State Examinations Superintendent

Dunne_bkill · 13-05-2019 10:18am #1

Hi,

Just wondering when I find out where abouts I will be doing superintendent for the coming state exams? I received an acceptance form from the Department and I responded saying I would take the job but haven't heard anything since.

Cheers.

sitstill · 13-05-2019 2:03pm

You will receive notice of your centre during the last week of term. It's usually around the Wed or Thurs so 29/30 May.

Dunne_bkill · 13-05-2019 5:57pm

sitstill wrote:

You will receive notice of your centre during the last week of term. It's usually around the Wed or Thurs so 29/30 May.

Thanks a lot.

Aquals · 14-05-2019 6:44am

It’s awful how late they leave it to inform us. I know that giving out about this is like banging your head off a brick wall, but it makes planning for anything in June very difficult!

happywithlife · 14-05-2019 8:22pm

sitstill wrote: »

You will receive notice of your centre during the last week of term. It's usually around the Wed or Thurs so 29/30 May.

Bear in mind you won't actually know your schedule though till the Tues when you collect your box of papers.
Got caught one year when I realised I had 3 students with the extra 20 mins for breaks in a leaving cert centre and couldn't arrange childcare for that time - english wasn't finishing till something like 5.40 or something and my creche - a good 40 mins away closed at 6. No accounting of family commitments taken. Or you're not even sure of end date till you open the box on the tues. Its a right pain

Dunne_bkill · 15-05-2019 8:32pm

Could anyone give me a quick run down of what the job entails? Is it just collecting the papers and distributing them to the students then sending them back? Sorry but I have not done it before and I haven't spoke to anyone who has yet. Curious.

spurious · 15-05-2019 8:40pm

Before you start.
Collect big box of papers from large local centre. Make arrangements to store it securely in school or Garda station.

Before exams.
Check centre(s). Not sure if you have to put the numbers on the desks, but if you don't make sure they are done properly.

First day of exams
Explain rules to candidates. Check ID of any external/adult students. Make sure they are in their assigned centres (if you have 'Reasonable accommodations' candidates). Make sure the supervisors of any RA centres know to come to your centre in good time to get their papers each day.

Each day
Get a student to sign paper packet to make sure it has not been interfered with.
Supervise exam according to the rules. If anyone from the school tries to get into the room tell them no. Stick strictly to the rules and you cover yourself.
Do out a plan of the room showing where everyone is sitting and write a record of anything unusual that happens.
Following each day's exam, get to the Post Office to send papers back to Athlone, or if exam finished too late, make sure they are stored securely in the safe.

It's been a while since I did it, but that's more or less it, I think.

evolving_doors · 15-05-2019 9:05pm

spurious wrote: »

Before you start.
Collect big box of papers from large local centre. Make arrangements to store it securely in school or Garda station.

Before exams.
Check centre(s). Not sure if you have to put the numbers on the desks, but if you don't make sure they are done properly.

First day of exams
Explain rules to candidates. Check ID of any external/adult students. Make sure they are in their assigned centres (if you have 'Reasonable accommodations' candidates). Make sure the supervisors of any RA centres know to come to your centre in good time to get their papers each day.

Each day
Get a student to sign paper packet to make sure it has not been interfered with.... AND IT'S THE CORRECT SUBJECT / PAPER /
Supervise exam according to the rules. If anyone from the school tries to get into the room tell them no. Stick strictly to the rules and you cover yourself.
Do out a plan of the room showing where everyone is sitting and write a record of anything unusual that happens.
Following each day's exam, get to the Post Office to send papers back to Athlone, or if exam finished too late, make sure they are stored securely in the safe.

It's been a while since I did it, but that's more or less it, I think.

FYP

spurious · 16-05-2019 6:47am

I forgot something. In some schools you are responsible for paying the student who sits outside your door too.

Dunne_bkill · 16-05-2019 10:57am

spurious wrote:

Each day Get a student to sign paper packet to make sure it has not been interfered with. Supervise exam according to the rules. If anyone from the school tries to get into the room tell them no. Stick strictly to the rules and you cover yourself. Do out a plan of the room showing where everyone is sitting and write a record of anything unusual that happens. Following each day's exam, get to the Post Office to send papers back to Athlone, or if exam finished too late, make sure they are stored securely in the safe.

spurious wrote:

First day of exams Explain rules to candidates. Check ID of any external/adult students. Make sure they are in their assigned centres (if you have 'Reasonable accommodations' candidates). Make sure the supervisors of any RA centres know to come to your centre in good time to get their papers each day.

spurious wrote:

Before you start. Collect big box of papers from large local centre. Make arrangements to store it securely in school or Garda station.

spurious wrote:

