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Eurydice

EACEA National Policies Platform:Eurydice
Management and other education staff

Poland

10.Management and other education staff

Last update: 9 January 2024

Crèches and kids’ clubs (and day-care providers and nannies providing individual care) form a separate system of care for children aged up to 3 years, which is not linked to the education system (see also childcare settings in Chapter 4). The education system comprises the school education system and the higher education system. The school education system includes nursery schools and alternative preschool education settings for children aged 3 to 6/7 years, schools for children and young people, schools for adults, stage II sectoral vocational schools and post-secondary schools, and specific types of other educational institutions. Outside the education system, adult education is provided by various entities as part of economic activity or labour-market training activity.

Care system for children aged up to 3 years

A childcare institution employs the director (for a crèche) or the head (for a kids’ club; the head is referred to in the legislation as “the person managing a kids’ club”), one or more childminders, and a nurse or midwife in a crèche where the number of children is higher than specified in the legislation. Staff in both types of institutions may also be assisted by volunteers.

The director of a crèche is required to have a secondary or higher education qualification and experience of working with children as specified in the legislation. The head of a kids’ club has the qualifications required of the director of a crèche or a childminder in a crèche or kids’ club. The legislation sets out in detail various options of qualification requirements for a childminder, combining a secondary or higher education qualification in a specific field, experience in childcare and / or additional training courses related to childcare or child development.

A nurse or midwife holds a qualification required to practise this profession.

Volunteers are required to complete a training course in first aid for children.

All staff in a crèche or kids’ club must also meet additional formal or legal requirements (for example, no criminal record; guarantee of proper childcare).

The legislation sets out the tasks of crèches and kids clubs, which include childcare and educational activities, but does not lay down conditions of service or specific responsibilities of the director of a crèche or the head of a kids’ club. Such matters are addressed in the statutes of an institution, adopted by the entity administering a given crèche or kids’ club, and / or its organisational regulations, adopted by the director of a crèche or the head of a kids’ club.

For information about childminders in crèches and kids’ clubs (and day-care providers and nannies), see Chapter 4 ‘Early Childhood Education and Care’.

Education system and adult education outside the education system

Different approaches to management, monitoring and guidance staff are in place in the school education and higher education systems. Overall, the arrangements for the school education system are laid down in the legislation in much greater detail than for the higher education system. Entities providing adult education outside the education system should only comply with the generally applicable labour law and regulations and, additionally, meet specific requirements, including a general requirement to employ qualified staff, in case they apply on a voluntary basis for accreditation to the Head of the Regional Education Authorities (see Chapter 11.3 ‘Quality Assurance in Adult Education’).

As regards qualification requirements and responsibilities:

  • The school education legislation specifies detailed requirements and main responsibilities for management, monitoring, guidance and counselling and other staff.
  • The higher education legislation lays down only general requirements for management staff, whereas higher education institutions (HEIs) set their own qualification requirements for monitoring, career guidance and other staff. However, for counselling or psychological support staff, HEIs follow national regulations on professional psychologist practice and psychotherapy. Monitoring, guidance, counselling and other non-academic staff are employed in accordance with the generally applicable labour law regulations and internal regulations of HEIs. The legislation sets out the main responsibilities of the rector of an HEI, but responsibilities of other staff are defined autonomously by each HEI.
  • Staff employed in adult education institutions which are part of the school education system are covered by the legislation applicable to staff working in nursery schools, schools for children and young people and other institutions within the school education system. No specific national regulations are in place for adult education providers outside the school education system. Such entities recruit and employ their management and other staff based on the generally applicable labour law regulations and their internal regulations.

Management staff

  • The school education legislation specifies qualification requirements for this category of staff in public institutions, while giving full autonomy to non-public institutions in staffing matters. General qualification requirements set by the higher education legislation apply to rectors of both public and non-public HEIs, but additional requirements, which refer to academic qualifications and the age limit, are in place for the rector of a public HEI.
  • The position of head of a public institution (a nursery school, school or another institution, including an adult education institution) within the school education system can be taken by a teacher or a person who does not hold a teaching qualification. Appointment requirements for both the head of a public institution in the school education system and the rector of a public or non-public HEI include, among others, a higher education qualification – and, additionally, at least a doctoral degree for the rector of a public HEI – and formal and legal conditions (for example, full legal capacity; full public rights; no criminal record). In addition to the requirements specific to school education, a candidate for the head of a public institution in the school education system is required to hold a formal qualification in management. The rector of an HEI is responsible for institutional management, but the statutory requirements do not include a formal qualification or experience in management. HEIs may lay down additional requirements in their internal regulations.

