Leadership+ Issue 112 February 2020

ISSUE 112 / FEBRUARY 2020

+ Leadership THE PROFESSIONAL VOICE OF SCHOOL LEADERS

Imperfect Leadership

for better results

ALLIANZ - YOUR LOCAL SERVICE & SUPPORT We have a Local Personal Service for all Schools insured directly with Allianz - Your Local Allianz Representative is always available and ready to assist you.

CONTACTING YOUR INSURER MAY NOT ALWAYS BE THE FIRST THING ON YOUR MIND, BUT REST ASSURED WE ARE HERE TO HELP. HERE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE AREAS WE CAN ASSIST YOUR SCHOOL

An incident or an injury that may lead to a claim

You receive a Solicitors letter

Your School is applying for a development grant

You have a safety concern or would like some assistance with a risk assessment

You would like some guidance as a new Principal

Your school has completed a new extension or has a Sums Insured query

There has been significant damage to the school property such as fire, storm, flood etc.

YOUR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES CONTACT DETAILS Shane Mooney ACII – West 087 – 9190428 Shane.Mooney@allianz.ie

Martin Sinnott ACII – South East 087 – 6862329 Martin.Sinnott@allianz.ie

Mairead Mullins ACII – North West 087 – 2485065 Mairead.Mullins@allianz.ie

Martin McKeogh, ACII, BBS (Hon) – South 087 9203992 Martin.McKeogh@allianz.ie

Noel O’Loughlin ACII – South West 087 – 2588943 Noel.O’Loughlin@allianz.ie

Alan Carroll CIP – North East 087 – 9566721 Alan.Carroll@allianz.ie

If your School are insured through an insurance intermediary, please contact them for assistance

www.allianz.ie/schools

Allianz plc is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Standard acceptance criteria apply.

Calls may be recorded.

PAGE

David Ruddy wonders what is next for the Education (Admissions to Schools) Act 2018

10

Principal in Profile

Jenny Byrne discusses her first term as a newly appointed principal in a newly established school

3

In this editorial, we look at the imperfect leader model and its positive benefits

Centre for School Leadership

6

PAGE

4

Legal Diary

Editorial

Anna Mai Rooney provides a brief overview of the Centre for School Leadership Endorsement Process

16

Towards a Better Future

PAGE

PAGE

THE PROFESSIONAL VOICE OF SCHOOL LEADERS

PAGE

+ Leadership

Irish School

System

hors About the Aut

s Professor of an is Emeritu Dr. John Coolah Maynooth. ity of Ireland National Univers

Education at

the

Education and s Professor of Drudy is Emeritu at UCD. Dr. Sheelagh of Education of the School former Head

ion and former or of Educat is Emeritus Profess Cork, Ireland.

Dr Áine Hyland College t of University Vice-Presiden

the A Review of System ol Irish Scho Drudy | Sheelagh han John Coola d n | Áine Hylan Pádraig Hoga uinness Séamus McG

Lecturer in is a former Senior .

McGuinness College, Dublin Dr. Séamus Education, Trinity the School of PRINCIPALS

NAPD AND

555050-5-8

ISBN 978-0-9

DEPUTY PRINCIPALS

We take a look at the IPPN Principals’ Conference and Education Expo that took place in January of this year

BETTER FUTURE

School System

the Education at Lecturer in Hogan is Senior Dr. Pádraig , Maynooth. ity of Ireland National Univers

Towards a

Irish Review of the

In this issue we look at the role of the curriculum in the Irish school system

r Future - A

20

IPPN Conference

BETTER TURE FU the A Review of

Towards a Bette

PAGE

Towards a

the Network and y Principals’ Principals the Irish Primar als and Deputy Published by tion of Princip National Associa

NAPD PRINCIPALS

AND

DEPUTY PRINCIPALS

Irish Primary Principals’ Network, Glounthaune, Co. Cork • 1890 21 22 23 • www.ippn.ie n n

n n n n

Editor: Geraldine D’Arcy Editorial Team: Geraldine D’Arcy, Páiric Clerkin and Damian White Comments to: editor@ippn.ie Advertising: adverts@ippn.ie ISSN: 1649-5888 Design: Brosna Press

The opinions expressed in Leadership+ do not necessarily reflect the official policy or views of IPPN

Signposts ISSUE 112 / FEBRUARY 2020

1

LEADERSHIP SUPPORT

The Tyranny of the

Inner Critic

Part 2: Managing the Expectations of Others ANGELA LYNCH IPPN LEADERSHIP SUPPORT MANAGER

In this the second part of managing our inner critic, we look at managing the expectations of others – our expectations of them as well as their expectations of us. Although you may have become adept at managing your expectations of self, it can still be difficult to manage or indeed change what others expect of you.

Being swayed or constantly giving in to the wishes of others instead of determining your own path can seriously affect wellbeing.

Challenging my own belief that others should be able to read my mind has provided me with one of the most important life lessons to date. Of course no one can read my mind (not even Keith Barry!). I try to anticipate what others may expect of me and either work to meet these expectations or communicate why these may need to change or cannot be delivered as expected. Over-communicate. Often in an attempt to please others, we can agree to take on things which we know in our heart of hearts we have little chance of delivering. The result – disappointment on all fronts.

Having learned to manage your expectations of self, take a look at the expectations you harbor in relation to others. How realistic are they? If I choose to work until 6pm in school

each day, is it reasonable to expect others to do the same thing? Also, in choosing to consistently work in this way can easily create expectations as to what one, as a school leader, is prepared to do. Because this has become an expectation and taken for granted, it is easy to see resentment becoming an issue for oneself.

So what is the key to managing the expectations of others? I’ll say it again – over-communicate! Communicate early and often. Bear in mind the key questions of who, when, what, where, why and how.

The single greatest problem in communication is the belief that it has happened. Unrealistic expectations are often born out of fear – fear that we may not be perfect, know everything, or be able to do everything oneself and solve every problem. The fear is that we will not live up to this perfect image in the eyes of others. The fact is that we are not perfect, do not know everything, cannot do everything ourselves and are not able to solve every problem. In truth, not every problem is ours to solve. If you don’t communicate your expectations, you are essentially preventing others from managing their expectations of you.

This is where knowing exactly what you are capable of achieving and

communicating it clearly to others is essential. You then do exactly as you have said you would. This will enhance your credibility and develop better relationships with all. If someone cannot accept your yes or no to a demand, then the problem is theirs, not yours. You will have been honest and open in communicating a realistic expectation of what you can do.

I leave the final word to the author Lisa Kleypas from Love in the Afternoon: ‘You are your own worst enemy. If you can learn to stop expecting impossible perfection, in yourself and others, you may find the happiness that has always eluded you.’

COACHING

- ACCREDITED COURSES FOR EDUCATORS AT TEACHER CENTRES ‰ ‚ ‚ Â

­

Š � ‚ ‚ ‚ † † ‡‹ Œ‹ ‚ ‚ � ‚ ­

‚ Â

ÂŽ Â

‘ † Â? ‚ Â

’ ­ ‚ � † ­ ‹ ‚ “‚ ‚ ‚ ‚ … ‚ ‹ ‚ † †

‚ ” Š • Š

 � � � �  ­

€ ‚‚

­  � � ƒ „  � ­ … †

‡  ­ ˆ

‡  ­

–ƒ ­ ‚ ­� ­ ­ ­

� — ‚ † • ˜ ‚­ †­

2

November 2019

EDITORIAL

Imperfect Leadership

for better results If you ever changed a nappy or delivered your sneezed ablutions into a tissue, chances are that you used products developed under the stewardship of Darwin Smith, a most unlikely CEO promoted from within the Kimberley Clark company in 1971.

His appointment, his early decisions, his personality - or perceived lack of one - and his appearance were derided amongst business heads.

That is, until the results began to change dramatically, to the point where, by his retirement in 1991 after 20 years at the helm, his firm had gone from performing considerably below the stock market average to performing almost five times as well as the average quoted company.

Asked in retirement how he had led such an exceptional performance, he replied simply ‘I never stopped trying to become qualified for my job.’

Darwin Smith is one of those leaders highlighted in ‘Good to Great’, the seminal book on leadership authored

by Irish-American Jim Collins in 2001, whose extensive research into what separated those companies who outperformed the stock exchange substantially from the rest of the field, found identical traits amongst the people leading those companies at key times and empirical data to back up his conclusions. Collins calls them ‘Level 5 leaders’, or the highestranking leaders on his scale. All the leaders covered were the embodiment of personal humility and professional will, ambitious to be sure, but for the business rather than themselves.

Their modesty and thoughtfulness contributed to their sustainability as leaders over long periods, during which their companies prospered yearon-year. They got the right people ‘on the bus’, and into the right seats.

They encouraged their successors, often setting them up for even greater success than they enjoyed.

Level 4 leaders were outstanding but irreplaceable. For older football fans, consider the successors of Bill Shankly at Liverpool and Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and who might have operated at the higher level?

PÁIRIC CLERKIN AND DAMIAN WHITE Level 5 leaders all have compelling modesty, and are understated and selfprospered. They are more plough-horse than show-pony. They look out the office window to attribute success and when things go wrong, they look in the mirror and take responsibility. Others down the levels do the opposite. Level 5 leaders believe in good luck over personal greatness. Level 5 leaders make mistakes. But they trust their people and their instincts.

I’m not sure whether Dr. Steve Munby, former Chief Executive of the National College for School Leadership in England, the equivalent of our CSL, ever read ‘Good to Great’ before he penned his book ‘Imperfect Leadership: A Book for Leaders who Know They Don’t Know it All’. The traits linking his research into school leadership with the conclusions drawn by Jim Collins in the business world are almost uncanny.

Munby stresses that ‘imperfect leaders’ are self-aware - they know their own weaknesses. They know it’s not all about them. They are ‘invitational leaders’, in that they ask for help and are not afraid to admit they need it, thereby bringing about collective ownership and positive changes in their schools. Imperfect leaders seek help from trusted mentors, as many mentors as they need. In being open to help, they avoid the dangers of ‘group think’. They are not afraid of mistakes or being seen to make them.

Four ended up losing their jobs, while another went a step further, spending time as a guest inside Her Majesty’s high walls. They thought they were above normal rules, and broke them.

Success depends on a moderate degree of failure. It is the balance of such fear with the desire to excel that leads to great leadership. Imperfect leaders are more likely to have the right balance between confidence and humility.

They are learners who learn from their mistakes. Imperfect leaders encourage others to step up. They attract the next generation into leadership. Imperfect leadership is more productive and conducive to good results and good team ethic than ‘perfect‘ team leadership, which is unattainable.

That imperfect leader models good practice such as time-keeping and builds values into systems and processes, where staff and pupils see them doing it. Their leadership style is hence sustainable. The imperfect leader works towards placing the right people in the right positions and builds a trust and a calmness in their authority. They make tough decisions with the school’s welfare at the core.

Munby claims himself to be an imperfect leader and applies four quick tests whenever he makes a decision: 1. The Sleeping Test - If I do this, can I sleep at night?

