Relaunch of early retirement scheme for older teachers

A scheme to offer early retirement to older teachers in order to give opportunities to new graduates has been relaunched.
The scheme could see 200 older teachers retireThe scheme could see 200 older teachers retire
The scheme could see 200 older teachers retire

Known as the ‘Investing in the Teaching Workforce Scheme’, the Department of Education initiative could see 200 teachers over the age of 55 retire before the end of March next year.

The plan is to then replace the retirees with teachers qualified from 2013 onwards.

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The scheme was first announced in 2015 but became subject to a legal challenge, which was ultimately dismissed in May 2017.

There were no shortage of applicants for the scheme when it was first announced. In December 2016, the department of education said it had received around 460 applications.

It is now being relaunched, the department has said, thanks to a cash injection from the Public Sector Transformation Fund.

The department said, in an announcement published on its website on Monday, that the 2018/19 scheme will “operate on the same basis as the pilot scheme by providing an opportunity for refreshment of the teaching workforce”.