The Really Useful

Itinerant Teacher of Music Handbook

Produced for the Auckland and Northland Secondary School Music departments. by Mia Camilleri, Fiona Nicholls and Stephen Rowe.

2009

DRAFT

1

The Itinerant Teachers Music Hand Book.

Covering Legal Obligations and Good Practice Recommendations for State and Integrated Schools, Years 7-13:

Contents Page

Useful facts 2 Full-Time Permanent ITMs 3 Non-Permanent ‘Part-Time’ ITMs 4 Permanent Part-Time ITMs 5 Teacher training 6 Relief for ITMs 6 ITM Job Description 7 Responsibilities and Expectations 7 General Information 8 Annual Appraisal Criteria 9 Participating school’s comments (Sample) 11 Teacher self-appraisal (Sample) 12

2

The Itinerant Teachers Music Hand Book. Covering Legal Obligations and Good Practice Recommendations for State and Integrated Schools, Years 7-13: Useful facts

- Historically the ITM Scheme was created in 1945 to foster Orchestral music in N.Z. by providing free tuition. In 1963 70 permanent instrumental teachers were employed to teach string, woodwind and brass instruments in schools.

- In 1972 performance became a co-requisite for students studying classroom music In 1993 performance music became a 40% compulsory requirement and in 2002 NCEA was introduced where students are assessed on Solo, second instruments and Group Performances. The scheme now includes tuition in voice, drums, guitar, composition, music technology, piano, conducting, theory, and classroom support for group performance.

- So the scheme now operates to support both classroom and extra-curricular programmes in schools. Where students do not already have a background in private music tuition on their instruments, the ITM lessons provide the basis for their success in gaining Performance Credits in NCEA, Cambridge or IBA exams (as well as International Grade exams such as ABRSM and Trinity Guildhall in some circumstances.

- The Funding Formula, which has remained unchanged since the inception of the scheme is as follows:

- 2.5 hrs for every 100 students or part thereof. - i.e. 0.001 FTTE per year 7-13 pupil (1 FTTE or Full Time Teacher Equivalent per

1000 students.) - So, if your school roll is 500 students:

- 500 x 0.001 = 0.5 FTTE ( 1 FTTE is currently 20- 22.5 contact hours depending on a school’s use of/interpretation of non-contact time and Part –Time/Full-Time staffing.)

- ITM is an acronym for Itinerant Teacher of Music. It should be noted that the word ‘Tutor’ should not be used as it has no legal status. Only teachers are allowed to have charge of students in schools and all ITMs must be either Registered Teachers or hold a L.A.T. (Limited Authority to Teach). It has been suggested that only those holding Full- Time Permanent positions (currently approximately only 12 positions in the Auckland area) are ITMs and the rest (the majority) who are employed as Part-Timers at each school they visit, have been known as IVTs (Instrumental and Vocal Teachers – non-permenant) in other areas of the country. The PPTA advise that this is an unnecessary distinction as the correct term for both part time/full time Itinerants is ITM according to the Ministry funding formula and the STCA Employment Agreement. Both ‘groups’ do the same job.

3

- Historically Itinerant music lessons have been free for students. Charging hire

fees for school instruments and administration have always been usual practice. However in order to cater for increased demand in a developing music programme many schools do charge lesson fees to employ extra teachers for time not covered by the Ministry allowance. Some allow private tuition to be given at the school. In these cases all teachers must be Registered or hold LATs. Where the school is not offering the standard STCA, they must inform the teacher and offer a contract which contains conditions that are no less than those offered under the STCA.

- The STCA (Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement) negotiated between the Government and the PPTA is the ‘default’ standard employment agreement for teachers working in Secondary Schools whether members of the PPTA or not. Copies are available to all teachers in staff work areas or from the school’s PPTA Branch Representative.

- In all cases ITM’s are officially employed by the Board of Trustees (not the HOD Music.)

- The PPTA is working on producing a pamphlet for ITMs and has a Designated Field Officer at the Auckland Regional Office (Barbara Hill - bhill@ppta.org.nz) who will handle PPTA member ITM queries.

Full-Time Permanent ITMs:

- Are tenured teachers attached to a Base School which pays their Full-Time salary

according to the STCA and sub-contracts them out to other schools. This is a Permanent position although the schools and/or hours worked at a particular school may vary from year to year.

- Are Teacher trained and Registered and take part in the appraisal process.

- Are experienced performers and teachers of their instrument(s).

- Have 20 hrs per week contact teaching time. The other 5 hours are non-contact and traveling time.

- Are paid a Travel Allowance according to the STCA.

- There are currently 13 ITM positions in this category across 7 base schools in the

Auckland area.