2. The Newspaper Test - would I still do this if it was published in a newspaper?

3. The Mirror Test - If I do this, can I stand in front of the mirror and be happy with what I see?

4. The Teenager Test - Would I mind my children knowing about this?

Would Darwin Smith have made an imperfect school leader? Probably.

However, it’s probably as well he didn’t. Otherwise we might never had Huggies or Kleenex.

Munby highlighted the dangers of socalled ‘super-heads’. He cites five such school leaders once heralded in Britain as being of a vastly superior standard.

3

DAVID RUDDY BL

The Education (Admissions to Schools) Act 2018

WHAT NEXT? Schools are aware that certain sections of the above act have already commenced, namely, the removal of the so-called ‘Baptism Barrier’ and the power of the Minister through the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) to designate schools to open special classes. Other sections have not yet commenced. What are the Department of Education and Skills’ (DES) plans for 2020? Will schools be afforded preparation time to deal with the additional requirements?

The Minister committed in 2019 to extending the timeline for the implementation of certain provisions of the act to apply to admissions for the 21/2022 school year. In order to fully realise the value of the additional time provided by the Minister’s decision, it is felt that it is important to commence certain sections of the act in a timely manner. In turn this will allow schools time to prepare their admissions policies and carry out 4

From 1st February 2020, Boards of Management will have three months to prepare a draft admission policy, having first consulted with Patrons, parents of students attending the school, and staff of the school. the necessary consultation with the patron, staff and parents. This will also provide more time for the patron to approve of the admission policy.

TIMEFRAMES FOR IMPLEMENTATION In order to prepare in time for the school intake of September 2012/22, the Minister will commence relevant sections of the act with an effective date of 1 st February 2020. What does this mean for schools? From 1st February 2020, Boards of Management

will have three months to prepare a draft admission policy, having first consulted with Patrons, parents of students attending the school, and staff of the school. Planning for this work can get underway immediately.

Each school can decide when to run their admission process, once it is after 1st October 2020. The published admission policy will apply to the school intake of September 2021/22.

Three pillars will underpin the implementation phase.

PILLAR 1 Commencement of Section 62, the Admission Policy The current provision in the 1998 Education Act requires all schools to publish an admission policy. The new act does not change this requirement.

As all schools have existing admission policies, the drafting of the new admission policy as required by the act should not involve significant changes for the majority of schools. Schools

LEGAL DIARY

will continue to have discretion in relation to their criteria and how it applies other than the criteria that are specifically prohibited by the act.

Prior to preparing the draft admission policy, schools must consult with the patron, staff and parents. The Board will then have three months to draft their new admission policy and this will need to be approved by the patron and published within a specified timeframe. This is a onceoff process and is not required on an on-going basis, except where a school decides to review the policy at some future date.

DES Regulations: (a) provide for an eight-week period for a Patron to approve the admission policy of a school. (b) require that any modification requested by the Patron is undertaken by the board of management within two weeks (c) require that the admission policy is published no earlier than 1st September 2020 having received the final approved policy from the Patron.

PILLAR 2 Setting the earliest starting date for the school admission process in respect of any school year The date of the 1st of October will be set as the earliest date for schools to start their admission process. This means that no school can start the admission process before 1st October in the school year prior to that in which admission is sought.

Parents will know with certainty that schools will not start accepting applications before that date, but that once this date arrives, they must be alert to the possibility of the schools in which they are interested commencing the admission process.

Schools will retain flexibility in relation to when they start their enrolment processes once they do not start before 1st of October.

PILLAR 3 Commencement of Section 63, the Annual Admission Notice Section 63 of the act requires schools to prepare and publish an Annual Admission Notice. This notice saves schools from having to make changes annually to the admission policy.

This notice sets out some important information for applicants, including: (a) the date on which the school shall begin and end accepting

In any case where offers of admission have been made and accepted prior to the commencement of section 62 i.e. 1st of February 2020, the school should set out the number of offers and acceptances in the annual notice for the year concerned. applications (b) the period during which the applicant shall be notified of the decision in relation to their application (c) the period during which the applicant shall confirm acceptance of the offer of admission.

The notice will also set out for the school year: (a) the number of places being made available in the intake group (b) in the case of a school with a special class, the number of places being made available in the special class concerned (c) how the admission policy and enrolment forms can be obtained.

The Admission Notice must be published on the school website no later than a week before accepting applications, or should be available to parents on written request.

In any case where offers of admission have been made and accepted prior to the commencement of section 62 i.e. 1st of February 2020, the school should set out the number of offers and acceptances in the annual notice for the year concerned. Applicants must be notified of the outcome of applications in writing, within three weeks after the closing date for submission as outlined in the admissions notice. The same timeframe applies to late applicants.

Application forms should be publically available on the school website and on written request for the duration of the school year. The Regulations will also provide for an age-based criterion in the school’s admissions policy such that, where there are more applicants than places available, schools can give priority for admission to those pupils who have reached a minimum age.

OBSERVATION The sequencing of the commencement of these significant sections of the act is most helpful to schools. This is a very good example as to how effective the Primary Education Forum has become with all the education partners (including IPPN) and the DES working together.

If you’d like to contact David about this article, you can email him to druddy@ mhc.ie.

Bespoke Expertise Our Training Consultant, David Ruddy offers individual schools a bespoke training package, including staff training and/or a review of compliance policies including: • • • • • • •

Admissions to School Code of Behaviour Child Protection Data Protection GDPR Dignity at Work Health & Safety Special Education Needs

For more information about this package, please contact: David Ruddy BL

01 614 7763

druddy@mhc.ie

5 1956 IIPN Advert118mm x 100mm Jan 2020.indd 1

15/01/2020 16:39:01

LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

The Centre for School Leadership

The CSL Endorsement Process ANNA MAI ROONEY DIRECTOR PRIMARY, CSL In collaboration with educational partners, the Centre for School Leadership (CSL) is currently undertaking the endorsement of professional learning for school leaders.

The purpose of the endorsement process is to: ■■ Support the design, development and delivery of quality and continuous professional learning for school leaders, ensuring innovation and creativity, with a focus on culture, context and the specific learning needs of each school leader and their school community ■■ Foster a culture of engagement with professional learning among school leaders ■■ Ensure cohesion and consistency across programmes ■■ Ensure alignment with the DES Quality Framework for Leadership and Management - Looking at our School (LAOS) (2016) ■■ Enable the development of professional learning that impacts on both the person and the practice of the school leader aiming at better outcomes for students and school communities.

CSL has developed a framework for professional learning entitled ‘Learning to be a School Leader in Ireland’.

According to the research conducted

by CSL, and in consultation with the former Scottish Centre for Educational Leadership (SCEL) in Scotland, and the National Academy for Educational Leadership (NAEL) in Wales, the essential elements of professional learning are set out in the framework.

At its core is the moral imperative of school leadership, that of improving learning outcomes and wellbeing for students and school communities.

Learning to be a school leader must impact positively on both the person and the practice of the leader which is indicated by the purple semicircles. The six coloured circles in the below graphic represent the essential elements according to the literature: adherence to the professional standards in LAOS, 66

critical reflection on practice combined with process knowledge, formal and informal relevant experiential learning, new knowledge and engagement with research, flexible and sustained learning relevant to context and individual need as well as career stage, and the opportunity to learn on both an individual and collaborative basis.

CSL’s first call for endorsement closed on November 19th and presently, there are five programmes of professional learning endorsed in the system.

The second call for endorsement is currently open and the closing date is March 12th @ 1pm. Information and the application form for the process are available in the Endorsement section of the CSL website at www.cslireland.ie.

There are 18 criteria in the CSL Endorsement Process which are divided into three categories: ■■ Professional Learning and Delivery ■■ Process: Management and Administration ■■ Evaluation and Impact.

When a provider submits a programme or activity for endorsement, it is reviewed by members of the CSL Endorsement Panel. The panel is made up of system leaders with experience in the design, delivery and evaluation of professional learning who have undergone specific training. If the submission meets the endorsement criteria, the provider is invited to meet with three panel members to engage in a professional conversation. The independent panel makes the decision about whether the provision is to be endorsed or not, and this decision is communicated to the provider in a timely fashion.

When endorsed, the provider will have access to the CSL Endorsement Logo for their programme/activity materials and endorsement is for three years. Providers will be required to provide a midterm report after 18 months and endorsed provision will be listed on the CSL website.

If provision is not endorsed, the provider will be advised to re-submit to the next endorsement call.

February 2020

CSL provides practical workshops to assist providers to become familiar with the process, and to answer any questions or queries which arise. There is a list of frequently asked questions also available on the website.

If you would like to discuss this process with a member of the CSL team, email CSL Administrator Geraldine Mc Namara in Clare Education Centre at office@cslireland.ie.

■■

■■

■■

■■

■■ ■■

■■

Excellence through Collaborative Leadership and Management To encourage innovation and to promote excellence in leadership, CSL, on behalf of the DES, launched the Leadership Clusters initiative in 2018 to support schools to work collaboratively to build leadership capacity, improve learning experiences and outcomes, and to work with other schools on innovative leadership projects.

There are 100 schools involved in the project and 24 clusters, the majority of which are cross-sectoral. The schools involved reported the following learning opportunities:

■■

The opportunity to engage in professional dialogue and share good practice The advantages of networking and collaboration The joy of seeing other schools in action The advantage of cross-sectoral interaction Affirmation for schools The importance of building leadership capacity The opportunities for teacher leaders The advantage of learning project management skills.

The CSL team acknowledges the assistance of Business in the Community, third-level colleagues, Education Centre Directors, PDST, JCT, CSL Facilitators, Cluster Coordinators, the Inspectorate and TES, all of whom play significant roles in ensuring the success of this project.

The Showcase Event takes place in Athlone Community College on April 25th. If you would like more information about this event, contact the CSL Office.

The CSL Shared Calendar CSL is pleased to announce the publishing of the first ever shared calendar detailing the professional learning available for principals and deputy principals. The calendar has been developed in consultation with all the education partners.

It is publically available on the CSL website at https://www.cslireland.ie/ calendar.html and provides principals and deputy principals with details of programmes and activities organised by the stakeholders.

The calendar will allow busy school leaders to explore what is available to them so as to ensure that they continue to access relevant professional learning to improve their leadership and management skills to help them address the demands of the role. CSL now plans to engage with stakeholders to develop a similar calendar for teacher and middle leaders so as to encourage leadership learning at every level along the continuum.

LINK TO CALENDAR

School communication system n

Fully GDPR compliant

n

Instant communication with parents

n

Free parent to school card payment facility

n

No set-up fee or subscription fee

n

Message will default to SMS if App not available

n

Free real time school calendar

All revenue generated through TextaParent.ie is reinvested to provide core IPPN member services.

If you have any queries, or would like to try TextaParent.ie for yourself, please contact info@textaparent.ie or 1890 401 501

Irish Primary Principals’ Network Líonra Phríomhoidí Bunscoile Éireann

7

IPPN LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

20 years on and still winning

DAMIAN WHITE IPPN PRESIDENT

Now and again, at various functions, a bunch of Offaly men in their 70s gather, clad in a fading uniform of bottle-green sports jackets and GAA ties. They are members of the 71/72 club, bound together forever by their achievement of an unlikely All-Ireland double success, considering the small population of the county, and a stack of memories and stories, some of which have not diminished with the retelling.

