IPPN

Published: 30 April 2024

With reference to the notice received by schools regarding ancillary services grants, where the secretary has transferred into the DE paid scheme and the reduced grant poses difficulties for the school, IPPN would advise the following:

• that the information note be brought to the attention of the Board of Management, at the earliest opportunity
• that the Board should consider
  
  • notifying its patron’s office
  • communicating its concern to its management body
  • seeking advice directly from the FSSU – contact information below.

Queries to the DE regarding the interim arrangements for payment of the Ancillary Services Grants should be addressed to sdfinfo@education.gov.ie, using the subject title: “Interim Ancillary Grant 2024”.

IPPN
As stated in IPPN’s Budget 2024 submission, IPPN fully supports the calls by our fellow education partners for

1. enhanced funding for capitation and ancillary services, in line with funding provided to post-primary schools
2. funding for ICT, STEM, etc., to be placed on a permanent multi-annual footing.

FSSU contact info
Phone: 01 910 4020 Email: primary@fssu.ie
Opening hours are from 9am to 7pm Monday to Thursday and from 9am to 5pm on Friday.

Survey
IPPN understands that at least one of the management bodies intends surveying schools on this issue. We will share details when they become available.

Published: 24 April 2024

As you may be aware, Special Schools who are running an in-person programme have been given leave to employ graduate teachers and PME student teachers who are in their final year to work as a student teacher in a Special School and on the Summer Programme. As the guidance indicates – “Schools can recruit up to two student teachers from the 3rd week in May 2024 (or on completion of exams) until the end of the school based summer programme. This will allow student teachers to gain valuable relevant experience in a special education setting and will assist special schools during a very busy period in their school year. It will also assist with familiarisation and preparation leading into a summer programme.”

To assist special schools in this regard, IPPN will add a credit to the EducationPosts.ie account of each special school that has undertaken to provide an in-person summer programme. This will ensure that schools can advertise these positions without incurring any cost.

It is a matter for each individual school to decide what they require of applicants in terms of submitting an application, however, a letter of application outlining relevant experience and why the applicant would like to be considered for the position might be appropriate information to seek.

The Initial Teacher Education providers will be advised that schools are advertising these positions on educationposts.ie so that they can draw them to the attention of the relevant cohorts of student teachers.

Again, it is a matter for each individual school to decide how they will consider the applications received and what process might be used to determine the most suitable applicants. A formal recruitment process is not required.

Conditions that applicants must satisfy are as follows:

Graduate Teachers
Where the registration process with the Teaching Council has commenced, the graduate teacher must:
1. Have received their final results from their HEI confirming they are eligible for registration with the Teaching Council.
2. Have their Garda vetting completed as part of their application for registration with the Teaching Council.
3. Have their registration with the Council finalised prior to 04 October 2024.

Teachers who are registered under Primary Route 1 can only be paid the primary qualified rate from the registration date as advised by the Teaching Council. Otherwise, the unqualified rate will apply.

PME Student Teachers
Applies to student teachers, who have registered with the Teaching Council under Route 3 – Further Education, who can work on the summer programme.

PME student teachers currently in Year 1 of the programme, who have applied for registration with the Teaching Council under Further Education, can be engaged by special schools if:
1. Garda vetting has been completed as part of their application for registration with the Teaching Council.
2. Their registration with the Council under Further Education will be finalised prior to 04 October 2024.

PME student teachers who are registered with the Teaching Council under the Further Education route will be paid at the unqualified rate for the duration of the internship.

Published: 22 April 2024

Answers to the most commonly-asked questions relating to the Deakin survey are:

1. I have registered to do the survey but, when I click the RESUME button it only allows me to leave the page. It does not take me to the survey.
Solution: If the participant clicks ‘RESUME’ and the page does not load, it is usually an issue with their browser. Could you please ask the participant to delete their history. If this does not work, they are requested to try another browser.

2. I think there is an error with the survey as my school does not come up automatically when I type in its name for the question below:
Name of educational institution (where you are employed)
*Please start typing the name of your school name and select it when it appears. If you cannot find it please select/type 'other' and enter your school's details.

Solution: This could be a new school/a new name for an excising one that was not listed in the IRISH database of schools. If this is the case, they can select 'Other' and enter your school's details into the form that opens.

3. I keep trying to verify my password but continue to get a message saying expired verification token pair
Solution: The only issue with resetting passwords is that participants need to input a verification code for security purposes. When a reset of their password is requested, the code is sent to their email address within two minutes. They should check their junk folder if they do not receive the code. If the problem persists, they are probably using not using the email address they registered in previous years. Note the code is only valid for a short time, so you will need to check email and use the code straight away. 

4. I tried to complete the questionnaire but it was not letting me past creating a password. It just kept coming up with everything the password needed to have in it even though I had everything it needed in my password.
Solution: Deakin have only encountered this issue if the participant is not formatting their password correctly. Please try a different password and ensure it contains the relevant characters.

5. I have registered for the survey but every time I try to verify my account I get an internal error message.

Solution: Try using a new browser or clear their browser cache and attempt access again.
Participant has tried accessing the survey from a different device or internet browser and this has not worked
Suggested that participant would use a different email, preferably a personal email, for registration – advice is that she would not have any issues with a new email.

6. I am unable to access the survey which I completed before. I have changed email addresses but neither my current or old email address seems to be recognised!
Solution: email sent to Deakin to establish what email account was used and discovered that participant was not on Deakin data - participant is using incorrect email address

7. When I log in to complete the survey the following message is appearing for me? Can you advise me what to do from here?

'No surveys available at the moment'.

Solution: This issue stems from cached data in the browser. The participant has two options: s/he can either clear her/his browsing history or opt to use a different browser.

8. Password issue
Solution: This issue shall be sorted out by resetting the password again and entering the correct password at log-in.

Published: 17 April 2024

The Autism-Friendly Schools Research Project is a national study of inclusive education led by researchers at the DCU Institute of Education and the RCSI. The team will shortly be seeking the views of the wider school community in a nationwide survey.

Through stratified sampling, a representative selection of schools in Ireland will be randomly chosen to participate. Each principal of the selected schools will receive a formal invitation via email in the coming weeks from researchers at the DCU Institute of Education. This email will include a survey link for all school staff members (teachers, school leaders, SNAs, receptionists, etc.) and all parents of pupils attending the school. The survey, which takes 12 to 15 minutes to complete, examines knowledge of autism and attitudes towards inclusive education.

As you are aware, the provision of quality education for autistic pupils is an important and timely issue in Ireland. To develop meaningful and implementable recommendations that bring about positive change, involvement of selected schools is crucial, and your participation if contacted would be greatly appreciated.

You can learn more about the Autism-Friendly Schools Research Project on our webpage: https://www.dcu.ie/instituteofeducation/autism-friendly-schools-project

Dr Sinéad McNally Associate Professor, DCU Institute of Education