4

Non-Permanent ‘Part-Time’ ITMs: - Are employed as part time staff separately by each school they work at.

- Are the Majority of the ITM workforce (estimated 200+ in Auckland).

(However after 3 years of the same hours at the same school ITM’s are entitled to part time permanent tenure.)

- Are Registered Teachers or hold a L.A.T. and are included in the school’s appraisal process.

- Some are ex-classroom Teachers/H.O.Ds with considerable teaching experience.

- Are experienced performers and teachers of their instrument(s)

- Are called part time even if they work Full-Time hours because they are part time at each school they work at. Each school and the pro-rata rate of pay are shown on the MOE payslip.

- Receive a FTTE salary if they work 22.5 hrs per week as an 11% loading is added to the hours to acknowledge participation in activities outside the classroom. (The 11% loading is added to all Part-Time hours.)

- Non-contact time is at the discretion of the school as most ITMs work fewer than the 0.72 TFFE hours (needed to qualify for non-contact time) at each school they visit.

- Are entitled to the Pay Rates, Holiday Pay, Sick Leave and Conditions stipulated

in the STCA.

- Are employed on Fixed-Term (ie. non permanent) agreements with a Letter of Appointment that confirms the number of hours, the start and finish dates of the Agreement and the reason for the employment being for a fixed term (i.e. instead of Permanent.). As fixed term agreements are intended to act as short-term solutions to an employment need, there must be genuine reasons based on reasonable grounds [STCA 3.2.3] not to offer permanent employment. This is also stated in section 66 of the employment Relations Act 2000. Many ITM’s are employed year after year at the same schools with little or no changes to their hours.

- A solution which allows Schools some flexibility while acting as good employers is to employ the ITM for a certain number of hours Permanent Part-Time with a yearly Fixed-Term Agreement for the remainder of the hours. This would show up as two lines for the permanent and non-permanent hours at that school on the payslip.

5

- In order for the ITM to receive the correct rate of pay/ holiday pay, the dates of

employment on the Letter of Appointment need to be from the 1st day of the school year to the last day of the school year, regardless of the day of the week the ITM works at the school. This is because Teachers’ pay is spread over 365 days of the year from the 28 January to the 27th of the following January for those teachers that are employed for that year’ (STCA3.2A.1). ITM hours are funded by the ministry for the whole school year.

- Where schools do employ ITMs on Fixed-Term Agreements it is regarded as good practice to give the ITM notice of renewal (and the expected hours) preferably by sending out a new Fixed-Term Agreement to be signed for the following year as soon as the school receives its figures from the Ministry in September/October.

- There is no Travel Allowance for Non-Permanent ITMs.

- No Redundancy is payable to Non-Permanent ITMs if Agreements are not renewed/hours are reduced.

Permanent Part-Time ITMs;

- A few ITMs are currently employed on a Permanent Part-Time basis, especially

where their position includes some classroom teaching hours.

- Permanent Part-Time positions are required to be advertised in the Education Gazette.

6

Teacher training

- ITMs holding a LAT may wish to consider undertaking study to gain a Diploma of Teaching. You must hold a Bachelor Degree or higher in any subject area to apply for the Dip. Tchng. There are no courses specifically for ITMs; those wishing to gain a teaching qualification will study alongside other classroom teachers in many subject areas. The courses are generally 2 years Part-Time or 1 year Full-Time.

- The advantages to being trained include a clear pathway along the Secondary

Teachers’ payscale with a better hourly rate, the possibility of a classroom teaching career if desired and the ability to get Provisional Registration (or Full Registration if employed for at least 12 ½ hours per week at one school) thus eliminating the need for the LAT.

- By law Trained Teachers must be appointed over candidates holding LATs and

currently school principals must apply yearly to obtain LATs on behalf of ITMs. LATs are not a form of registration for the individual teacher and are non-transferable, pertaining only to employment at the school or schools from which the application was made.

- When there isn’t a trained teacher available with the appropriate skill set then a school may employ a teacher on a LAT basis.

Relief for ITM’s

- In case of short term illness the ITM lessons are usually cancelled and students

returned to class. Where illness is of longer duration and the ITM entitled to sick leave or compassionate leave, the school may fund a suitable substitute teacher from its relief budget.

- In cases where leave without pay is granted the ITM is usually expected to

organize relief.

7

ITM Job Description Key Tasks:

- Liaise with teachers in charge of music within participating schools to develop

programmes suited to the needs of students. - Prepare a purposeful, coherent programme that can motivate students in their

music lessons. This should involve vocational advice and tertiary pathways.

- Attend to administrative tasks (attendance checks, reports, resource management etc.) as required by schools.