These men individually were at various stages of their careers in 1971/72. But as a group, they are bound together as the pioneers (in the ground-breaking sense only!) who brought Offaly their first senior football All Ireland - an achievement which cemented their legacy and left subsequent generations firmly in their debt.

I was a senior infant in 1971 when two of those heroes brought Sam Maguire into our 2-teacher Gortnamona NS. Somebody bumped against the great trophy while I was getting my drink of diluted orange from it, shaking my every tooth and leading to the inevitable tears. Such was the fearsome toughness of those men, I’m sure they rightly concluded that I, for one, would never replicate their achievement with my low pain threshold. As I got older and got to know many of those players quite well, I envied their achievement, their bond and how, many years later, they continue to glow in each other’s company.

Watching ‘Back to the Future’ over the holidays, possibly fuelled by slurping what I should have been sipping, my mind wandered to some dates in the past and I imagined what it would be like to go back. I thought of landing outside my school on August 27th 1994, four days before I would officially begin my career as a teaching principal. I would go back, knowing full well what that entails in 2020. I couldn’t possibly have imagined that as I accepted a large bunch of keys from my predecessor (most of which I still don’t know what they’re for), I was 8

making a commitment for probably the remainder of my professional life. By today’s accepted standards, I might advise the 28 year-old me to run a mile!

So many flyers crossed my desk on the way to the bin that it was by some miracle I happened to take a second look at notice of a conference for principals in the Grand Hotel, Malahide, in early 1997...

I was going into a role as a full-time teacher, with responsibility for 6th class of a school with 182 pupils, 6 mainstream classes, a ‘remedial’ teacher for 2 and a bit days per week, no secretarial support, the school phone on my desk , no mentor to guide me, no local support or network of any sort, no post-holders except the Deputy Principal, no diagnoses of any learning difficulties, no SNAs and a shortage of subs. Amongst the things I had been asked during the interview was what I’d do if the oil boiler broke down and I firmly believe that my answer about bleeding a Massey Ferguson was the clincher!

School Plans were only becoming the rule rather than the exception and policies were scarce in most schools.

Once you could show that all teachers were teaching subtraction in the same way, this was proof that you had an agreed approach to the teaching of Maths. To become an administrative principal, the school needed 250 pupils. If you were lucky, there was a local community employment scheme through which you might get a caretaker or secretary, though they moved on after their maximum of 9 months in the role. Local principals were expected to represent their school at just about everything in the evenings. Whether it was introduction

nights on Green Flags, Cumann na mBunscol, schools’ athletics or local library promotions, the principal invariably turned up. In most cases, the principals also attended their local INTO branch meetings and many took a leading role. We jokingly referred to ourselves as ‘rent-a-crowd’.

So many flyers crossed my desk on the way to the bin that it was by some miracle I happened to take a second look at notice of a conference for principals in the Grand Hotel, Malahide, in early 1997. A number of principals had gotten together to organise the event, following three successive, and successful, years of conferences in Cork, organised by the local principals groups there. I distinctly remember the longest-serving principal there telling colourfully of his duties upon being appointed in 1957, which included raking up the sand in the dry toilets each evening! But out of all the speakers who contributed, I was most impressed with serving principals Dolores Corcoran and Gerard McHugh who, for me, set the tone for how leadership in schools should be. These were people in my job, and they were talking in my language, contextualising the issues and dilemmas I faced each day, and letting me and other attendees know that we weren’t alone. I booked early the following year and when Colm Cregan stood up to propose a national movement, I was sitting beside him.

Thirty people answered the call to remain behind that day and 16 of us snuck into Kildare Education Centre a few weeks later with the support of director Anne Kelleher to set up a new clandestine organisation. The only thing to surpass the excitement for me, other than marriage and the birth of children, and possibly the 1982 All Ireland, was the sense of purposeful and nervous energy in the room that day. I made the clever decision to keep my mouth mostly shut, lest I say something foolish. There were some of the cleverest and most innovative 8

THE PRESIDENT’S PEN

people in that room. Over the weeks and months, we beavered away in the shadows, and each meeting saw more and more progress. The word ‘network’ was central to everything.

We had to support principals, but we had to help principals to support each other. Ideas were flying around about how to make the job of principal more manageable and solutions were forthcoming.

When IPPN was officially launched

by Education Minister Dr. Michael Woods TD in Dublin Castle in 2000, there was a frisson of excitement and appreciation across school leadership that, at last, something was happening to support principals.

Twenty years on, all the issues I faced as that callow youth have been addressed. The nature of the job means that there are always issues to be faced. Thankfully, IPPN has long since been recognised as a vital partner in primary education and is constantly monitoring proposed changes from the viewpoint of school leaders. Our many initiatives over the years - TextaParent, EducationPosts, Sub Seeker, the PIMs diary, Leadership Support, Partner Principals, Partnership Schools, Mentoring (which led to the creation of CSL), networking and other mailing lists, local support groups, Ciall Ceannaithe, annual conferences, professional briefing days - and several others, are all

solutions in response to issues raised by principals. PIEW is our model for dealing with workload, the issue most raised by principals in recent times.

While my sporting achievements are unflattering, I take the greatest pleasure from bumping into people who, 20 years ago, took school leadership to a new and safer place.

I can look them in the eye knowing that together, we were part of the evolution of something pretty special.

We don’t have green jackets, but I can share stories of some long-retired heroes who kicked some marvellous scores.

Changes at the helm Part 2 IPPN Board of Directors Deirdre is an active member of IPPN. She has served as a National Committee representative for Sligo for many years, is a trained CSL mentor and is currently facilitating Group Mentoring.

DEIRDRE KELLY In the November issue of Leadership+, we notified you that Deirdre Kelly, teaching principal St Michaels NS, Tubbercurry, Co. Sligo, had been elected to the Board of Directors for a three-year term.

Deirdre qualified as a primary teacher from Froebel College in 1993 and completed a Post Graduate in Trinity College in 1994. Deirdre’s experience during her 7 years of teaching in a special school setting in Scoil Eoin, Crumlin, Dublin encouraged her to complete her Masters in Educational Leadership.

She has taught in both urban and rural locations and has experienced teaching in varying educational contexts. In 2004, Deirdre was appointed as teaching principal in St Michael’s NS, a 5-teacher rural school located in south County Sligo.

Her commitment to and belief in small schools, recognition of the central role these schools play in rural communities and the significance of supporting principals in these schools will be central to her role as a member of the Board of Directors.

SIMON LEWIS Since the last issue of Leadership+ went to print, there has been a further development, and we can now confirm that Simon Lewis, principal of Carlow ETNS, Carlow Town has been coopted to the Board for a period of three years.

taught in a variety of settings. He has been principal of Carlow Educate Together since it opened in 2008. The school has grown from a 2-teacher school to a double-stream school with classes for children with autism.

Simon has worked as both a teaching and administrative principal and is well known in educational technology circles where he has given courses and talks in Ireland and internationally.

He has worked with several agencies over the last two decades, helping them engage with ICT in the best way possible.

Simon has been on the IPPN National Committee for the last 10 years. He was very happy to be nominated to be on the Board of Directors this year and is looking forward to stepping up to try and help with the growing number of significant challenges facing school leaders. As a member of a minority group himself, Simon is passionate about equality in all its guises in the education system and hopes to be able to bring that voice to the Board of Directors.

We congratulate Deirdre and Simon and wish them all the very best in their governance role.

Board members profiles are available on www.ippn.ie under About Us -> Our People -> Board of Directors

Simon is originally from Dublin and moved to Carlow in 2003 where he 9

PRINCIPAL IN PROFILE

Great Expectations and Swift Realisations The first term as a newly appointed principal in a newly established school JENNY BYRNE PRINCIPAL, ASHBOURNE COMMUNITY NATIONAL SCHOOL After much consideration, and having completed the Post Graduate Diploma in School Leadership (PDSL), I decided that I would take the leap. It wasn’t a decision I took lightly; I did not see it as the natural progression of a teaching career but, having refined my educational vision on the PDSL, I felt that the time was right to align this to the leadership of a newly-established school (NES).

Although I knew this would be a challenge, it was also an opportunity to ease myself into leadership with a gradual release from teaching and a chance to start afresh building a culture of collaborative professionalism (Hargreaves et. al, 2018). Having

10

mentally braced myself, and armed with the language of leadership, the day came - the phone rang to say I got it!

The elation was soon followed by a sense of great expectation in myself and of others in me. I found the support and encouragement from our management body Community National Schools (CNS), Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) and Louth Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB) really encouraging.

They instilled such confidence and belief in me but I still had the occasional speed wobble of self-doubt. I was going to have to translate the vision into a plan of action and get the show on the

road‌with no building, no teachers and an ever-growing enrolment list.

I admit that I had a different challenge to most NAPs in NES context.

Ashbourne CNS was growing rapidly.

When I shared enrolment numbers at an IPPN meeting for NAPs, it was followed by a collected sharp intake of breath and reassurances.

The level of support I receive as a NAP through the Centre for School Leadership (CSL) and IPPN has been invaluable. Not only do I have my official CSL mentor and a coach, I have developed a network of mentors within ETBI and LMETB formally through their structures but also informally with

February 2020

other principals. I am now part of a comprehensive community of practice where help and advice flow. My hope is that soon this model of mentoring will reach into the classrooms to include all teachers in the bigger picture and the moral purpose of education to build sustainable models of distributed leadership.

It was all systems go and the machine of LMETB kicked in. Now by this stage we had gathered a staff of six teachers: three experienced teachers and three NQTS; a great balance and all looking for a challenge. Everyone went above and beyond, and we opened with great excitement to 90 children from Junior Infants to 6th class.

Having this level of support took some adjustment. Being part of LMETB meant that IT, HR and buildings departments are there to help. As teachers, we are used to getting on with things but now asking for help was an option. With this support came further adjustment to the regulations and procedures required in such a large organisation.

The morning we opened was magical… the building was finally a school. Happy kids and even happier parents (many had been worried that having bought a new house in the area they would not be able to get their children into a local school). Everyone settled into the new classrooms, the children played and chatted to their new classmates and teachers.

As a teacher leader, I loved plans, colour coding and detailed organisation of systems, much to the amusement of my colleagues. As principal, these skills are considered useful, but with a NES nothing goes to plan, you must get used to being ok with plan B, C, D and even sometimes Z. Flexibility is required.

The building was delayed, and we got the keys two days before we opened.

Due to the circumstances and the projected enrolments, LMETB managed to secure administrative status for me.

I was very lucky. But that first day of school, when I left the classrooms and went into the office, I suddenly realised that for the first time in fifteen years, I would be working alone!

It had been a busy summer; I hadn’t had time to think about what my job would actually look like on the ground. I had prepared for it in many ways - building relationships and structures to facilitate authentic collaboration between teachers, children and parents. I had considered and reflected on all possible relationships and interactions needed to fulfil the vision of collaborative professionalism. Nothing prepared me for standing in that room that morning, surrounded by boxes of files with the distant muffled dulcet tones of children singing down the corridor. It was simultaneously the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. Then there was a knock on the door, the phone rang and off we went.

