Policy on Appointment to Tagged Positions

Policy on Appointments to Tagged Positions in Catholic Primary Schools (Catholic Diocese of Christchurch)

Rationale:

The Catholic Education Office recognises the need to assist Boards of Trustees to meet their obligations that derive from the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act (PSCI Act) and the consequential Integration Agreement for each school. The PSCI Act and the individual Integration Agreement require certain wording, related to conditions of appointment, in advertisements calling for applicants for certain teaching positions. These positions are known informally as tagged positions. The mandatory wording must appear in any advertisement for those positions, whether it is placed in the Education Gazette, a newspaper or elsewhere. Whenever a Catholic primary school has two or more teachers, at least 60% of its total staffing entitlement (to the nearest whole number) must be other positions which are tagged with that wording, that is, other positions in addition to the Principal and the DRS (see staffing schedule, usually the Fourth Schedule, to the Integration Agreement). The figure of 60% can only be varied with the authority of the Proprietor.

Purposes:

1. To Clarify the Legal Position

  • There are two kinds of tagged positions, informally known respectively as S65 Tagged Positions and S66 Tagged Positions. The Principal, DRS and such other number of positions as set out in the Integration Agreement are S65 tagged positions. The Deputy Principal holds a S66 tagged position.

  • S65 Tagged Positions require the advertisement to contain the tag that a willingness and ability to take part in Religious Education appropriate to the Special Character of the school shall be a condition of appointment.

  • S66 Tagged Positions require the advertisement to contain the tag that it is a condition of appointment that the person appointed be capable of maintaining programmes and activities that reflect the Special Character of the school.

  • For S65 Tagged Positions the Proprietor determines which of the applicants (if any) in terms of the Special Character of the school, are acceptable for appointment (c.f. PSCI Act S 68).

  • For S66 Tagged Positions the Proprietor determines which of the applicants (if any), in terms of the advertisement calling for applicants with particular capabilities, are acceptable for appointment (c.f. PSCI Act S 68). The particular capabilities referred to are to be capable of maintaining programmes and activities that reflect the Special Character of the school (c.f. Integration Agreement).

  • The Consultative Committee on Appointments to Tagged Positions (currently the members of this consultative committee are the Episcopal Vicar for Education and the Manager of the Catholic Education Office) has delegated authority to determine acceptability for S65 and S66 tagged positions.

  • In both cases the Board of Trustees may consider for appointment only those applicants declared acceptable by the Proprietor. A Proprietor's Appointee on the Board of Trustees must be part of the selection process.

 

Section 65 (S65) positions include the Principal, the DRS and all those other tagged positions which require the successful applicant to have the willingness and ability to take part in Religious Instruction approriate to the Special Character of the school.

Here is the S65 form:dox/S65_form_2010(2).pdf

Section 66 (S66) positions makes provision for special positions which have 'tag' wording that differs from the 'tag' wording for S65 positions. In Catholic schools is applied only to the position of Deputy Principal. The 'tag' wording, which is standardised in all Catholic school Intergation Agreements, differs for Primary schools and Secondary schools

Here is the S66 form: dox/s66-form.pdf

 

2. To Clarify the Requirements for Acceptability

 

To be acceptable for a basic scale tagged position an applicant must be:

  1. Catholic; and

  2. A regular member of a parish community as attested by the parish priest, or a chaplaincy (e.g. university chaplaincy, Māori or ethnic chaplaincy) as attested by the chaplain.

It is desirable that the applicant:

  1. Have Classroom Level Certification  (or be committed to seeking this qualification - this component should be included in her/his annual performance appraisal objectives until completed. If a Board of Trustees believes the most suitable person for the position is in this category, please contact the Catholic Education Office in order that the Catholic Education Office might work with the school to arrange for a suitable support programme to be put in place to enable this person to gain Classroom Level Certification).

  2. Has a ministry (e.g. sacramental preparation, PPRE teacher, reader etc.) in the parish.

To be acceptable for a DRS position an applicant must be:

  1. Catholic; and

  2. A regular member of a parish community as attested by the parish priest, or a chaplaincy (e.g. university chaplaincy, Māori or ethnic chaplaincy) as attested by the chaplain; and

  3. Have Leadership Level Certification, or another equivalent qualification (or be committed to seeking such qualification - this component should be included in her/his annual performance appraisal objectives until completed. If a Board of Trustees believes the most suitable person for the position is in this category, please contact the Catholic Education Office in order that the Catholic Education Office might work with the school to arrange for a suitable support programme to be put in place to enable this person to gain Leadership Level Certification); and

  4. Have acceptable experience. Please note that the Proprietor is willing to exercise his discretion in relation to this requirement for example, there may be a dynamic, young Catholic teacher whom the Board of Trustees believes is the most suitable person for appointment as s/he would, with support, grow into this leadership position. If a Board of Trustees believes the most suitable person for the position is in this category, please contact the Catholic Education Office in order that the Catholic Education Office might work with the school to arrange for a suitable support programme to be put in place to enable this person to grow into this leadership position. This component should also be included in her/his annual performance appraisal objectives until completed.

It is desirable that the applicant has a ministry in the parish e.g. sacramental preparation, PPRE teacher, reader etc.

To be acceptable for a Principal's position the applicant must be:

  1. Catholic; and

  2. A regular member of a parish community; and

  3. Have Leadership Level Certification (or be committed to seeking such qualification - this component should be included in her/his annual performance appraisal objectives until completed. If a Board of Trustees believes the most suitable person for the position is in this category, please contact the Catholic Education Office in order that the Catholic Education Office might work with the school to arrange for a suitable support programme to be put in place to enable this person to gain Leadership Level Certification); and

  4. Have acceptable experience. Please note that the Proprietor is willing to exercise his discretion in relation to this requirement for example, there may be a dynamic, young(ish) Catholic teacher/manager whom the Board of Trustees believes is the most suitable person for appointment as s/he would, with support, grow into this leadership position. If a Board of Trustees believes the most suitable person for the position is in this category, please contact the Catholic Education Office in order that the Catholic Education Office might work with the school to arrange for a suitable support programme to be put in place to enable this person to grow into this leadership position. This component should also be included in her/his annual performance appraisal objectives until completed.

It is desirable that the applicant has a ministry in the parish e.g. sacramental preparation, PPRE teacher, reader etc.

To be acceptable for a Deputy Principal position (which has the S 66 tag) the applicant must:

  1. Have a knowledge and understanding of the Catholic Character of a Catholic school;

  2. Show a commitment to the ideals of Catholic education.

Procedures and Guidelines:

The appointments procedure for tagged positions is detailed in the follwong attachment:

 

dox/Tagged%20Posn%20Policy%20Final%20(Primary)%20Appendix%20030609.pdf

 

For further details of the procedures to be followed for Appointments to Tagged Positions in Primary Schools in the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch please contact the Manager of the Catholic Education Office (email: mnolan@chch.catholic.org.nz ; phone: 03 353 0750).