education Officer or a representative. 7

9 AMENDMENT SHEET FOR ALL POLICY STATEMENTS POLICY FOR EMPLOYEE COMPETENCE POLICY NUMBER 55 DATE POLICY RATIFIED: SUMMER 1999 DATE POLICY LAST REWRITTEN: SUMMER 1999 Review Date Page Line Amendment Summer 1999 Written 8