Jenny is a facilitator with the National Induction Programme for Teachers (NIPT) and she is also a tutor on the PDSL for University of Limerick.

Originally studying History of Art to master’s level, Jenny enjoys using a multidisciplinary approach when communicating ideas to audiences from 4 to 104 years old.

New IPPN Staff Members Maeve O’Mahony Maeve started with us in November and works in customer support of key services, including EducationPosts.ie and Sub Seeker. Maeve previously worked as an Events Coordinator at Fota Island Resort, Cork, and brings extensive technical and customer service expertise from her work on social media and technical support teams in previous roles. Maeve has a keen interest in recruitment in the education sector, and is relishing the challenges of this new project.

Nora Peters Nora joined the Support Office in December in the role of IPPN General Manager. She will work closely with the CEO and President and will focus on day-to-day operations as well as commercial matters. Nora joins us from the agri-food sector where she has worked for several years. Nora began her career in Macra na Feirme and served most recently as General Manager of Agri Aware, the agri-food educational body. During her tenure there, she delivered several key initiatives and resources at both primary and second level as well as a range of EU-funded public outreach programmes.

11

LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

www.ippn.ie Latest resources n

If your school has a policy or plan that is not available on ippn.ie, or which would supplement available resources, we would appreciate if you would submit it for review by email to rachel.hallahan@ ippn.ie.

RESOURCES

PLANNING PROMPTS A new prompt is uploaded each week to this section.

SUPPORTS

LEADERSHIP+ 2019/2020 n Issue 111 - November 2019 n Legal Diary Topics 2019/2020 1212

Seminars NEPS Wellbeing Presentation Anne Tansey n Curriculum Leadership - Bernard McHale n Parental involvement, engagement and partnership in their children’s learning during the primary school years: a focus on homework - Dr. Joan Kiely n ICT in Primary Schools - Dr. Eemer Eivers n P.I.E.W. - Finbarr Hurley & Maria Tully. n

The following are the new resources available in the different sections of the website: DES CIRCULARS n 0074/2019 - Revision of Pay Rates in 2020 for Grant Funded School Secretaries, Caretakers and Cleaners employed by the Boards of Management of Recognised Primary Schools or by ETBs in Community National Schools using Ancillary Services Grant funding n 0073/2020 - Revision of Teacher Salaries with effect from 1 January 2020 n 0072/2019 - Revised Rates and Thresholds of the Additional Superannuation Contribution with Effect from 1 January 2020 n 0071/2019 - Copyright and other Intellectual Property Law Provisions Act 2019 - Matters for Commencement regarding Education n 0066/2019 - Revision of Salaries for Clerical Officer and Caretakers employed in National Schools under the 1978/79 Scheme and for Clerical Offices employed in Post Primary Schools under the 1978 Scheme with effect from 1 January 2020 n 0065/2019 - Revision of Salaries for Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) with effect from 1 January 2020 n 0064/2019 - Panel access for fixed-term/temporary (this includes substitute) and part-time teachers to the Supplementary Redeployment Panel for the 2020/21 school year - Primary n 0060/2019 - Sick Leave Scheme for Special Needs Assistants employed in recognised Primary and Post Primary Schools

Managing stress and building resilience - looking after your wellbeing - Karen Belshaw.

PUBLICATIONS Left to their own devices: Trends in ICT at primary school level

n

E-SCÉALS The documents listed below provide links to the relevant issue to access the Legal Diary n Legal Diary topics Issues 1-99 n Legal Diary Topics - Issues 100 onwards

CPD & EVENTS

DEPUTY PRINCIPALS’ CONFERENCE/DEPUTY PRINCIPALS’ CONFERENCE 2019 Keynotes Speeches n Adam Harris n Minister for Education Joe McHugh n Intercultural Inclusion - Dr. Déirdre Kirwan

Education Expo Exhibitor Listing

n

PRINCIPALS’ CONFERENCE/ PRINCIPALS’ CONFERENCE 2020 Presentations, related materials and videos (where available) have been uploaded for the following sessions.

Further content will be uploaded as soon as possible. n Leadership Pathways LINK n

Seminars

n

Keynote Speakers

n

Education Expo – interactive guide

LINK LINK LINK

November 2019

BOOK NOW

FAMILY FUN 1 NIGHT BREAK

from €239

Enjoy an overnight stay, a full Irish breakfast, dinner in The Woodlock Brasserie plus free entry to our Leisure Centre and 20m swimming pool.

TAYTO PARK ZOO PACKAGE PACKAGE 1 night B&B including 1 dinner

2 nights’ B&B including 1 dinner

Plus A family Tayto Park ticket *

Plus A family pass to Dublin Zoo *

From €301

From €437

All packages include: • Free access to kids’ activities on selected dates

• • • • citywesthotel.com

Full Access to 10,000m2 Leisure Centre No Booking Fee Free Parking Complimentary Wi-Fi

BOOK NOW T: +353 1 401 0500 E: info@citywesthotel.com

OnYourBehalf

Highlighted below are a few examples of IPPN’s advocacy and representative work on behalf of principals and deputy principals, through meetings, events and submissions, since the last issue of Leadership+:

NOVEMBER TUSLA EDUCATIONAL WELFARE SERVICE IPPN president Damian White attended at the DES Offices on Marlborough Street. It was the official launch of the rebrand of Tusla’s Educational Welfare Service, and their first annual attendance Campaign ‘Every School Day Counts’.

PRIMARY EDUCATION FORUM IPPN deputy president Brian O’Doherty attended two meetings of the Forum in November and December, 2019 at the DES offices on Marlborough Street.

The Primary Education Forum (PEF) is attended by the primary education stakeholders with a view to supporting the planning and sequencing of change in the primary school sector and to exchange information on the intent and impacts of the Department’s Action Plan for Education. The purpose is to identify opportunities to streamline implementation and address workload issues.

During the course of the first term, the PEF has met three times with agenda items focused on issues such as: ■■ The staged implementation of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 ■■ The development of the Department’s Action Plan for 2020 ■■ The challenges facing small schools in terms of governance and sustainable leadership as identified in the Symposium on Small Schools.

On the issue of challenges of governance and sustainable leadership facing small schools, there has been a welcome departure from the norm, in terms of the process of national education policy formation. The Department has asked the PEF to identify the particular challenges facing smaller schools and possible solutions to those challenges which are mindful of the contexts of individual schools.

To that end, a working group with an independent Chairperson has been formed from the stakeholders and this group will report back to the Forum in the coming months.

14

THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION 2019 RESEARCH CONFERENCE Damian White attended the event in Croke Park. The conference explored some of the issues involved in any potential move towards a Full Inclusion model, including the issues around initial teacher education. Delegates, who included representatives from all education partners and other agencies for whom any move towards Full Inclusion would have implications, heard from representatives from New Brunswick and Portugal where Full Inclusion is already in place.

INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION CONSULTATIVE FORUM IPPN CEO Páiric Clerkin attended the event at the Radisson Hotel in Athlone.

The Consultative Forum constitutes an important part of the Department’s work in developing a policy statement for Initial Teacher Education (ITE).

The work to date has involved initial consultations with providers of ITE programmes which were followed by a call for submissions. The Forum will bring together stakeholders from across the education system to discuss the key themes which have emerged from those discussions and submissions OTHER MEETINGS ATTENDED/ HOSTED: ■■ CSL Leadership and Management Cluster Advisory Group Meeting ■■ EducationPosts.ie attended the DCU Careers Event ■■ Teaching Council, Revised Standards of ITE consultation meeting ■■ PDST National Director Ciara O’Donnell ■■ ESHA conference, Jyvaskyla, Finland ■■ DES Education for Sustainable Development Forum, Dublin Castle ■■ Teaching Council Consultative Forum on Teacher Supply.

DECEMBER NCCA - THE ‘LEADING OUT’ SEMINAR SERIES Páiric Clerkin attended the event at the Aisling Hotel. The series is designed to support stakeholder collaboration and to explore how, together, we can lead and support curriculum change in the primary sector.

JANUARY SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP Dr Karen Edge, DES, Inspectorate, NAPD and IPPN met to progress discussions on this important topic.

TEACHING COUNCIL BRIEFING The Council provided updates in relation to Droichead, conditional registration, registration, vetting and fitness to teach. Further updates to be provided in the next issue or via E-scéal.

OTHER MEETINGS ATTENDED/ HOSTED: ■■ Partnership Schools Ireland Advisory Group Meeting ■■ National Parents Council - Parents and initial Teacher Education, DES, Marlborough Street ■■ NCSE Consultation on Special Schools and Classes ■■ An Choiste Comhairleach um Polasaí don Oideachas Gaeltachta, An Roinn Oideachais agus Scileanna, Baile Átha Cliath ■■ CSL Postgraduate Diploma in School Leadership (PDSL) meeting, DES, Athlone ■■ NCSE Council Meeting, Trim, Co. Meath ■■ BEACONS Empowering communities through education Shared Learning Event, Teaching Council offices, Maynooth ■■ Review of Redeployment Arrangements, DES, Athlone.

SCHOOL VISITS Damian met with the following school leaders in recent months: ■■ Henry Martin, Principal, St Michael’s NS, Crosspatrick, Co. Kilkenny ■■ Damien Irwin, Principal, Scoil Naisiunta an Chroi Naofa An Gleanntan, Glounthaune, Co. Cork ■■ Anne Hartnett, Principal, St. Paul’s Special School, Montenotte, Cork ■■ Carol White, Principal of Boher NS, Mullingar, Co.Westmeath ■■ Alan Plunkett, Principal of St Joseph’s NS, Ballinagar, Co Offaly ■■ Brian Ryan, Principal of Scoil Naomh Mhuire, Co. Offaly ■■ Micheál Hyland, Principal of Geashill NS, Co. Offaly ■■ Sandra Sheeran, Principal of Scoil Shinchill, Killeigh, Co. Offaly.

15

LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

Towards a Better Future

NAPD PRINCIPALS AND DEPUTY PRINCIPALS

A Review of the Irish School System DR. JOHN COOLAHAN (RIP), DR. SHEELAGH DRUDY, DR. PÁDRAIG HOGAN, DR. ÁINE HYLAND, DR. SÉAMUS McGUINNESS

CHAPTER 4: Curriculum

A NEW APPROACH TO CURRICULUM DESIGN Leading and Supporting Change in Schools, 2009 In 2009, the NCCA published a discussion paper on Leading and Supporting Change in Schools that identified the key role of teachers in the implementation of change and explored how lasting change in teaching, learning, school culture and implementation could be achieved. It recognised the need to give schools greater autonomy in setting the agenda for change at the local level and the need to involve teachers and schools in both planning for change as well as involving them in the process of change. The revised approach emphasised a ‘learning outcomes’ approach to curriculum design, the role of teachers as curriculum developers and the use of an online portal.

Learning Outcomes Approach Under the ’learning outcomes’ approach, new curricula and syllabi would be specified in terms of topics and learning outcomes – it would be a matter for individual teachers to interpret these topics and learning outcomes and to plan their teaching accordingly.