Monitoring staff

  • The head of an institution (or a teacher holding a management position if the head is not a teacher) has a key role in internal quality assurance in the school education system (including schools and other institutions providing adult education). The head is responsible for so-called internal pedagogical supervision, which includes inspections or audits and activities supporting staff of the institution. The responsibilities and powers of the head in this area are regulated in detail by the legislation. The legislation also specifies qualification requirements for, and responsibilities of, inspectors in the Regional Education Authorities responsible for external pedagogical supervision, which, like internal pedagogical supervision, includes inspections and activities supporting institutions within the school education system. Inspectors should have a higher education qualification and a relevant professional promotion grade awarded to teachers, and a formal qualification in administration or management or work experience in the school education system.
  • External quality assurance in higher education is the responsibility of the Polish Accreditation Committee; see Chapter 11.2 ‘Quality Assurance in Higher Education’.  HEIs have extensive autonomy in designing their internal quality assurance approaches. The legislation lays down only some general requirements related to the quality of degree programmes and the powers and responsibilities of the rector of an HEI with regard to teacher performance appraisal. As part of their autonomy, HEIs adopt various organisational arrangements. For example, they appoint individuals or establish committees and / or units for quality assurance. Such bodies or units usually consist of academic and administrative staff, students and doctoral students, and most of those working in quality assurance units on a regular basis are administrative staff. Qualification requirements for members of such bodies and staff in such units and their responsibilities are laid down by each HEI in its internal regulations.

For details about quality assurance, see Chapter 11, Quality Assurance.

Guidance staff

  • Nursery schools, schools and other institutions in the school education system employ teachers-pedagogues (or teachers-educationalists), special education pedagogues (or special education counsellors), psychologists, educational therapists, speech therapists, careers advisers, and teachers-methodological advisers and teachers-consultants. Staff holding these positions are classified in the legislation as teachers, and qualification requirements and responsibilities for all these groups of specialists are laid down in detail in the legislation. All should have a higher education qualification and a teaching qualification.
  • Pedagogues (or educationalists), psychologists, speech therapists and careers advisers also work in counselling and guidance centres which conduct diagnostic assessments for children and young people, provide counselling and guidance, and support institutions of the school education system in their childcare and educational tasks. For details about counselling and guidance centres, see Chapter 12 ‘Educational support and guidance’.
  • There are no specific national regulations on psychological counselling or career guidance staff in higher education. In accordance with the generally applicable legislation on professional psychologist practice and psychotherapy, specialists providing counselling services in the higher education sector hold a Master’s or equivalent degree in tie field or specialisation area of Psychology and a qualification in psychotherapy. Qualification requirements for career guidance staff and responsibilities of psychological counselling and career guidance staff are laid down by HEIs in their internal regulations.

Other staff

  • Institutions within the school education system employ teacher assistants, Roma education assistants and teachers-librarians, and healthcare services in schools are provided by school nurses or school hygienists and dental practitioners. The legislation on school education or healthcare specifies qualification requirements for, and responsibilities of, these groups of staff.
  • The higher education legislation makes a distinction between two staff categories, academic staff (see Chapter 9) and non-academic staff, but does not specify groups, positions, qualification requirements or responsibilities for non-academic staff. Such matters are internally regulated by HEIs.

Legislation

NB.: In 2021-2023, the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education operated as a joint Ministry of Education and Science. Since 1 January 2024 the two separate ministries have been reinstated which is reflected in the regulations presented below.

General legislation

Legislation on the care for children aged up to 3 years, preschool and school education, and adult education within the school education system

Legislation on higher education

  • Act of 20 July 2018, The Law on Higher Education and Science (as subsequently amended) (Ustawa z dnia 20 lipca 2018 r. – Prawo o szkolnictwie wyższym i nauce (z późn. zm.)). The key legislative act for higher education which specifies, among other things, general appointment requirements, employment conditions and the powers and responsibilities of the rector of an HEI, and general requirements for staff holding management positions in an HEI.