Before exams. Check centre(s). Not sure if you have to put the numbers on the desks, but if you don't make sure they are done properly.

spurious wrote:

Before you start. Collect big box of papers from large local centre. Make arrangements to store it securely in school or Garda station.

spurious wrote:

Before exams. Check centre(s). Not sure if you have to put the numbers on the desks, but if you don't make sure they are done properly.

spurious wrote:

First day of exams Explain rules to candidates. Check ID of any external/adult students. Make sure they are in their assigned centres (if you have 'Reasonable accommodations' candidates). Make sure the supervisors of any RA centres know to come to your centre in good time to get their papers each day.

spurious wrote:

Each day Get a student to sign paper packet to make sure it has not been interfered with. Supervise exam according to the rules. If anyone from the school tries to get into the room tell them no. Stick strictly to the rules and you cover yourself. Do out a plan of the room showing where everyone is sitting and write a record of anything unusual that happens. Following each day's exam, get to the Post Office to send papers back to Athlone, or if exam finished too late, make sure they are stored securely in the safe.

spurious wrote:

It's been a while since I did it, but that's more or less it, I think.

Thanks for this. Sounds a bit daunting to be honest. Do they provide adequate training for new superintendents beforehand? I'm assuming that will be the Tuesday before if so.

mtoutlemonde · 16-05-2019 11:29am

Dunne_bkill wrote: »

Thanks for this. Sounds a bit daunting to be honest. Do they provide adequate training for new superintendents beforehand? I'm assuming that will be the Tuesday before if so.

If you are doing it for the first time, you are required to watch a video prior to collecting your box of papers. Or view this https://www.examinations.ie/?l=en&mc=cs&sc=cs

It is very daunting to begin with but once you follow instructions - you'll be fine.
Ask other superintendents if you need to. The exam secretary was very helpful to me in my first year.

spurious · 16-05-2019 11:41pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBIt90OiqlQ

Dunne_bkill · 17-05-2019 12:46pm

Thanks for all the information. Will I be working for the entirety of the exams or how long does someone typically 'superintend' for? I was taking it for granted that I'd working until the final day of the leaving cert but that doesn't seem to be the case.

evolving_doors · 17-05-2019 5:21pm

Dunne_bkill wrote: »

Thanks for all the information. Will I be working for the entirety of the exams or how long does someone typically 'superintend' for? I was taking it for granted that I'd working until the final day of the leaving cert but that doesn't seem to be the case.

From what i experienced the minority subjects were at the end so the rooms shut down and consolidated. The junior superintendents finished up first.

happywithlife · 17-05-2019 7:04pm

Post for examination aide went up in my school today. Bit late no? I'd be interested but don't know anything about the pay. What's it like? Presumably no mileage allowance. And do you HAVE to be there every day? I'm marking and my conference will be one of the first so exams won't be finished in our school by then

Millem · 17-05-2019 8:17pm

happywithlife wrote: »

Post for examination aide went up in my school today. Bit late no? I'd be interested but don't know anything about the pay. What's it like? Presumably no mileage allowance. And do you HAVE to be there every day? I'm marking and my conference will be one of the first so exams won't be finished in our school by then

Is it for reader etc?
You get paid per exam. It is something like €56 (the daily rate divided by 2!)
In my school you are assigned to a student based on what days you want and also say if you have French/German etc!
Honestly not worth it as I would need childcare.

mtoutlemonde · 17-05-2019 10:30pm

Millem wrote: »

Is it for reader etc?
You get paid per exam. It is something like €56 (the daily rate divided by 2!)
In my school you are assigned to a student based on what days you want and also say if you have French/German etc!
Honestly not worth it as I would need childcare.

Exams aide is different - you're the person meeting with superintendents, setting up centres and dealing with any problems that occur. I think the pay is the same pay as superintendents daily rate but you'll be there until last exam so more pay.

Millem · 18-05-2019 7:26am

mtoutlemonde wrote: »

Exams aide is different - you're the person meeting with superintendents, setting up centres and dealing with any problems that occur. I think the pay is the same pay as superintendents daily rate but you'll be there until last exam so more pay.

Oh yeah that person! They get €112 per day I think no mileage etc....not worth it as they need to stay until the end of the day...until last person is gone!
In my own school it is a retired teacher who does it.

rossean · 24-05-2019 10:24am

Letters out today assigning centres to superintendents.

Dunne_bkill · 24-05-2019 10:28am

rossean wrote: »

Letters out today assigning centres to superintendents.

Being sent out today (arrival Monday) or delivered today?

rossean · 24-05-2019 10:38am

Dunne_bkill wrote: »

Being sent out today (arrival Monday) or delivered today?