While this approach is learner-focused and provides clear information on what a learner is expected to know and to be able to do following the completion of a programme, defining a curriculum solely in terms of learning outcomes has its limitations. Learning outcomes are statements of essential learning, and are written at minimum acceptable or threshold (pass/fail) standard. It can be argued that a curriculum requires greater specification in order to enable teachers to ensure that the level and depth at which the subject is being taught is appropriate to the stage of progression of their students. A curriculum or syllabus that focuses only 16

on (minimum) learning outcomes is at risk of under-estimating and underchallenging higher achievers and failing those with learning difficulties.

Teachers as Curriculum Developers Teachers play a hugely significant role in planning, developing and implementing curricula. Experience of school-based and teacher-based curriculum development is not new in Ireland – especially at primary level, where schools and teachers have been encouraged since 1971 to use a schoolbased approach to curriculum planning.

Curriculum and lesson planning has been a significant component of initial teacher education programmes for primary teachers since the 1970s.

The approach adopted from 2009 onwards by the NCCA relies on a highly professional and well-educated teaching force to interpret and ‘customise’ the curriculum in a way that best suits their school and pupils, as well as time and resources for planning and for in-service support. While the recently extended teacher education programmes in Ireland will ensure that newly-qualified teachers in future will have the required expertise, some existing teachers may feel challenged by the new approach, that they may not have the skills or confidence to engage effectively with curriculum development, and/or are likely to require ongoing support and training to enable them to design and implement their own programmes.

Online Portal The new approach and rationale places a heavy reliance on the NCCA’s online portal (www.curriculumonline.ie).

The portal provides opportunities for teachers to share ideas, sample lesson plans, resources, and suggestions and allows teachers to customise the curriculum for classroom use.

While this has undoubted potential

as a source of exciting and innovative resources for teachers and learners, undue reliance can be problematic.

There are likely to be some teachers who are less than comfortable with accessing the web and, although the DES has indicated that all schools have been provided with the technology to enable them to connect with the internet, problems with broadband access remain.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT Aistear/ Síolta – the Early Childhood Curriculum In October 2009, the NCCA published Aistear: An Early Childhood Curriculum Framework for children from birth to six years. The framework uses four interconnected themes to describe the content of children’s learning and development – Well-being; Identity and Belonging; Communicating and Exploring; and Thinking. The Framework has both implicit and explicit links with the Primary School Curriculum.

The Framework requires its users to act as ‘curriculum developers’, in keeping with the revised approach to curriculum planning. The first element is entitled ‘Developing your Curriculum and Curriculum Statement’.

Developing a curriculum could prove quite a challenge for the average early childhood teacher, given the relatively low level of qualification required in the sector. Current guidelines relating to staffing of early childhood settings expect that each setting should be led by a person with a minimum of a Level 6 qualification. While an increasing number of workers in the sector have completed a qualification at least at this level, this is not universally the case.

The New Primary Language Curriculum, 2016 Research carried out by the NCCA in 2005, with particular reference

February 2020

to English, Mathematics and Visual Arts, identified some problems in the implementation of the 1999 curriculum.

A draft curriculum, prepared by the NCCA following wide-ranging consultation, espoused the principles and methodologies of Aistear. It differs from the 1999 curriculum for English and Gaeilge in several respects.

Firstly, it has the same curriculum structure and components for English and Gaeilge ‘to support integration across the two languages’. It has far fewer outcomes (94) than the (268) objectives in the 1999 curriculum.

the NCCA in the original specification.

While the original specification for the Primary Language Curriculum consisted solely of topics and learning outcomes, the curriculum is now presented as having four ‘interconnected parts’ Learning Outcomes, Support Material for Teachers, Progression Continua and Examples of children’s language learning and development – all of which will contribute to ‘Planning, Teaching and assessing for learning in English and Irish’.

As this chapter was being finalised (in December 2016), the NCCA issued a consultation document on “proposals for structure and time allocation in a redeveloped primary curriculum”.

While two options for redeveloping the curriculum are suggested, either of the options are likely to have profound implications for teaching and learning in Irish primary schools for future generations. The proposals are based on recent research on children’s learning and development in their early childhood and primary school years. They also attempt to address the demands for “more” to be included in the primary school curriculum by providing a more flexible approach to time allocation.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to support principals and teachers in the implementation of the new curriculum will be made available, facilitated by the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST), over a three-year period.

While it is too soon to comment on the implementation of the revised Primary Language Curriculum, it is reassuring to see that final version of the curriculum which was disseminated to schools and teachers includes much more detail than had been made available by

Learning Outcomes describe the expected language learning and development for children at the end of a two-year period.

Support Material includes practical advice for teachers, illustrated with videos and photos, to inform their teaching of oral language, reading and writing, in the school’s first and

Learning Outcomes

The NCCA is also currently engaged in developing a syllabus for a new subject – Education about Religions and Beliefs and Ethics. This was one of the key recommendations of the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector (Coolahan et al, 2012).

The process of development has been slow. It has been four years since the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism recommended the development of this syllabus and it could be many more years before a new syllabus is available.

As regards the structure of the curriculum, two options are suggested – both of which move away from the existing model of four two-year stages (Infants; Junior; Middle and Senior).

The first option would mean a move to a new three-stage model while the second option would use a two-stage

Progression Continua

Planning, teaching and assessing for learning in English and Irish Support Material for teachers

second languages.

Primary Language Curriculum

Progression Continua describe in broad terms, milestones and steps in a child’s journey in his/her language learning and development.

Examples, developed by teachers and

Examples of children’s language learning and development

children, show children’s language learning and development across the three strands and across a range of school contexts.

Primary Language Toolkit

The four interconnected components of the Primary Language Curriculum (DES)

model. The three stages of the first model would be (1) Pre-school (current Pre-school and Infant Classes); (2) First to Fourth Class; and (3) Fifth and Sixth Class. In the first stage, the curriculum would be largely based on the Aistear themes; in the second stage, it would be based on curriculum areas and the third stage would be subject-based.

Option 2 predicates two stages – (1) Pre-school to Second Class and (2) Third to Sixth Class. The first stage would be based on the Aistear themes and the second stage would be subject-based.

The issue of time allocation is also addressed in the consultation document. The framework includes three key elements: the time allocated to religious education; a suggested minimum time allocation for the six curriculum areas (or strands) of the 1999 curriculum, along with a period of discretionary curriculum time; and the time allowed for breaks and assembly time. A particularly important feature of the framework is the inclusion of a significant period of discretionary curriculum time (up to 40% of the total time). This time could be allocated to any of the six curriculum areas or to any of the subjects within them. The framework also allows for the inclusion of a modern language where this is available.

The consultation findings will inform more detailed work by the NCCA in preparing an overview of a redeveloped primary curriculum. It is likely to be some years before a new primary curriculum is ready for implementation.

Nevertheless, the proposals contained in the consultation document must be seen as ground-breaking, and could well be at least as significant as the 1971 “new” curriculum was in its day.

Co-Curricular Initiatives No discussion of curriculum in Ireland would be complete without reference to the many co-curricular initiatives that exist throughout the country.

Many schools facilitate extra-curricular classes and activities, often provided by teachers on a voluntary basis, and availed of by large numbers of pupils. A wide range of out-of-school educational activities are also provided for children and young people by various organisations and agencies – some of which are supported from public funds. Some initiatives provided by non-school-based organisations are provided both in school and out of school.

17

LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

Public libraries, various museums and art galleries offer a wide range of educational opportunities for children from birth to late teens, as well as providing books and other educational resources. Arts organisations provide facilities and tuition and organise exhibitions and performances for young people in the Visual Arts, Drama, Music etc. Youth organisations (e.g. Foróige) and Scout and Guide organisations, as well as a vast range of sports organisations work in and out of schools to provide personal development, sports and recreational opportunities for children and young people. There are close links between many of these organisations and the school system. Education Centres also provide support for educational activities and for networking between schools and various out-of-school organisations.

Out-of-school science and technology activities and interactive exhibitions are also very popular with children and young people. The Young Scientist of the Year Exhibition attracts tens of thousands of young exhibitors, competitors and visitors.

An initiative that has gained great success, nationally and internationally, is Coder Dojo, which provides free tuition in computer programming for young people. It is communitybased and self-led, staffed entirely by volunteers providing peer-mentoring, project-based learning and youth leadership.

In mid-December, TextaSub and its post-primary counterpart SubTeacher were replaced by Sub Seeker - a comprehensive substitute teacher service, which is designed for both primary and post-primary schools to find teachers for shortterm substitute vacancies.

The documentation which the DES has made available for the new Primary Language Curriculum appears to have achieved a reasonable balance, providing as it does, a practical ‘Toolkit’ which encompasses learning outcomes, progression continua, support material for teachers and examples of children’s learning and development. The web portal provides opportunities for sharing lesson plans and exemplars. While the richness and potential of the web is recognised, the importance of ensuring that no teacher or pupil is excluded from accessing the curriculum because of inability to access the web is also recognised by making all materials available in hard copy and/or on a USB stick. It will continue to be necessary to provide alternatives to web-based resources for as long as broadband coverage in Ireland is inadequate, to ensure the widest possible engagement by teachers and pupils.

FEEDBACK In general, we have received very positive feedback since the launch of Sub Seeker: ■■ Both schools and teachers like to be able to use one account and one system (EducationPosts.ie) to advertise and find substitute, permanent and temporary posts.

■■ They are very happy that Sub Seeker is free for both schools and teachers.

■■ Schools like that they can see who is available, that the list of available subs is prioritised to meet their needs, and that they can review a teacher’s profile (availability, experience, qualifications and other relevant information) before offering a substitute position.

■■ They are also happy that postprimary qualified teachers can now make themselves available to teach in primary schools through Sub Seeker, and vice versa, as this increases the pool of potential subs for all schools.

■■ Teachers are also happy that they can find substitute work in primary or post-primary schools within Sub Seeker.

■■ Teachers like to be in a position to provide comprehensive information to schools to increase their chances of being selected, over the more random first-to-text approach.

To download an electronic version of the publication, go to www.ippn.ie – Advocacy – Publications. To purchase a hard copy, go to www.otb.ie and put ‘towards a better future’ in the search box.

LINK

Towards a Better Future

The above are just some examples of the wide range of co-curricular activities which are available for children and young people and which complement school-based education.

They are also indicative of the very significant level of volunteerism and pro-bono engagement that epitomises so much of the outof-school educational activities that are available in Ireland. While Towards a public funding for many of these BE TTscant, ER educational activities FU is TU RE Review of especially in comparisonA with some the Irish School System other OECD countries, the range and About the Authors quality of out-of-school educational activities in Ireland compares more than favourably with those provided at much higher public cost in other jurisdictions.

1971 recognised that teachers would require support and guidance to develop and implement the curriculum – and the Teachers’ Handbook and ongoing in-service courses provided that guidance and support. The revised primary curriculum of 1999 provided guidelines that are even more extensive and exemplars for teachers. Given the many other demands facing principals and teachers, not least their heavy teaching timetables, it was recognised that there would be limitations to the extent to which practising teachers could be curriculum developers and innovators.

Dr. John Coolahan is Emeritus Professo r of Education at the National University of Ireland Maynooth.

