IPPN

Published: 29 November 2023

On foot of a NCSE event during the week of 6th November, it was agreed that the partners would receive a briefing on the progress of the pilot. The following is an overview of the information shared at that briefing.

Because of the difficulties with the CAMHS service, the lack of access to mental health services especially for primary school children, the increasing levels of anxiety reported among children and recommendations of JOC, the pilot was approved in two phases. NEPS met with their NI counterparts as well as teams in Dorset and West Sussex where similar pilots are operating.

A good national and regional spread across geographical locations with the longest waiting lists was the determining factor in selecting schools for the pilot. NEPS engaged with the three main accrediting bodies for counselling in Ireland to set up the rolling application process.

Progress on Strand 1 has been slow. However, 32 counsellors have now been cleared and are ready for the panel. 41% of schools have now been allocated blocks of counselling, initially to larger schools, followed by the smaller schools, once more counsellors become available. Large schools got a letter to this effect in the week beginning 6th November, with smaller schools receiving a holding letter. Once the letter is received, NEPS will work with the school to identify needs and pupils following the continuum of support. NEPS will also identify who needs onward referral and/or additional supports.

Schools are asked to identify a link person to be the point of contact with the counsellor (principal or teacher acting on behalf of the principal). The link person will liaise with the counsellor to decide dates, times and arrangements, link with parents and the provide counsellor with school’s CP policy. The child will have access to 6 sessions. An initial and final session will be provided to the parents and school staff.

Guidelines for Schools have been issued during the week beginning 13th November and a dedicated website also went live.

Strand 2 in Cork, Dublin 7/16 and Carlow has 78 schools. Teams will consist of 4 Educational Wellbeing and Mental Health Practioners with 1 NEPS psychologist. The approach will be to set up prevention measures, CBT interventions and psychological education supports for parents and teachers. 5 NEPS psychologists are developing a training programme for the teams and will provide oversight and supervision.

There were 63 applicants for the practioner posts with 16 appointed. These were Educational Psychologists and Social Science Graduates. NEPS hope that this will increase as the pilot develops. There is huge interest in Strand 2. Cork ETB are administering the process, beginning on 27th November, with lead people undergoing training sessions.

The priority was to get Strand 1 up and running. Once more information becomes available and as the pilot develops, NEPS have said that they will provide briefing sessions for the partners. The news that the pilot has been funded for a further year is welcome.

NEPS is in the process also of developing a tender for the evaluation of the project.

Published: 29 November 2023

In preparation for the publication of the progress report on the Sustainable Leadership project, we issued a member survey to which over 1500 school leaders responded. Your responses to that survey indicated that you are doing some very positive things in your schools with regard to the maintenance of a focus on core purpose and the effective sharing of leadership. The Pathways to Sustainable Leadership session, at this year’s Principals’ conference, was an opportunity for attendees to talk and hear about the things that are working for others so that the wisdom of the collective can shape and enhance our own individual leadership practice.

Attendees were divided into three groups and each of the three groups reflected on and discussed one of the following

• How can I focus more on my core purpose?
  
• How can I share leadership more effectively with my deputy?
  
• How can I share leadership more effectively with the wider team?

Having considered these questions, each attendee was asked to identify something valuable that they had learned or heard. The following is a synopsis of those learnings.

Some of the reflections may resonate with you and others may not. At the very least, they may remind us of some important messages that we already know but that we may occasionally lose sight of in the busy-ness of the daily routine. We are sincerely grateful to the hundreds of school leaders who participated in the sessions and who so generously shared their wisdom and insights.

What might assist me to be able to better maintain a focus on my core purpose?

• being clear about what that core purpose is
• reframing “leading of teaching and learning” as “enabling teaching and learning”
• recognising the agency we create in our schools by managing all the non-curricular issues that enable the high quality leadership and delivery of teaching and learning by all staff
• valuing the impact of our emotional intelligence in cultivating the environment in our schools that promotes teacher and student agency
• recognising the importance of the quality of relationships that exist in the school
• remembering that we have agency as leaders to ensure a focus on the schools’ stated priorities and to have the courage and confidence to do so
• setting ambitious but reasonable goals for ourselves as leaders and also for our school communities (including having realistic “to do” lists!)
• challenging our assumptions about what constitutes instructional leadership and who might be involved in it
• remembering that the principal does not have to be the one providing the instructional leadership, they can promote and facilitate it
• recognising the expertise and wisdom of others
• remembering that it is ok to say that I don’t know 
• remembering that it is ok to say no
• remembering to trust your own understanding of your school context and the decisions you make in the best interests of that school community 
• remembering that leadership of teaching and learning is a shared responsibility
• planning staff meetings to ensure that there is time for informed discussion and professional conversations about teaching and learning
• ensuring such discussions and conversations are time bound and lead to decision making
• valuing the opinions and suggestions of others while being true to your own focus/vision
• availing of the professional coaching opportunity now provided through Oide
• remembering to recognise, enjoy and celebrate progress/success
• prioritising the maintenance of connections with teachers and children
• remembering to be fully present in such situations
• creating good habits around having time to think, reflect and focus on teaching and learning
• ensuring that boundaries are created and respected
• acknowledging that there are things you cannot control
• remembering that whatever the current “crisis” is, this too will pass and there will be something valuable to be learned from it
• recognising that being good enough is good enough
• prioritising our self-care

o making sure that we are on the list of people that we are worried about
o feeling less guilty about things we do for ourselves
o putting on our own oxygen masks first
o honouring our own needs

• recognising the value of collaborating and consulting with other school leaders
• asking ourselves the question – “how do the children benefit from this?”
• remembering that some things don’t need an immediate response and sometimes they don’t need any response
• remembering that a resistance to change is natural and that sometimes people just need time to adjust
• avoiding using the phrase “leave it with me” when someone comes with a problem – ask questions about what they have tried, as opposed to trying to offer a solution

What might assist me to be able to better ensure a partnership/co-leadership approach to the leadership of the school with my deputy?