Delivered today.

sitstill · 24-05-2019 11:50am

I didn’t get mine with today’s post :-(

Postgrad10 · 24-05-2019 12:36pm

Mines an absolute disaster. Don’t know what to do? I’ll have to resign.

Dunne_bkill · 24-05-2019 1:27pm

Postgrad10 wrote:

Mines an absolute disaster. Donâ€™t know what to do? Iâ€™ll have to resign.

How bad? Long commute?

deiseindublin · 24-05-2019 6:40pm

I applied and got an appt letter a few months ago but don't think I'll get a centre due to requesting short stint. No letter here either way.

feardeas · 24-05-2019 8:15pm

Didn't get location letter either. Some colleagues did and others didn't. We would all have got appointment letter. Assuming it will come Monday.

Aquals · 25-05-2019 5:24pm

I requested to finish on Tues 11th June and that’s exactly what I got in my letter yesterday!

Green_Zero · 28-05-2019 2:19pm

Sorry if this has been asked before but what is rate of pay per exam for Superintendents?

Postgrad10 · 28-05-2019 3:00pm

It’s per day for SEC appointed superintendents. School attendants get paid by exam , not sure how much they get.

sitstill · 29-05-2019 10:28am

The letter that we get tells us to ring the school to tell them at what time we will arrive on Tuesday. Do people actually do this? I have found that every year when I ring, the person on the other end of the phone - secretary presumably - has no idea what I am talking about. I was assigned to a different school this year and just made the phone call and there was the same confusion on the other end, so it made me think that maybe Superintendents don't actually bother to do this?

Dunne_bkill · 29-05-2019 10:42am

sitstill wrote:

The letter that we get tells us to ring the school to tell them at what time we will arrive on Tuesday. Do people actually do this? I have found that every year when I ring, the person on the other end of the phone - secretary presumably - has no idea what I am talking about. I was assigned to a different school this year and just made the phone call and there was the same confusion on the other end, so it made me think that maybe Superintendents don't actually bother to do this?

I did it yesterday and thankfully she knew what I was talking about but I was full sure she wouldn't before I called!

happywithlife · 29-05-2019 3:20pm

I always ring. They need an ETA for the assistants at least. Though this time 2 calls resulted in answer machine so I left a voicemail

Postgrad10 · 29-05-2019 5:26pm

I always do it anyway but most of the time they have zero interest. One exam secretary left 3 voice messages on my mobile whilst I was in the distribution centre despite having given my estimated time of arrival to the school when I got the letter.
Same goes for checking my roll against theirs for changes. No interest in that either.

Qwerty2018 · 04-06-2019 10:21pm

Just a quick question!

I got placed in a school last minute today that is 98km away according to google maps but this takes me on ridiculous back roads! If I choose going by motorway it’s 1 minute longer and the distance is 104km. I am just wondering will I get overnight pay if I write down the motorway distance?

I do not want to start paying for a hotel if I will not be reimbursed for it!

Thanks

star_123 · 04-06-2019 10:36pm

Hi folks. I was on a distribution panel and got placed last minute. I feel a bit like a deer in headlights working my way through all the paperwork. There's one thing I can't seem to find an answer to. What do we do with the package the exam papers come in that have been signed by a witness? Thanks in advance.

mtoutlemonde · 04-06-2019 10:37pm

Qwerty2018 wrote: »

Just a quick question!

I got placed in a school last minute today that is 98km away according to google maps but this takes me on ridiculous back roads! If I choose going by motorway it’s 1 minute longer and the distance is 104km. I am just wondering will I get overnight pay if I write down the motorway distance?

I do not want to start paying for a hotel if I will not be reimbursed for it!

Thanks

I'd email and get confirmation - someone let them down at the last minute and you are willing to travel at least 98km and if they can't pay you the overnight for the extra 6km - tell them you're not doing it either. I would get an email to confirm this though! Fair play to you for doing it!!

mtoutlemonde · 04-06-2019 10:38pm

star_123 wrote: »

Hi folks. I was on a distribution panel and got placed last minute. I feel a bit like a deer in headlights working my way through all the paperwork. There's one thing I can't seem to find an answer to. What do we do with the package the exam papers come in that have been signed by a witness? Thanks in advance.

The bags are returned in the stationary box.

star_123 · 04-06-2019 10:44pm

mtoutlemonde wrote: »

The bags are returned in the stationary box.

Thank you!

Qwerty2018 · 04-06-2019 10:56pm

mtoutlemonde wrote: »

I'd email and get confirmation - someone let them down at the last minute and you are willing to travel at least 98km and if they can't pay you the overnight for the extra 6km - tell them you're not doing it either. I would get an email to confirm this though! Fair play to you for doing it!!