- A Review of the Irish

Dr. Sheelagh Drudy is Emeritus Professo r of Education and former Head of the School of Education at UCD.

Dr. Pádraig Hogan is Senior Lecturer in Education at the National University of Ireland, Maynoo th.

School System

CONCLUSION Both the 1971 and the 1999 primary curriculum were designed to encourage school-based curriculum planning. The curriculum designers in the Department of Education in

Dr Áine Hyland is Emeritus Professor of Educatio n and former Vice-President of Universi ty College Cork, Ireland.

Dr. Séamus McGuin ness is a former Senior Lecturer in the School of Educatio n, Trinity College, Dublin.

18

PRINCIPALS AND D EPUTY PRINCIPALS

8

NAPD

ISBN 978-0-9555050-5-

Towards a

BETTER FUTURE A Review of the Irish School System

John Coolahan | Sheela gh Drudy Pádraig Hogan | Áine Hyland Séamus McGuinness

Published by the Irish Primary Principals’ Network National Association and the of Principals and Deputy Principals

NAPD PRINCIPALS AND D EPUTY PRINCIPALS

At the time of going to print, over 1,600 teachers have registered for Sub Seeker and more than 2,500 searches for substitute teachers have been completed through the service. The system has been working as designed and has successfully connected many schools with substitute teachers.

It is fair to say that some of the feedback has been less positive, and also that a lot of the more negative feedback is based on a lack of familiarity with the new system. For example: ■■ Some schools were unsure whether they already had an EducastionPosts.ie account and tried to set up a second account for their roll number

February 2020

SUB SEEKER ■■

■■

Others forgot what email address they had registered with Some had not confirmed that they are a DES school - the Sub Seeker portal wasn’t appearing on their Dashboard as it’s available only to DES schools.

These were all quickly and readily resolved and those schools were up and running in no time. Other issues were a little more challenging: ■■ Some schools have struggled a little with the new approach, whereby they need to review the list of available subs and make an offer through Sub Seeker rather than wait for subs to contact them. Schools have fed back that they like having control but feel it’s less immediate. We feel that once schools become familiar with Sub Seeker and have used it a few times, this will become much less of a concern.

■■ Teachers were somewhat unsure how to respond to offers from schools, and had not realised that they would no longer receive text messages. Sub Seeker sends emails as well as updating teachers’ profiles directly on the portal. This has caused delays in responding to offers, slowing down the process for schools.

■■ Some users have said they find Sub Seeker slower than previous systems however, in reality, the speed of making an offer and accepting or declining an offer is the same as sending and responding to a text message.

As noted above, this is mainly to do with awareness about emails being used to notify teachers rather than text messages.

■■ To get around this, some schools decided to issue multiple offers for the same vacancy to different teachers, opening themselves up to very difficult situations where more than one teacher accepted the vacancy. An offer cannot be withdrawn after a teacher accepts an offer, and the teacher is marked as ‘not available’ for the relevant dates, which can only be resolved by the teacher contacting subs@ educationposts.ie.

■■ Teachers would prefer to have control over the process, as was the case with TextaSub. ■■ Those without access to an internet-connected device are finding the transition challenging.

a new approach to finding ‘subs’

1. Schools cannot create multiple EducationPosts.ie / Sub Seeker accounts for the same roll number. Schools can add multiple members of staff to their account by adding new ‘Profiles’ within the advertiser dashboard.

2. As noted above, multiple offers for the same vacancy will cause severe problems for schools, but particularly for substitute teachers. If a particular teacher doesn’t respond in a reasonable time-frame, the school can withdraw the offer and make an offer to another teacher.

3. If a teacher has provided a mobile number in their Sub Seeker profile, the school can click ‘View Number’ and phone the teacher to confirm availability prior to making an offer.

REVIEW We are reviewing all feedback received and will determine whether any changes should be introduced in future phases of development to make Sub Seeker even easier to use.

Indeed, based on user feedback, we are currently developing the system to send a text message to the teacher the school selects to offer a substitute position – as an extra layer of communication in addition to an email and a notification through the Sub Seeker dashboard.

Please do continue to let us know what you think of the new system. If you would like to participate in future enhancements, e.g. by reviewing proposed amendments and getting involved in user testing, we would be delighted to hear from you at subs@educationposts.ie.

SUPPORT Issue 111 (November) provided an overview of how Sub Seeker works. The online user guides and FAQs are continually revised to ensure that all key queries are included (see the Resources and About sections of EducationPosts.ie).

Support is provided by email only to subs@educationposts. ie during business hours 09:00 – 17:00 Monday to Friday.

LINK

RESPONSE To increase awareness of the new system and the need for substitute teachers to keep availability information up to date, EducationPosts.ie contacted all registered users and provided links to the key information. Updates were issued to schools via the IPPN weekly E-scéal as well as via direct text message.

Key points to note: 19

IPPN Annual Principals’

CONFERENCE

2020

The Sensory Pod at Education Expo

Viv Grant addresses Conference 2020 on the topic Leading Out Of Who You Are

Jacqueline Fallon, Colm Ó Cadhain, Derek Grant of NCCA facilitating seminars on primary curriculum change

Some of IPPN’s Past Presidents with Damian White and Angela Lynch

Dr Joan Kiely on homework

Education Expo

IPPN at Citywest IPPN Conference Guide 2020 20

Ger Ruane facilitating Principalmeet 2020

IPPN Annual Principals’

CONFERENCE

Finbarr Hurley and Maria Tully prepare to present the P-I-E-W Framework

Dr Karen Edge & Páiric Clerkin Sustainable Leadership

Opening Act - Dublin Gospel Choir

IPPN members enjoy the Gala Dinner including Venue Committee member Carol Burke Heneghan (r)

Gillian Sheehan and Donal Kerins prepare to facilitate a Leadership Pathways session

Prof. Pádraig Ó Duibhir on Irish language education and exemptions

Conference facilitator Anton Savage in action

Seminar participants

2020

Paddy Madden - A constructive approach to school gardening

Gala Dinner

IPPN President Damian White presents an IPPN plaque to Seán Ó Foghlú, Secretary General of the DES

IPPN Deputy President Brian O’Doherty closes Conference 2020 21

IPPN Annual Principals’

CONFERENCE

2020

IPPN President Damian White his wife - fellow principal Marguerite White - and their family

Keith Ó Brolacháin facilitating a Leadership Pathways seminar with principals in years 3-5

Peter Walsh & Son at Education Expo

Past President Virgina O’Mahony with staff members Jennifer McCarthy and Jackie O’Reilly

Brazilian school leaders studying at MIC with Damian White, Páiric Clerkin and President of MIC Professor Eugene Wall Edel Horan and Elisha Foy of NCSE facilitate seminars on Reducing and Managing Behaviour that Challenges

Board members Louise Tobin and Íde Ní Dhúbháin at the Gala Dinner 22

BIM - The Arc

IPPN Annual Principals’

CONFERENCE

2020

Jim Hayes IPPN Founding President

Táimíd Fiche Bliain Ag Fás um an dtaca seo! Understanding where one comes from is always important. In recognition of our shared past I wish to reflect upon and salute those who played a role in the coming into being of IPPN. In the Ireland of the 1980s, the attitude of schools towards each other was often one of antipathy.

Schools were very isolated places and it was not customary to share ideas with fellow principals – indeed, competition for pupils was often the norm. The concept of a professional association was largely unheard of in education circles in Ireland. In fact, there is more than anecdotal evidence that Principals in the 60s and 70s were actively discouraged from organising themselves in a formal way.

Internationally, principals’ associations were springing up since 1917 (beginning in Texas), leading eventually to the establishment of the International Confederation of Principals in 1990, whose President in 2011/ 2012 was our own Virginia O’Mahony. The pace of change in Irish society during the 70s and 80s was rapid there were seven key education publications in the 1990s. The issue of leadership in primary schools took centre stage for the first time and some principals saw the need to discuss common issues pertaining to their role.

Directors of the then Teachers’ Centres provided opportunities to groups of Principals to meet to discuss issues of professional interest. The formation of professional support groups and informal local networks became effective ways of providing professional development. Such groups sought to promote good practice and quickly learned that networking is about sharing, learning, collaboration, communication and support.

Principals began to take the initiative to shed a “dependency culture” and took primary responsibility for their own professional development by organising the first ever Principals’ Conference entitled ‘Talking Heads’, held in Cork in October 1994, attended by over 250 Principals from around the country. This ultimately led to the

formation of Cork PPN. After three conferences there, principals in the Dublin region - Primary Principals Network Eastern Region - organised a further three conferences in Dublin.

The organising committees of these conferences met on March 20th, 1999, in the Kildare Teacher Centre, at which those present agreed to serve on an Interim Steering Committee for what would be called ‘The Irish Primary Principals’ Network’. Some were prevailed upon to act as interim officers.

IPPN - Líonra Príomhoidí Bunscoileanna Éireann - on that day became a new national organisation which seeks to foster, co-ordinate and develop a culture of professional support and professional development for primary principals while hoping through consultation and partnership, to actively inform and influence those who make policy decisions concerning primary education.

On 19th January, 2000 the then Minister for Education & Science stated that the Department... “is positively disposed... towards the establishment on a nation-wide basis of this new organisation”. The Official Launch of IPPN was performed by the Minister in Dublin Castle on February 10th, 2000.

On July 3rd 2000, Seán Cottrell was appointed the first Director of IPPN. We must acknowledge the key role that Seán played in the early years of IPPN. His drive, initiative and vision in those early years shaped IPPN and helped to successfully integrate the new professional association into the psyche and fabric of the education landscape in Ireland and internationally.

His ability to ‘think outside of the box’ was largely responsible for the many ground-breaking supports and services provided for members as well as a library of significant publications.

Since Seán retired, IPPN has been fortunate to have appointed such a capable, competent, efficient and hardworking successor as Páiric Clerkin. His skillset is noteworthy and has enabled IPPN to transition smoothly.

The first formal IPPN National Primary Principals’ Conference, the 7th national conference overall, was held in the Corrib Great Southern Hotel, Galway, in 2001 and the first-ever Deputy Principals’ Seminar was held in 2002.

On May 31st 2002, the Annual General Meeting of the first elected National Committee and Executive took place in Galway – another historic occasion in IPPN’s development. The gestation period was over at last – we had formally arrived!

Starting a national organisation from the ground up is an amazing challenge. In the early years, those involved voluntarily gave up a lot of their free time in the collective effort.

They were blessed to have supportive spouses and understanding boards of management as the length and breadth of the country was traversed addressing groups of enthusiastic principals. Between 1999 and 2003, I attended 281 meetings outside of school in various counties between Cork and Donegal. My travelling companion was usually Seán Cottrell, and we often stopped in Skeheenarinky for crisps and a mars bar!

I salute and remember in a special way the late Moira Lynch, John Curran, Ciarán Boland and their families for the roles they played working with us before their untimely passing.

Behind the scenes, the excellent skill levels of our support office staff have played a vital role in supporting our CEOs and executive.

The wonderful principals who have graced the office of President of IPPN since its foundation have unselfishly provided leadership to IPPN. What began as a dance at the crossroads in Skeheenarinky is now a national dance. You have all led so ably over the past twenty years and Damian is now the Fred Astaire of a great team.

