IPPN

Letter to INTO General Secretary, John Carr re Principals' Working Conditions

Published: 01 October 2007

See attached letter.

Minister Hanafin announces formal establishment of National Council for Special Education from 1st October 2005

Published: 15 July 2007

The Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin TD, today announced that the National Council for Special Education will be formally established on 1 October 2005.

The Council, which has already been established on an interim basis, is the body charged with ensuring that the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 will be given full effect.

Its specific duties include

the dissemination to schools and parents of information relating to best practice for the education of children with disabilities;

the co-ordination of special education in conjunction with schools and health boards;

and planning for the integration of children with special needs in a mainstream setting.

The Council will monitor progress of students with special educational needs and review the resources needed in this area. It will have responsibility to conduct research in the area of special education and provide relevant advice and information to the Minister.

The Council will also review the provision made for adults with disabilities to avail of higher, adult and continuing education. The Council has already done much of the preliminary work involved in its start up such as locating premises and engaging staff, including over 70 special educational needs organisers.

The establishment Order for the Council was one of three Orders signed by the Minister today. The Minister also signed a commencement order bringing into force 36 sections of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act.

Amongst the sections commenced is a provision giving statutory force to the principle of inclusive education. The education of children with special educational needs with those who do not have such needs has long been Government policy. The Act recognises that policy and provides that a child with special needs will be educated in an inclusive setting unless this would not be in the best interests of the child or the effective provision of education for other children in the mainstream environment.

One of the first jobs of the Council will be to draw up an implementation report outlining the steps to be taken in order to fully implement the Act within a time period no longer than 5 years.
The final Order signed by the Minister sets the date for the establishment of the Special Education Appeals Board as 3 April 2006. The Appeals Board will hear appeals on matters affecting the education of a child with special needs. Setting 3 April next year as the date for its establishment will allow time for the appointment and training of members of the Appeals Board and give the Council time to prepare its implementation report which will provide a roadmap for the commencement of the remaining sections of the Act.

Click here to access the article on the DES website.

Marketing and Business Development Manager Vacancy

Published: 17 May 2007

The Irish Primary Principals' Network (IPPN) is the professional body for the leaders of Irish Primary Schools. Since its establishment in 2000, IPPN's membership has increased to a total of 6,000 Principals and Deputy Principals. To reflect the planned expansion of IPPN's support and services to our members, we are now extending our support team with the appointment of a Commercial Manager. This is a full-time senior management position and the appointee will initially be offered a contract for a three year period subject to annual review.

Reporting to the Director, the Commercial Manager will be responsible for:

developing & implementing a strategic marketing plan for IPPN;
managing a portfolio of sustainable commercial partnerships;
researching & developing revenue generating activities;
managing event exhibitions & promotions;
brand development, merchandising, product design & promotion;

Ã¢€Â¢ negotiating tenders from commercial suppliers

Candidates must have evidence of the following competencies:

excellent oral and written communication skills;
high level of versatility in ICTs;
strong negotiating skills;
lateral thinking and innovation;
confident leadership and people skills;
ability to plan, organise and make things happen;
project management skills;
strong customer service ethic;

Ã¢€Â¢ flexible team & solo worker.

The successful candidate will have an appropriate marketing qualification with a range of relevant experience. An attractive reward package, commensurate with experience, plus performance related bonuses, will be offered to the successful candidate. IPPN is an equal opportunities employer.

Application by letter and Curriculum Vitae in strict confidence to Seán O Driscoll, to athruconsult@eircom.net , not later than Thursday 31st May 2007.

IPPN ICT Submission to Ministers Strategy Group

Published: 16 May 2007

IPPN has made a submission to the Minister's Strategy Group on ICT in Schools. The submission was prepared by Robbie O'Leary, An Chroí Ró Naofa (Senior), Tallaght in conjunction with Seán O'Laimhin, Foxford Central School, Mayo; Seaghan Moriarty, IPPN Technology Developer and John Curran, IPPN PRO

Benchmarking for Principals - Class Allocation

Published: 01 May 2007

A Chara,

Every year, the month of May presents Principals with the challenge of allocating classes to teachers. There are few aspects of the role of Principal where the opportunity for 'fall-out' is greater. Every member of staff knows the complexity of the Principal's task yet often staff are unhappy with the decisions the Principal has made. There are so many factors to be taken on board - teaching styles, teaching abilities, personalities, preferences, childrens' learning needs, continuity, career opportunity, fairness, staff rotation, size of calsses, special needs, teachers' health / wellness, the Teaching Principal, team work ... and many more.

So, how to carry out this essential function of the Principal with the greater good of the entire school in mind? Based on experience and knowledge gathered over the last few years, this E-scéal contains links to four key resources for Principals to assist with the process of class allocation.

Go n-éirí leat leis an saothair tábhachtach seo.

IPPN Professional Guidance re Class Allocation Who picks the Team Class Preference Sheet for Teachers Education Act 1998 Ref to Principal Teachers (Summary)

Benchmarking for Principals We are indeed delighted that principals' pay and working conditions featured so prominently over the Easter break. Following the in-depth research and professional evaluation of principalship presented in the IPPN publication 'Investing in School Leadership', it is heartening that this issue is being afforded the prominence it deserves and has moved to a higher place on the agenda. The crisis around the recruitment and retention of school leaders, put clearly on the agenda both nationally and internationally by IPPN, now appears to be accepted as a reality by others. It would appear that we can be confident that principals' pay will have a more coherent focus in the coming months in the lead up to Benchmarking. This has to be welcome news for Principals and, hopefully, the Benchmarking process will produce a positive response. The basic tenet of the IPPN leadership vision "Quality Leadership - Quality Learning" may at last have taken hold where it counts. Principals must wonder what is really happening when a clear, logical, reasoned and reasonable case for the proper financial reward of principals attracts such knee-jerk criticism. Is sinne le meas
Seán Cottrell & Tomás O Slatara