Staff Appraisal and Attestation

 Rationale

1. The School Board shall ensure that all legal and contractual requirements are met.

2. The School Board Presiding Member is delegated the responsibility for the Principal’s appraisal.

3. The Principal is delegated the appraisal of all staff.

4. The appropriate set/s of professional standards will be used as the performance expectations.

5. The Standards for the Teaching Profession will be deemed to have been met, if there is evidence to support the majority of the assessment criteria.

6. The information gained from the attestation process will be used to make the decision as to whether or not to affirm that a teacher is satisfactory and therefore able to have his/her practising certificate, from the Teaching Council, renewed.

7. The support needed for annual Professional Growth Cycle goals for all staff will form part of the school’s professional development programme.

8. The resourcing of the appraisal process will be a budget item.

9. In the event of a dispute arising at any stage, the dispute processes will apply.

10. A teacher’s Professional Growth Cycle records will be confidential to that person, his/her appraiser/s and the Principal, unless the person agrees otherwise. Documentation related to the Principal’s Appraisal (the annual performance agreement and appraisal review report) remain confidential to the Principal and the School Board through the Presiding Member. - Note: The Education Review Office has the authority to ask to see individual records.

11. Each person, on request, will be given copies of all their appraisal records.  The school’s copies of these records will be stored in a locked staffing file, that only the Principal has access to.

12. The Professional Growth Cycle process will happen within a 12 month time frame and is cyclical.

Professional Growth Cycle Annual Process

1. At the start of each twelve month cycle, the following will be reviewed through the Professional Growth Cycle paperwork:

   • Job Description

   • Individual Teacher annual goals

2. All newly appointed staff will sign his/her job description at the commencement of their appointment.

3. Job descriptions for teachers will be included in their Professional Growth Cycle document.

4. The Professional Growth Cycle cycle is annual, commencing at beginning of year and ending at end of year.

5. Those with teaching and management responsibilities will have self-review on this management unit included.

6. A decision will be made by the Principal and staff on the whole school and individual development objectives.

7. Appraisers and appraisees will meet to plan:

   • Which development objectives will be chosen, the support needed and how these will be appraised

   • How evidence will be collected on the assessment criteria for the performance expectations/professional standards

   • Observations will be undertaken by all staff in accordance with the appraisees agreed appraiser

   • After each observation the appraiser and the appraisee will come together and discuss the outcomes with the view of personal development

8. The process of Professional Growth Cycle will be conducted with the development of the staff upper most in the mind of the appraiser/appraisee.  Self reflection is a key component of the appraisal process.

9. The appraisal discussions will be based upon each component of the performance agreement and will include further professional development agreed to by both parties

10. At all stages of the appraisal process, the appraiser and the appraisee will work together for the personal development of all parties to the process

11. A summary report will be written based on the outcome of these discussions.  This report may identify issues to be addressed in the next Professional Growth Cycle.  The report will be signed by the appraisee and his/her appraiser

12. Information gained through the evidence collected on professional standards will be used by the Principal, in deciding upon whether or not to confirm that a teacher has met the Professional Standards and by the School Board Presiding Member, in deciding whether or not to confirm that the Principal has met the Professional Standards.

DISPUTE PROCESS

1. In the event of a dispute arising at any stage, an independent person will be called in to mediate

2. The mediator will write a report on the issues and outcomes of that mediation, which will be signed by himself/herself and those involved.  This report will be included in the appraisee’s file 

3. In the first instance, the mediator will be drawn from the staff.  If this is not possible, a mediator from outside the school will be used

4. If a satisfactory outcome cannot be reached, the matter will be referred to the School Board, whose findings will be final

COLLECTIVE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT PROVISIONS

In the event of a teacher’s salary being deferred because he/she has not met the professional standards, the local review process, from the Primary Teachers, Deputy Principals, Assistant Principals and other Unit Holders Collective Employment Agreement will be referred to and used.

LOCAL REVIEW PROCESS

1. Where a teacher disagrees with deferral of their salary increment, the teacher may, within 14 working days of being notified of the deferral, seek a review

2. The employee may be represented during the process

3. A reviewer shall be a person nominated by the School Board and acceptable to the employee

4. The reviewer may be another staff member but should not be someone connected with the original decision to defer progression

5. In the event that agreement cannot be reached on choosing a reviewer within a reasonable time, the School Board shall determine who the reviewer will be

6. The reviewer shall make recommendations to the School Board within 30 days of receiving the employee’s application for review

7. The School Board shall make a final decision within 14 days of receiving the recommendation 

8. Where requested, the employee shall have access to the information about him/herself provided to the School Board by the reviewer

9. Nothing in this clause prevents the employee from taking a personal grievance in accordance with Part 10 of the Collective Employment Agreement