I salute all of you in a very special way on this occasion.

Ar aghaidh linn a cháirde – níl dabht orm ná go bhfuil fiche bhliain faoí bhláth rómhainn. LINK 23

IPPN Annual Principals’

CONFERENCE

2020

Páiric Clerkin IPPN CEO

Input on Thursday 23rd January 2020 Founding President Jim Hayes has reminded us of the journey which has been undertaken over the past 20 years since IPPN was founded. I want to pay tribute to Jim, to our first National Director Seán Cottrell and each and every one of our presidents for their commitment in supporting school leaders. I would also like to acknowledge and sincerely thank the many members of our Board of Directors and the National Council over the years. We are indebted to them all for driving and supporting the work IPPN has undertaken for school leaders over the years, in a voluntary capacity.

Sustainable leadership is at the heart of IPPN’s advocacy on behalf of school leaders. Every school has its leadership and management challenges and different ‘capacity’ to meet those challenges. All school leaders must be offered the supports, resources and working conditions which ensure that the role is sustainable, and to continue to attract quality candidates to take up leadership positions into the future. I cannot discuss sustainable leadership without reiterating our stated priorities - at least one day per week for teaching principals to focus on leadership and management, and approval for larger schools to reintroduce promoted posts to increase capacity for leadership and management.

IPPN cannot resolve this complex issue alone. We need to engage with others in the sector to agree what sustainable leadership looks like and how to make it a reality. We have engaged with Dr Karen Edge and brought together key stakeholders to discuss this issue and the various challenges facing leaders at each stage of their development. This ongoing work will bring clarity to our future direction and the priorities for our next strategic plan.

Collaboration has been key and it has delivered results. We have worked with our colleagues in NAPD, which resulted in the Centre for School Leadership - in partnership with the Department. We have also worked with the Teaching Council, the National Parents Council, management bodies, the INTO and the 24

Department, resulting in developments such as Partnership Schools, Wellbeing for Teachers and Learners and the Primary Education Forum, which the Department set up in response to numerous IPPN calls for a calendar of reform.

Where does IPPN go next? We need to further develop our supports and services for members at local level, and redevelop our website to improve access to relevant information and resources.

We will continue to work with CSL and to develop strategic partnerships with the management bodies, the INTO, PDST and the Education Centres to provide high quality CPD and minimise duplication.

Continued engagement with the Education Centres will be key to ensuring that every Principal and Deputy Principal has access to a local support group. Damian will visit every county and will meet the Education Centre directors, visit schools and support county committees in building local capacity and strengthening the local network. He will facilitate networking amongst groups dealing with specific issues such as defective buildings, ‘designation’, DEIS as well as special, one-teacher and newlyestablished schools, among others.

Through this engagement, we can bring the concerns and proposed solutions to the DES, education partners and other stakeholders. We can be influential, but only when we build support amongst stakeholders, the key to which is the development of strong professional relationships based on trust, mutual respect and a deep understanding of the issues. This is the same in our schools – we cannot hope to positively influence teachers, other staff, Board members, parents or pupils without having laid the foundation of positive relationships.

We must find more innovative ways to support small schools and the role of the teaching principal. The Primary Education Forum will be instrumental in this. Through the Forum, we are engaged in an examination of the required supports to ensure the sustainability of

small schools. This engagement would not happen without first establishing a positive professional relationship with those participating in the Forum and the trust built through a focus on solutions. This type of collaboration provides the best opportunity for making a real difference.

Another example of this collaboration is the development by CSL of a CPD calendar for school leaders. CSL has just published the first-ever calendar detailing the professional learning available for principals and deputy principals by all the key providers.

Busy school leaders can explore what is available to them and access relevant professional learning to improve their leadership and management skills. A similar calendar is being developed for teachers and middle leaders, to encourage leadership learning at every level.

Another crucial aspect of our advocacy work is to ensure that IPPN has quality research to back up the positions we take on particular issues and to collect the most relevant and accurate evidence to back up the priority actions of our advocacy plan. We typically ask all 6000+ IPPN members to respond to all of our surveys. We are now refining that approach and will seek the input of a ‘representative sample’ of our members in future.

IPPN must also continue to provide enhanced support to school leaders in managing change, where everincreasing expectations - often with reduced resourcing - is now the norm. We believe that our P-I-E-W framework and the Partnership Schools model provide a sustainable means of managing that change process. We ask our members to engage with school self-evaluation using Looking at our Schools and the P-I-E-W framework, to ensure that all worthwhile change becomes embedded in school culture.

Endless piloting without a focus on embedding what is proven to work - and discarding the rest - wastes everyone’s time. Capacity measuring is core to P-I-E-W. The ‘W’ aspect of the P-I-E-W framework, which is the ‘Wait’

Keep an eye on ippn.ie and your E-scéal for notification of event registration

IPPN Annual Principals’

CONFERENCE column, ensures that all viewpoints receive respectful consideration through SSE, and that decisions around what makes it to the pilot phase are strategic - based on the needs of the school and the capacity for further change. Our ultimate objective P-I-E-W is for all of us to feel empowered and confident to stand by our school plan, to stand by the decisions that we have taken, and to feel confident in standing by those decisions when challenged, as we invariably will be.

We are also working with the National Parents Council in linking the Partnership Schools project to our P-I-E-W model. The Partnership Schools model provides a teambased and agenda driven approach to working with parents, pupils, and the wider school community, with the focus on supporting the school with the priorities outlined through school improvement planning and P-I-E-W. This model can support the principal in communicating priorities and the embedding of change, saying no to great ideas that are not part of the plan. This will support us with another important task – promoting a culture of wellbeing for the school community.

The Draft Primary School Curriculum Framework will be published in the coming weeks, which will set the direction for our primary curriculum for the coming decades. IPPN will be arranging meetings to ensure that school leaders have an opportunity to engage in that consultation process.

We also know that schools will have to engage with the Student and Parent Charter in the coming year. The Department has taken a legislative approach to the development of this Charter, which will influence how schools interact with parents and pupils.

Schools revolve around relationshipbuilding between people, and a positive school culture is paramount. But, with rights come responsibilities. The Charter largely ignores this reality. This was an opportunity to promote the sharing of responsibility between schools, parents and pupils. We have been working with the INTO in seeking amendments to the charter - to see a balance to the rights of all school employees to safety, health and welfare at work, including the right to dignity at work and a recognition of professional judgement.

IPPN set out our goals in our Strategic Plan 2016 to 2020, which guide our

2020

work for the year ahead. We are now in the final year of that plan and will review progress in the next few weeks.

It is an opportunity to look back as well as to the future. What have we done well over the past four years? Where have we fallen short? How can we do better? And most importantly, what do we need to prioritise - and deprioritise - through the P-I-E-W model to ensure that our focus is on your priorities for your network?

In seeking to meet those challenges, a quote from Daniel Goleman comes to mind: ‘Gifted leadership occurs when heart and head—feeling and thought – meet. These are the two winds that allow a leader to soar.’ IPPN’s work with our partners at the Forum and the P-IE-W model are two of our many efforts to create the space for school leaders to reflect, and to allow the heart and the head to meet occasionally.

We look forward to engaging with you over the coming year.

Full speech text and video footage of Páiric’s input is available on www. ippn.ie under Events/CPD/Principals’ Conference 2020 LINK

25

IPPN Annual Principals’

CONFERENCE

2020

Damian White IPPN PRESIDENT

Input on Friday 24th January 2020 Our theme ‘Back to the Future’ allows us to imagine we are in the De Lorean with Marty McFly and Doc Brown taking us back to 1998 when Offaly were All Ireland Hurling Champions and National Football League Champions and all was well with the world – my world anyway!

For schools and school leaders, things were different - the isolation and lack of any supportive infrastructure were at a level unimaginable today.

IPPN was born out of the need to have our voices heard, to ensure that as educators we were involved in the improvement of our educational system. We had to shout a lot back then to get heard.

From the very beginning, our goal has been to support principals and to help them, personally and professionally.

We aimed to achieve the status of education partner, to bring the voice of the school leader to every table at which decisions affecting school leaders are made. IPPN’s role has evolved over the last 20 years; from disrupter to influencer, from perceived annoyance to valued contributor. Through inspired leadership and a recognition by the Department that we weren’t just calling out problems but bringing creative and practical solutions, we have become a key voice at that table. We continue to work every day to ensure that your voice and your priorities are to the fore. We are listening to school leaders every day, making sure your concerns are heard and are central to any debate about change.

Key to that evolution has been the development of mutual respect between IPPN and the Department.

In this regard, we did not seek headlines after Budget 2020 other than releasing a statement outlining our deep disappointment at the lack of movement on the one leadership and management day per week for teaching principals and the restoration of middle

26

leadership posts. We did however, make the Minister fully aware of our frustrations and those of our members.

When that respect is taken for granted, we will come out shouting!

Teaching Principals Principals, particularly Teaching Principals, are not oranges - they cannot be squeezed until the pips come out. We want principalship to be a sustainable, doable job supported by the services necessary to do it properly. If we continue the drip feed of initiatives, new duties, processes and expectations, there will be no more oranges in the box.

IPPN long advocated for a calendar of reform, where any changes can be made in a sustainable and a more effective way. Stakeholders are now starting to listen - the postponement of the new Numeracy strategy is one welcome example. This has had the effect of allowing the Literacy strategy to embed and for principals and staff to implement it more effectively. We need more to be slowed down or postponed, starting with the recent announcement about the front-loading of SNAs.

Principalship has to be an attractive career option if the system itself is to be sustainable, and we are to remain one of the world’s foremost countries from an education viewpoint. Unless school leadership is viewed as a sustainable career option for our bright, talented young graduates, they will exercise those choices and give it a wide berth.

When I entered the teaching profession, I aspired to one day be a teaching principal. Being from a rural area, and with the threshold for administrative principalship at 250 pupils at the time, there were very few other types of principal within reach of where I lived. At that time, the revolutionary child-centred curriculum was coming into force and the old ways of instructional teaching were

fading. Circular 16/73 defined the role of the Principal. Principalship was a tough but manageable job, taking into account the prevailing conditions and circumstances of the time, including the ubiquitous bata over the blackboard!

Comparing the job of a teaching principal then with now is like comparing Báidín Fheilimí with Stairway to Heaven. Technically, both are pieces of music but they are incomparable in any other way. Teaching principals who have opened ASD classes in their schools are hugely in need of support.

If we are asking any school to open an ASD class or any other specialist unit, the principal must be full time administrative. They should also have access to full-time administrative support. Principals want to be the best they can be, for the children attending their schools, for their colleagues, and for themselves but they need support in real, tangible ways.

While we acknowledge the extra one day per year from the budget, it leaves teaching principals chronically short of the time required to carry out their leadership and management duties.

The Minister announced in the Dáil that one day a week for teaching principals will cost €7 million. Perhaps with Boris and Brexit now as certain as death and taxes, it leaves us with a clear picture of the fiscal situation. We don’t know who will be in government but principals are asking for a €7 million investment. To paraphrase Boris, ‘Let’s get one admin day per week done!’