I have started to fill out the form and wrote down the 104km! Hoping they won’t check!

I send an email and see what response I get!

Thanks for the reply!

mtoutlemonde · 04-06-2019 11:12pm

Qwerty2018 wrote: »

I have started to fill out the form and wrote down the 104km! Hoping they won’t check!

I send an email and see what response I get!

Thanks for the reply!

They do check but I don't think every form. I'd say they will give you the 104 as it's the most direct route and you're doing them a very big favour.

Postgrad10 · 04-06-2019 11:49pm

Go with the safer option. I took the lesser mileage route from the distribution center and was regretting it. I wouldn’t even called it a road I drove on. Disgraceful. At least i’ll be going a somewhat better route in the morning.

sitstill · 04-06-2019 11:53pm

I am on the paid reserve panel and had to wait in the distribution centre today to see if I’d be assigned a centre. I wasn’t and am now on call until next Tuesday. Does anyone know how much notice they give in the mornings if called up to fill in for someone?

Postgrad10 · 04-06-2019 11:57pm

star_123 wrote: »

Hi folks. I was on a distribution panel and got placed last minute. I feel a bit like a deer in headlights working my way through all the paperwork. There's one thing I can't seem to find an answer to. What do we do with the package the exam papers come in that have been signed by a witness? Thanks in advance.

At the end of session it goes into the stationary box and sealed. Same goes for any unopened packages too. Shoot away with any questions , some of us have been doing it for years.

One piece of advice , leave your day to day instructions open in front of you for the session. Highlight the important parts of that day. Use it as a checklist before the exam starts. Once you’ve got your centre roll done ( pink or yellow depending on level), have your advice sheet for that session open in front of you to jot down absences/ toilet breaks/change of levels etc. Also have the blue report book on standby (with your plan) in case the inspector calls in ( he signs p2 of that).

Have a good day tomorrow and remember it’s better to start late than make a mistake!

mtoutlemonde · 05-06-2019 12:05am

Postgrad10 wrote: »

At the end of session it goes into the stationary box and sealed. Same goes for any unopened packages too. Shoot away with any questions , some of us have been doing it for years.

One piece of advice , leave your day to day instructions open in front of you for the session. Highlight the important parts of that day. Use it as a checklist before the exam starts. Once you’ve got your centre roll done ( pink or yellow depending on level), have your advice sheet for that session open in front of you to jot down absences/ toilet breaks/change of levels etc. Also have the blue report book on standby (with your plan) in case the inspector calls in ( he signs p2 of that).

Have a good day tomorrow and remember it’s better to start late than make a mistake!

Someone was reading the golden rules for superintendents

Best of luck everyone tomorrow. Once you have one session through - the rest will run like clockwork. Now to bed all ... 8:30am in your centres.

Postgrad10 · 05-06-2019 12:07am

!! It’s so true though. Don’t be frightened to ask questions either.

Sleep well superintendents .

mtoutlemonde · 05-06-2019 12:32am

Postgrad10 wrote: »

!! It’s so true though. Don’t be frightened to ask questions either.

Sleep well superintendents .

+1 for this. Ask the superintendents in your school if you need help. I did it my first year and it took the stress out of superintending for the first/second time until you're confident.

Random sample · 05-06-2019 7:51pm

Postgrad10 wrote: »

Go with the safer option. I took the lesser mileage route from the distribution center and was regretting it. I wouldn’t even called it a road I drove on. Disgraceful. At least i’ll be going a somewhat better route in the morning.

Did you take that route knowing there was a better road?

You don’t have to take the route that they will calculate your expenses from. For people who’s school is closer to their centre they get mileage from their school rather than home, they aren’t expected to take that route though.

Postgrad10 · 05-06-2019 8:39pm

No it was the only route that I could get from the distribution centre which is a good distance from my home. People told me since I could have went a different way but I don’t know the area so went with google maps.

evolving_doors · 05-06-2019 8:44pm

Postgrad10 wrote: »

No it was the only route that I could get from the distribution centre which is a good distance from my home. People told me since I could have went a different way but I don’t know the area so went with google maps.

They wont check everything unless there's a discrepancy (they do random spot checks though).
We were told they just plug the 2 locations into google maps so don't fret it.

Postgrad10 · 05-06-2019 10:31pm

Thank you.

evolving_doors · 06-06-2019 8:08am

Actually hold on a sec. When you say "people told me" do you mean other superintendents?

I remember when I did it one of the more senior teachers said that we should all compare our routes as that's how they look for discrepancies.
But really wouldn't be a bucket of cash in the difference.

It's mad the way we worry about inadvertently overclaiming a couple of Euro. Yer too honest postgrad

State Examinations Superintendent

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