- Assist with selection of students and groups, timetabling and rostering of lessons. - Assist students to prepare for national assessments and qualifications. If required

by HOD assist with scheduled assessments. - Communicate regularly with the HOD/liaison teacher in participating schools.

- Work with participating schools' performance groups for performance occasions

such as assemblies, prize-giving, productions, workshops, and camps or tours.

- Be available to assist with regional events such as KBB secondary schools music festival, Big Sing secondary music festival, Secondary Schools Chamber music competition, Rock quest etc.

Responsibilities and Expectations:

- ITMs have all the responsibilities of school based teachers and are expected to

meet the same standard of professional conduct in performing their duties. - ITMs are subject to performance appraisal procedures as determined by the

school.

- ITMs do not normally perform duties outside the classroom as other teachers are required to do. However, teachers are encouraged to assist with non-classroom music activities according to the amount of time spent in a school.

- The Scheme is designed to provide individual and small group tuition, usually for

20 – 30 minute lessons once a week.

- Attendance at a participating school for special occasions outside the normal timetabled visits is a matter for discussion and negotiation.

8

General Information:

Each school should make information on each of the following available to ITMs:

- Photocopying/Resources

- Phones/Computers - Pigeonholes

- Keys - Kitchen/Staffroom/Toilets

- Signing in/Security - Absentees/Rolls/attendance

- Finding students - Parking

- Bell Times - Timetable changes/special events

- Term/Year calendar (including exams, assessment dates, competitions, etc.)

- Music staff contact details - Sick leave

- Professional Development - Leave

- Appraisal - Emergency Procedures

- Reports/ practice sheets etc. - Health centre/school Nurse

- Guidance/student learning support / health/ learning/behavioral issues - Senior Management/ school disciplinary processes

- PPTA school branch representative

9

Rationale

- Regular performance appraisal is a positive activity designed to reinforce and strengthen professional performance.

- All involved in appraising colleagues are themselves appraised. Consequently, criticism is more likely to be constructive than negatively intended. Appraisal is also based on observations over time and is not a one-off event.

- In the event of criticism being received, a teacher can ask about it and then listen. A defensive response could test a good working relationship, on which the job depends, and possibly lead to a withdrawal of particular instrumental time by the school.

- Good professional performance is the prompt for continuing requests for ITM time; schools have the choice of whether or not to request particular instrumental tuition.

- Appraisal is required for attestation of professional standards.

A Reccommended Process

1. The first stage involves the ITM filling out a ‘self appraisal” document in which current teaching and tutoring activities are listed, professional development recently completed and planned, and future goals.

2. Forms are completed by HODs/TICs inviting comment on professionalism, performance, student participation.

3. Ideally a lesson observation should occur. 4. A subsequent discussion between ITM and TIC/HOD based on the above

steps 1, 2 and 3. 5. The resulting appraisal report will use the above documentation as the

basis of thorough performance management as required by teacher certification and attestation.

Annual Appraisal Criteria

10

Some observations about good practical music lessons

- Good lessons have structure: warm-ups/exercises/scales; demonstration by the students of work prepared; new work and techniques; goals/ homework set.

- The atmosphere is busy, friendly, focused and safe.

- The instructional approach is student centred, which means a number of things: known information from students is elicited rather than given by the teacher; student intelligence is utilised; students are given time to repeat a process to demonstrate a level of competence or understanding; the relationship is more of a partnership rather than an expert and a learner; the student is an active performer, not a passive listener.

- The teacher supports student efforts. A less satisfactory approach

- Unstructured, slow-paced, ad hoc lessons. - Excessive teacher talk.

- Explanations not reinforced by a degree of student mastery. - Over forceful demonstration or explanation.

- Anything that creates dependency on the teacher and student helplessness. - Negative teacher comments.

- Unprofessional familiarity. - Low expectations – no homework set, no goals

11

Teacher appraisal: Participating school’s comments

Comment on these aspects: Professionalism (appropriate relationships): Administration (rolls, school systems, punctuality, absence): Preparation and programme: Motivation and retention of students: Contribution to school music: Other: Basis on which the comments are made: (tick the categories below, double tick to indicate reasonable frequency):

Personal observation Student comment Parent comment Staff comments Conversations with ITM teacher

Teacher: School: HOD/TIC: Date:

12

ITINERANT TEACHER MUSIC SCHEME

____________________________School

Teacher self-appraisal

Comment on these aspects: Achievements in schools (student successes, performing groups, exams……) Student Participation (retention, attendance, motivation….) Extra curricular involvement Professional development (recent past, future needs) Goals Other

Teacher: Date:

13

Please return to HOD/TIC by _______________ Teacher’s signature:____________