SPECIAL CLASSES IPPN supports the objective of every child attending their local school, once the setting is appropriate to the needs of the child and it is properly resourced.

The current model of designating schools to open special classes is flawed. Long-term planning is required to ensure appropriate resources are in place for children with complex needs.

IPPN Annual Principals’

CONFERENCE The process must ensure that relevant training is made available to staff who will be involved with the child’s care and education and this must be managed through the school admissions process, not through NCSE. In relation to Dublin 15, the schools in many cases received no applications for places. They didn’t know who the children were, what their specific needs were, what type of facilities they required and what training may be required by staff. They rightly demanded better for children with special needs. The majority of these schools have never turned a child away because of their additional needs. Many of them support all children through the mainstream classroom setting with additional supports being provided by SET teachers and SNAs. No agency has ever suggested that there is anything wrong with this approach. The schools are rightly proud of their record of inclusion and integration of all pupils and were extremely hurt and frustrated that, even if only by inference, they were identified as schools that don’t cater for children with additional needs. The evidence points to quite the opposite.

Another issue that greatly frustrated schools was that letters in relation to designation were sent on the day of the school holidays. We must find a better way of managing these issues which, remember, are all about children. The admissions process must be the sole means used by everyone to access education locally. Secretary General, I would urge you to work with the NCSE to ensure the approach taken in Dublin 15 is refined, to avoid the sorts of problems we have outlined occurring in other areas.

FULL INCLUSION The recent debate around Full Inclusion has also generated anxiety in our schools and our homes. Every child should be educated in the setting that is most appropriate to their needs. Before this debate can progress, we need to see the evidence which demonstrates that a model of full inclusion leads to better outcomes for all children.

IPPN will not support any proposals for change until the current system is fit for purpose. We are extremely concerned that we are two years on from the current model being introduced and it still hasn’t been fully resourced. How could we even contemplate any change until it has been? How could anyone be expected to have confidence in

the provision of future resources if we haven’t fully financed the current model, which requires a fraction of the financial resourcing that a full inclusion model would need? The bottom line is that children must be protected, especially the most vulnerable. We cannot allow for any possibility that they could be short-changed by the system.

SNA ALLOCATIONS The NCSE has been running a pilot SNA allocation model in 75 schools since September. We were shocked to be notified recently of the intention to implement the new model in all schools this September, despite the fact that the feedback from the pilot has not yet been assessed. Of the 75 schools, only 11 were represented at the one focus group meeting held to date. This does not constitute meaningful evaluation or consultation.

Frontloading SNA allocation is a positive, but only if it is sufficient and if the system responds to increased need in a timely fashion. We have yet to hear how appeals are to proceed where schools feel the allocation is insufficient, or where there is a significant intake of children. The supports promised when the previous model was introduced are still not in place so how can we have faith that it will be different this time?

School leaders need to know what formula is being used to frontload the SNA model. If it is premised on the 2016 resource hours’ model, it will not reflect the current reality in schools. Since then, three cohorts of pupils have begun or left schools and a different definition of complex needs has been used.

Any model of SNA allocation must be based on the level of need. There is no indication or evidence, especially as it has not been properly trialled, to show that it would be flexible enough to meet changing levels of need.

The new model vastly increases the burden of responsibility on already overburdened principals, as the allocation of resources will switch from the SENO to the principal. The rush to implement this new model will undermine all that is positive in the guidelines. We have sought a meeting to discuss this with the minister and will keep members informed.

Special Schools I recently met principals of special schools in Cork and visited St. Paul’s Special School in Montenotte. Staffing is allocated to such schools under the

2020

provisions of the 1995 SERC Report, which is in urgent need of revision after 25 years. These are schools who are delighted to get in students on work experience, trainee teachers, volunteers and anyone who can help to relieve the stress caused by lack of appropriate resources. Some of these schools do not have an administrative deputy principal.

St Paul’s and her sister school on the same road, St. Bernadette’s, have 80 bus escorts between them. What must Sunday evenings be like for the person in charge of running that operation?

Secretaries Schools are now in a space where administrative support is essential for every aspect of school life. Our school secretaries are working complex administrative systems, fulfilling FSSU obligations, populating POD and inputting to OLCS. They are very often the glue that holds the school together.

They should have a centralised pay structure and appropriate CPD opportunities to reflect this.

My mission It is my mission as president over the next two years to ensure that every school leader is supported. I will visit every county, every education centre and as many schools as I can to listen to your concerns and support your work. I will do all in my power to ensure that school leaders have a job that is sustainable, enjoyable, and rewarding.

We’ve talked of respect, collaboration, and partnership. All of us spend our days ensuring that the children in our care get the best education possible.

We constantly work to find solutions and come up with work-arounds.

This can’t be one-sided. We need to see tangible evidence of support and recognition. We are building the future.

We need you to help us, Secretary General. As Doc Brown said - The future hasn’t been written yet - no-one’s has.

Your future is whatever you make it.

So make it a good one! One where teaching principals have a sustainable job, including one admin day per week, where principals of schools with ASD and other special units are given administrative status and where posts of responsibility have been fully restored. That is a future we could live with.

Full speech text and video footage of Damian’s input is available on www. ippn.ie under Events/CPD/Principals’ Conference 2020 LINK

27

IPPN Annual Principals’

CONFERENCE

2020 THANK YOU TO OUR CONFERENCE SPONSORS

IPPN would like to thank all of the 156 companies that went to great effort in presenting their products and services at the Education Expo. The support of exhibiting companies helps IPPN to deliver our Annual Principals’ Conference – please consider these companies when making purchases for your school over the coming year. We would also like to thank the many principals who have referred companies onto the National Support Office and who go on to exhibit at our Education Expo.

FORGING A FUTURE

We would like to thank the following companies for participating in the Passport Giveaway and for their generous prizes: Toomey Audio Visual, Gill Education, 4Schools, Munster Business Equipment, Ray of Sunshine Morning and Afterschool Services Limited, SchoolDays.ie, Memorylane Photography, IMEX Interactive, Sherpa Kids Ireland, Tutor Prints, Cantec Business Technology, Allianz

Place your completed entries in the boxes marked Passport Giveaway around the conference venue by 6pm on Friday the 27th of January. For further details on how to enter see overleaf.

es marked Passport y 6pm on Friday the to enter see overleaf.

Passport Giveaway Prizewinners: n Caitriona McCormack, Castlebar NS, Galway n Maria O’Connor, SN Baile Builearaigh n Mary Rea, Newmarket Girls NS, Co. Cork n Stephen Middleton, Powerscourt NS n Máire Nic An Fhailghigh, SN an Fhaithche, Fahy n Catherine McHale, St Peters NS n Mary McCormack, Marymount NS, The Rower n Jennifer McCormack, St Patricks Cathedral Choir School, Dublin 8 n Maeve McCarthy, Rathfarnham ETNS n Con Hourihane, St Joseph’s PS, Kilmuckridge, Wexford

Enjoy your prize!

28

And Finally…

‘

NS

QUOTATIO

ority j a m a s e Sometim fools e h t l l a s n only mea side e m a s e h are on t McDonald

’

Claude

Vulnerable

Kathryn Crowley, retired principal (2002-2017) of St. Louise de Marillac NS, Ballyfermot A funny exchange took place between me and a boy in first class a number of years ago. He had a chronic pattern of poor school attendance. He travelled by bus to school from Cherry Orchard, so I had no chance of meeting his parents. I had tried phoning them, but the number we had been given was not answering. I sent letters and got no reply, the Home School Liaison teacher had called to the house on a number of occasions, but the door was never answered. One day when he was in school, I expressed my delight to see him there. The exchange went something like this: “Good man yourself, it’s great to see you in school. We’ve all missed you. Where were you? Why weren’t you in school for the past few days?”

“Ah, sure I couldn’t come, Mrs Crowley.”

“Why not? Were you sick?”

“No, I wasn’t sick, but Snotty (pronounced Snohhy) Nose was sick.”

“Pardon? Who was sick?”

“Snotty Nose, me horse.”

“Oh, right. I see. Well, even if Snotty Nose is sick, you still have to come to school yourself. Your teacher and your friends really miss you when you’re not here,” I answered.

“Ah Jayz, Mrs. Crowley, sure I didn’t even know yiz were open!”

“We’re open every day. Well, except Saturday and Sunday. Will you come every other day so, on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. OK?” “Ah grand. I’ll see what I can do, Mrs Crowley.”

And sometimes he came and sometimes he didn’t. But the days he was in, he brightened up the school with the gift of his presence.

While this story brings a smile to our faces, it reminds me how vulnerable children can fall through the cracks. Having witnessed some children in Ballyfermot failing as a result of poor school attendance, it saddens me that the State does not formally support these children. The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) has no remit around enforcing school attendance until a child is six years old. By then, unfortunately, a small number of children have already missed out on almost two years of the building blocks, the foundation of the primary school curriculum. The pattern of poor school attendance has already been embedded in their young lives and the children have somehow absorbed the message that school attendance is optional. When they do come to school, they are academically behind their peers and they have missed out on so many chances to socialise and to make friends and the pattern of poor school attendance then becomes a vicious cycle. Children of four and five years of age can’t get themselves up and out to school. I believe that all children of school-going age should be taken under the remit of the NEWB before too long, as the current system continues to fail this small number of children whose parents don’t have either the capacity or the inclination to send them to school regularly.

‘

NS

QUOTATIO

lt, find u a f d n i f t ’ Don ybody n a ; y d e m a re lain p m o c n a c Henry Ford

‘

’

QUOTATIONS

Accountability is the remainder that is left once responsibility has been subtracted.

Prof. Andy Hargreaves

’

Getting started with payment in schools Convenient

Flexible

Secure

The future of payments How consumers pay has fundamentally changed with the introduction of new technologies, like mobile and contactless payments. The scale of change over the next ten years will be even more dramatic due to developments in areas like biometrics and the Internet of Things, which mean that customers could pay for a coffee with their fingerprint or for their petrol from the dashboard of their car, without even stepping foot in-store.

Benefits of accepting electronic payments Offering parents the option to pay by card can improve their payment experience and can benefit schools and colleges significantly. Benefits include improved reporting and visibility, and the reduction in resource involved in managing cash payments enabling schools to redeploy valuable teaching and administration time.

BOIPA offers transparent pricing, exceptional service and a free and simple set-up. We’ve teamed up with Way2Pay to provide a cashless payment solution for schools allowing parents to ‘pay by text’ with just a few clicks. www.BOIPA.com/Way2Pay

As the world’s largest processor and payments advocate, Worldpay can provide the innovation and technology you need. Worldpay delivers the reach, revenue and responsiveness to take payments into the future. www.worldpay.com

With more than 750 schools across Ireland currently processing with us, Elavon is the market leader in payment solutions in the education sector. We’re proud to partner with Aladdin, the software behind great schools. www.elavon.ie

Here to help For more information go to visa.ie or contact the payment providers who would be happy to discuss solutions to meet your needs.

At AIBMS we know that one size does not fit all. That’s why we can tailor a payment solution for your school.

Our customers include 200 schools using Easy Payments Plus, Way2Pay and Aladdin solutions. We process over 150,000 school payments each year. www.aibms.com