Procedures through which services are provided to citizens/organisations
Recruitment Process of Care Assistants for children with special needs
According to the Education of Children with Special Needs Laws of 1999-2020 the District Committee of Special Education (DCSE) is the body responsible for evaluating a referred child in order to provide the education or other support necessary tο accommodate their specific needs.
Under this legislation, the DCSE decides, among other things, the appointment of support staff (Care Assistants) in order to serve the needs of the child.
After the decision of the DCSE and provided that the child attends a public school, the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth (MOESY) informs the relevant School Board, as the employers of Care Assistants, to take the necessary steps for timely staffing of schools.
The Recruitment Committee is composed of the following seven members:
School Board President or a representative
Three members of the School Board
Headteacher of the School*
Class teacher / Special Unit teacher / Student Counsellor*
Special Education Coordinator or other representative of the MOESY
Representative of the parents/guardians of the Special Unit, Special School or the families of the children served.
*One vote
When the post is fulfilled for the first time, it is announced in the daily press. Candidates who meet the required qualifications (high school graduates or those with five years of experience in a similar position) go through the process of a personal interview. The Recruitment Committee taking into consideration the candidates' qualifications, relevant experience and their performance in the interview, proceeds with the selection of the most appropriate person.
If the post existed from the previous school year, the MOESY informs in writing the relevant School Board. The Recruitment Committee evaluates the work of the Care Assistant and if it finds that the Care Assistant performed his/her duties to the required standard, then s/he is rehired. Where the Committee considers that the appointed Care Assistant did not adequately exercise his/her duties, it has the right to advertise the post again.
Where the termination of the employment of the Care Assistant is decided either because (a) the need has ceased or (b) the Care Assistant in accordance with the Recruitment Committee did not perform adequately his/her duties, then the provisions for the Termination of Employment Law are applied.
When the Care Assistant intends to resign on his/her own initiative, s/he is obliged to give a minimum notice of 15 days.
It is emphasized that the contract of employment of each Care Assistant starts on the first day of attendance of children at school and ends on the last day of schooling.
Relative to the recruitment process of a Care Assistant for children with special needs are the circulars of the MOESY File No. 7.16.22 dated 19 January 2009 as well as the Decision of the Council of Ministers dated 30 June και 17 December 2021.
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