• remembering that it is ok to relinquish control
  
• remembering to proactively foster and cultivate the relationship
  
• finding creative ways to “release” the deputy principal so that we can have structured time to work and plan together
  
• ensuring that we are on the same page in relation to our vision and ambitions for the school
  
• challenging each other’s thinking privately before presenting a unified face publicly
  
• challenging our own assumptions about the deputy’s willingness and capacity to co-lead
  
• being mindful of how our actions as principals may limit or undermine our deputies capacity to co-lead
  
• recognising the value of having complimentary skillsets
  
• prioritising the facilitation of the deputy’s professional development
  
• encouraging the Board of Management to invest in the deputy’s professional development
  
• encouraging the deputy to collaborate with other deputies and to participate in local support groups
  
• encouraging the deputy to avail of professional coaching
  
• availing of opportunities to learn together – Forbairt, team coaching
  
• recognising the potential of the relationship between principal and deputy principal to model a culture of effective shared leadership

What might assist me to be able to better share leadership effectively with the wider team?

• recognising that the sharing of leadership is a necessity and not a luxury – failing to share leadership limits our own leadership effectiveness and also school effectiveness.
  
• recognising the central importance of trust
  o building an environment that is open, inclusive and respectful of differing opinions
  o trusting the capacity of others to lead and manage with responsibility
  o creating a culture of shared responsibility and accountability
  
• respecting the competence and expertise of others
  
• ensuring meetings are planned and structured to facilitate engagement and participation
  
• engaging in active listening
  
• recognising that there may be other and better ways of doing things
  
• recognising a diversity of skillsets
  
• maintaining a state of “relaxed vigilance”
  
• avoiding the temptation to micro-manage
  
• availing of professional opportunities for the leadership and management team – team coaching, Comhar
  
• investing in the professional development of emerging/aspiring leaders
  
• avoiding assumptions about a lack of willingness on the part of teachers without promoted posts to become involved in the leadership and management of the school
  
• remembering that empowering others builds not only capacity but also confidence
  
• remembering to acknowledge and celebrate achievement/progress/success
  
• adopting the “apple tart” approach – cut the apple tart into slices and allow people to take their slice as opposed to serving it to them
  
• using the PIEW model to agree and ensure the focus of the leadership and management team is on shared priorities
  
• remembering that what works in another school may not suit your context – there is no one-size-fits-all approach

Published: 22 November 2023

As we approach the end of the calendar year, it is timely that all school Boards of Management and School Staff consult on a review or the development of a new Leave Policy in preparation for 2024 applications.

This highly important school policy is governed by the regulations and procedures set out in circular 0054/2019, which covers all types of leave available to teaching staff with approved contracts. Employers - or Boards of Management - are charged with implementing the said regulations and procedures and, along with teachers, must agree to the terms and conditions as stated within the circular.

Many types of leave are covered within the policy, including Sick Leave, Maternity Leave, Adoptive Leave, Paternity Leave, Parental Leave, Carer’s Leave, Career-Break, Job-Sharing and the Temporary Re-Assignment Scheme.

Each Board of Management must develop and maintain a policy on teacher leave. The welfare and education of the pupils must take precedence over all other considerations.

Due regard must be given by the school Board to the capacity of the school to meet its obligations to its pupils. Therefore, it may apply a limit to the number of teaching staff that may avail of leave - career-break and job-sharing in particular - at any one time. This must be considered in the context of the availability of qualified teachers as a teacher supply crisis continues.

Important dates:
1. Applications by Feb 1st
2. Board written decision no later than March 1st
3. Applications can be withdrawn by April 14th.

A Board decision is final. A refusal decision must include grounds for refusal.

Published: 15 November 2023

As the professional organisation for primary school leaders, IPPN’s mission is to enhance leadership capacity, leadership effectiveness and leadership sustainability as all the research confirms that effective leaders mean effective schools and effective schools mean better outcomes for children.

If we can ensure the existence of that leadership capacity, effectiveness and sustainability, we can empower existing school leaders to thrive in your roles, while also encouraging greater numbers of potential or aspiring leaders to embrace leadership roles in our schools. However, our direct engagement with you has highlighted that this isn't the case and that is what prompted us to undertake this Sustainable Leadership project.

This time last year, we published the Sustainable Leadership report - Primary School Leadership: The Case for Urgent Action – A Roadmap to Sustainable Leadership.

The first part of that report was an evidence-informed analysis of the current reality of primary school leadership focusing on the extent of the work you have to do, the nature of that work, how it is impacting on the sustainability of your leadership role and how it is impacting on your health & wellbeing.

The second part of the report explored key issues and made specific recommendations in each of its sections - all targeted at enhancing the practice and experience of school leadership. This has been the focus of our advocacy work since the publication of the report.

In order to keep you up to speed with what actions have been undertaken, as part of that advocacy work, we've collated a progress report on the project which can be accessed here.

We are hopeful that the progress report will serve to

• reaffirm the rationale underpinning the project.
• highlight what actions have been undertaken and what progress has been made since the publication of the original report.
• provide an up-to-date evidence base which demonstrates an ongoing need for urgent action.

We are indebted to all of you who took the time to provide us with that evidence, through your participation in our member surveys and the health & wellbeing research.

It is crucial that you are given the opportunity of doing, not only the job you signed up to do, but the job that we should all want you to be doing. This will be a key focus of IPPN’s ongoing advocacy work on Sustainable Leadership.