IPPN

Published: 15 October 2012

Parent Associations – Good Relations
During this time of year, the IPPN Support Office receives many queries in relation to parent associations and their role within the school community.  It may be an opportune time to reflect on the relationship between the parent association and the school. IPPN and NPC-P jointly produced ‘Supporting Each Other – a guide to best practice for the effective partnership between principals and parent associations’. 

Central to establishing a good working relationship with the parent association is communication.  NPC-P and IPPN recognised this and jointly produced ‘Supporting Each Other – a guide to best practice for the effective partnership  between principals and parent associations’.  The publication is a useful reference to establishing a good communications system and providing a clear understanding of the rights and responsibilities of all members of the school community.

At a time when a contentious issue is not present, discussions can take place on how rights and responsibilities impact in a practical way on the interactions within the school community.

The following questions could be addressed:

• What can a parent association expect of the BoM ?
• What can the BoM expect of the parent association?
• What can the parent association expect of the principal?
• What can the principal expect of the parent association?

These discussions could form a code of practice within the school, where aspirations are translated into practical applications.  A similar form of discussion could be initiated between staff, between staff and principal and between staff and BoM.

Schools that nurture caring relationships provide the best environment for the growth of pupil and teacher resilience and motivation.  Communicate the outcome of these discussions to all parties.  Working collaboratively can ensure that our schools become caring communities, where each person in the team receives the ongoing support needed for lifelong learning.

Complaints Procedure
The parental complaints procedure is currently under review.  As soon as an update on the procedures is available, IPPN will issue advice and guidance on same.

If you are currently dealing with parental complaints, advice may be sought through the Principal Advice Panel by contacting the IPPN National Support Office – 1890 21 22 23.

Click here to download Supporting Each Other – a guide to best practice for the effective partnership between principals and parent associations

Parent/Teacher Meetings: Common Questions
Every year, as schools begin to organise their parent/teacher meetings, principals seek clarity from the IPPN Support Office in relation to a number of related issues.  We have identified the main questions that schools are asking and we have provided guidance notes. 

When should parent-teacher meetings be held?
A formal parent-teacher meeting will be held once during the academic year in each school.  DES Circular 14/04 notes that the meetings will normally commence at 3.15pm and end at 5.45pm.  This is subject to change, based on agreement between the relevant parties at local level. Normally the school will close a quarter of an hour early to facilitate staff and they commence a quarter of an hour after school normally finishes, leaving a half hour break in between.  Most schools allow 10/15 minutes for each meeting.  Some teachers use time in the morning before school to meet parents if that suits both parties. This can reduce the time pressure on teachers later.

Please note that parent-teacher meetings should not be arranged for the day immediately preceding or immediately following the school breaks as set out in the standardised school year calendar.

What about families that have more than one child in the school?
This requires some co-ordination by a post holder (Deputy Principal or Secretary).  A blank timetable with 10 minute intervals is created for all classrooms.  From school records, the family with the largest number of children are timetabled so that the parents can meet all teachers in the one session.  It is a good idea to allow one 10 minute slot free so that any delay doesn’t have a knock-on effect.  This central timetabling is co-ordinated for families with e.g. 4, 3, or 2 children in the school.  Each classroom timetable is then given to the class teacher who schedules appointments with the parents of the remaining children.

Do all teachers need to attend, including LS/RT?
Normally parents of children attending any form of out-of-class support will want to meet those teachers as well.  This can be arranged as a follow-up to meeting the class teacher or involving both teachers at the same time.  Normally LS/RT will be flexibly available during parent-teacher meeting sessions.

IPPN Membership
Reminder to renew your IPPN Membership if you have not already done so to continue to receive key supports & services.

Click here for further information

DES October Grants
DEIS SSP Grant Supervision Grant (balance of hours due to schools).

Planning Prompts
IPPN’s Planning Prompts are posted to the networking mailing list every Monday and Wednesday with helpful tips and reminders for the week.  To continue to avail of networking, please ensure that your membership is renewed.  To subscribe to networking, login to www.ippn.ie, go to ‘Supports & Services’ on the menu tool bar and select ‘Manage my mailing lists’.   Planning prompt headings from this week include:

• BoM & ISM
• National School Annual Census Return
• Teacher/SNA absences
• Cuntasaí

Research Request
M.Ed (School Leadership) – teacher wishes to interview principals appointed in the past 3-5 years about their experience of principalship

Fiona Sheridan, a primary school teacher, is currently undertaking an M.ED in School Leadership at the NUI, Maynooth. Her research covers gender in leadership positions in the primary sector. She would like to interview principals appointed within the last three to five years and conduct a comparative study between males and females. The focus of the interviews will be around the trajectory to becoming principal, initial experiences of the job and leadership style. All information given will remain strictly confidential and anonymous.

If you would like to participate in this research, Fiona can be contacted by email at fesheridan@gmail.com or by phone at 086 3549131. Her research supervisor at NUIM is Dr Delma Byrne and she may be contacted at Delma.Byrne@nuim.ie or (01) 7083723.

Is sinne le meas

Seán Cottrell & Gerry Murphy