Publication of Staffing Circular for 2025/2026 school year

11th February 2025

In recent weeks the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) continuously engaged with the Department of Education and Youth seeking a timely publication of the staffing circular this term. The INTO wishes to advise members that Circular 11/ 2025 has been published today. The Circular sets out the staffing arrangements for primary schools in the 2025/26 school year and includes the primary staffing schedules for ordinary schools, gaelscoileanna, Gaeltacht and DEIS Urban Band One schools.

Reacting to today’s staffing circular, INTO General Secretary John Boyle said:

This staffing circular comes amid overcrowded classrooms – the new Minister for Education and Youth must act urgently to meet the government’s pledge of reducing class sizes to 19.

Regarding the criteria for allocating SET hours, the INTO maintains that all relevant factors must be considered. We strongly urge that children who are homeless, those living in educationally disadvantaged areas, children in care or residential settings, new entrant pupils and pupils who are not native English speakers be accounted for in any updated model.

We will continue our campaigning for additional teaching staff to cater for the diverse needs of our pupil population in EU average class sizes.

The key features of the Circular this year include:

Supports for Teaching Principals

Circular 11/ 2025 confirms the retention of one leadership and management day a week, secured by this union for every teaching principal. Schools with one special class will have four additional release days in the 2025/26 school year. This scheme has proven to be successful in supporting teaching principals with an increased workload, while ensuring consistent access to a teacher for their class.

All existing clusters will cease at the end of the 2024/25 school year. Once again, schools may cluster their Release Days into full-time Principal Release Time posts for the 2025/26 school year. All schools with a teaching principal will have access to 37 release days in the 2025/26 school year, with an additional four days available if the school has one special class. Schools with surplus SET hours may combine these with principals’ release days.

For 2025/26, a school/cluster may combine Special Education Teacher hours and/or principal release days with the language support hours for Irish under the Gaeltacht School Recognition scheme to create a permanent full-time post.

Substitute teacher supply panels

The INTO welcomes the continuation of the substitute teacher supply panel scheme to support schools during the next school year. The INTO firmly believes that this scheme is vital in ensuring availability of substitute cover for short-term absences and that the scheme must be extended to all primary and special schools.

This year there are currently 167 supply panels currently covering 2,895 schools with 590 teaching posts allocated.

Special education

Circular 11/2025 also includes information on the allocation of special education hours at Appendix C. All existing SET clusters will cease at the end of the 2024/25 school year. Schools may cluster part-time SET hours into new fulltime permanent shared SET posts with neighbouring schools. A separate Circular 0004/2025 advises schools of the process for calculating the educational profile for each school. This Circular also outlines that there is a review process where there are unique circumstances in a school. Schools seeking a review should complete the application form on the NCSE website and submit through the NCSE portal. Applications can be submitted between the 28 February and 21 March 2025.

Contracts of Indefinite Duration (CID)

It is important to note that the key date of 11 March 2025 identified in the Circular, does not apply as a deadline for receipt of applications for CID by the DE.

The INTO advises that CID applications should be made in a timely manner, once all relevant information is available and confirmed, which can be after 11 March 2025 in certain circumstances.

Our dedicated CID information webpage has lots of information and practical guidance in relation to applying for a CID.

Redeployment

It is important that all schools participate in the redeployment process to ensure that teachers are redeployed as early as possible. The main redeployment Panels are expected to be published after Easter 2025 for schools to appoint teachers from the panels to vacancies.

Staffing Appeals Board

There will be three meetings of the Staffing Appeals Board this year in March, June and October. Applications for the March meeting must be submitted to Primary Allocations section.

Key Dates

Members should note Tuesday 11 March 2025 as a key date for staffing arrangements in primary schools for the 2025/26 school year.

By Tuesday 11 March 2025 teachers and schools should:

Notify the relevant Panel Operator of any permanent or fixed-term vacancy;
Return Main Redeployment Panel Application Form (Appendix E) for surplus permanent/CID holding teachers to the Department’s Primary Teacher Allocations Section;
Return Form SET cluster 2025/26 (Appendix D) to the Department’s Primary Teacher Allocations Section to notify the DE of new Special Education Teacher cluster arrangements;
Return CID Declaration Form 25 (Appendix G) in respect of all teachers awarded a CID in or before the 2024/25 school year;
Submit completed Staffing Appeals Form (Appendix F) for the next meeting of the Primary Staffing Appeals Board to the Department’s Primary Teacher Allocations Section; and
Submit applications for Principal Release Day clusters.