8.5.1.1. Professionals
Professionals may, in turn, be broken down into different groups, depending on the kind of studies required and the tasks performed. Personnel categories are enumerated in the Fifth Collective Bargaining Agreement for Ministry of Education and Culture General Service Staff and the Private Education Labour Accord.
8.5.1.1.1. Staff directly involved in the educational endeavour
Educational establishments may receive support from a wide range of professionals depending on the circumstances:
1) University graduates. These may be physicians, architects, psychologists, pedagogues, librarians, etc. Their duties are in keeping with their respective training.
2) Intermediate graduates Diplomados . This group includes registered nurses, speech therapists, physical therapists, monitors and occupational therapists. Their main tasks are described below:
- – Registered nurses: monitor and care for pupils who fall ill to the extent their profession allows; they also monitor administration of prescribed medication.
- – Speech therapists: administer specific treatment for recovery from disorders or alterations in joints, voice or language to persons in need of such treatment; they also run follow-ups and evaluation of the treatment applied, in conjunction with the other professionals intervening in each case, etc.
- – Physical therapists: administer specific treatment for physical recovery and rehabilitation; they monitor health care in the absence of a registered nurse; they are in charge of follow-up and evaluation of the treatment applied, in conjunction with the rehabilitation doctor, as appropriate; they teach pupils how to handle and use any adaptations they may require, etc.
- – Teaching fellows: co-operate with the Maestro to programme leisure and free time activities, are responsible for implementation of such activities and attend to pupils during such periods; they also co-ordinate and control after hours studies and co-operate in the follow-up of pupils’ schooling, liaising between the establishment and families, etc.
- – Occupational therapists: administer specific treatment for functional recovery in areas such as handling aids and prostheses, training in various kinds of activities and the design or formulation of adaptations that help pupils in their studies and other activities; they are in charge of follow-up and evaluation of the treatment applied, in conjunction with the other establishment professionals involved.
3) Other certificates
- – Practical nurses: professionals with a first tier vocational training certificate or intermediate ciclos formativos in the field of health who perform the tasks entrusted to them by a physician or registered nurse, under their supervision.
- – Technical educational aides (monitors): persons with a Graduado Escolar certificate or equivalent who provide complementary aid for handicapped pupils, attending to them on the school bus, for grooming and personal hygiene, in the dining room, overnight and in similar situations. They also monitor hallways during classroom changes, student rest rooms, and classrooms in the teacher’s absence and the school grounds during recreation periods in conjunction with the teaching staff, which is held directly responsible for such activities.
8.5.1.1.2. Administrative and service personnel
1) Administrative staff: professionals engaging in administration on various levels: Administrators, clerks and administrative officers, buyers, telephone operators, etc. 2) Service personnel: janitors, guards, dining room and cleaning personnel, chef and kitchen hands, drivers, gardeners, cleaning staff, seamstresses, laundry personnel, elevator and lift engineers, etc. 3) Information management personnel: various kinds of professional qualifications involved in running computer equipment (data programming and handling, maintenance, error correction, document files, etc.).