1st February 2024 - School Accounts/Networking Mailing List
- Published: 21 February 2024
In this week's E-scéal:
- Planning Prompts
- Professional Guidance - School Accounting
- Networking Mailing Lists
- Curricular Plans & Other Resources
- Deputy Principals' Conference
- Committees of the National Council
- Leadership+ Issue 131
- Updates
- Teaching Council - Droichead
- Significant Dates in February
This week, the Leadership Support Team encourages you, and all school leaders, to focus on how far you have come as a school leader. Often we tend to worry about how much we have to do and not take credit for our achievements during the storms and difficulties of the past number of years in particular. You might consider taking time with staff to reflect on their achievements in a similar way.
Professional Guidance School Accounting
Section 15 of the Education Act 1998 requires the board of management, in carrying out its functions, to have regard to the efficient use of resources and, in particular, to the efficient use of State funds.
Boards therefore have a statutory duty to ensure that appropriate systems and procedures are in place to ensure school financial resources including grants are managed appropriately and efficiently and in a manner that provides for appropriate accountability to the relevant parties.
Due to GDPR, members have to opt in to mailing lists annually. Please follow the steps below to subscribe to Networking:
- Log in to your www.ippn.ie member account
- Go to ‘Supports, Mailing Lists, Manage My Mailing Lists’ on the menu tool bar
- The email address associated with your membership is listed in the ‘Email Address’ field
- Select mailing lists to subscribe
- Select ‘Submit Changes’ button.
Curricular Plans and other Resources
A number of requests were made recently for Gaeilge, English and Homework Plans. The following link to ‘New Resources’ on the member website www.ippn.ie will give direct access to all recent policies/resources shared by colleagues and uploaded to the website.
If any school leader would like to share a resource with colleagues, please send it to info@ippn.ie. All references to the individual school will be removed and the resource made available to all members through www.ippn.ie.
Click here to access New Resources
Deputy Principals’ Conference 2024
With a week to go to the 2024 Deputy Principals’ Conference in Galway, IPPN is delighted that 400 school leaders will attend the event, including 98 newly-appointed deputy principals attending their first IPPN event as senior leaders.
A waiting list is in operation to meet demand. The three concurrent seminars on Curriculum Leadership, Behaviours of Concern and Restorative Practice, as well as the plenary sessions promise to be very insightful. Professor Patricia McNamara will address the topic of Core Purpose with school leaders Lorraine Dempsey and Áine Fitzpatrick looking at Wellbeing across the School, including that of the leader.
30 exhibitors will showcase their products and services and there will be time to connect with them. Two informal sessions will take place at the event, firstly with newly appointed deputy principals and secondly those working in special schools. IPPN looks forward to seeing you in Galway.
Committees of the National Council
The three sub-committees (Advocacy, eServices and Professional Learning) convened to discuss potential priority areas to focus on this year and to form working groups to progress the agreed priority. The agreed priority for the Advocacy committee is Wellbeing of School Leaders. The working group of the committee meets today, 1 February. Further details of the work of the committees will be provided via E-scéal after the National Council meeting in March.
Hard copies of the February issue will arrive in schools next week. In the meantime, you can peruse the epublication, download it and share with staff and Board.
Included in this issue:
- Sustainable Leadership – What you told us; How Leaders can help themselves
- Legal Diary: Risk Assessment
- Riachtanais Speisialta Oideachais i Scoileanna Gaeltachta agus lán-Ghaeilge
- Building Middle Leadership
- Schools Excellence Fund - Creating Innovative Schools
- Wicklow Small Schools Clustering Project - Perspectives from the three principals
Droichead
The last day to apply for Droichead in the 2023/2024 academic year is 5.00pm on Friday, 8 March 2024. Applications for 2024/2025 will open in September.
For more information please visit the website: https://ow.ly/uyeG50QrhVQ
Returning to the Register
The Teaching Council has introduced a new tailored registration process to support teachers whose registration has lapsed to return to the register. This includes detailed guidance on how to apply and the documentation required. A dedicated team has been set up. Teachers can email queries to returntoregister@teachingcouncil.ie. For more information, please see Return to the Register process
To be shared with the Board, staff and parent body as appropriate
Circular Letter 0007/2024 - Leave Entitlements for School Secretaries employed in Recognised Primary and Voluntary Secondary and Community and Comprehensive Schools
Circular 0012/2024 - GDPR: Responsibilities of data controllers in respect of the Occupational Health Service
Circular 0015/2024 - Domestic Violence Leave for School Secretaries covered by the terms of the 2022 Workplace Relation Commission (WRC) Agreement, employed in Recognised Primary and Voluntary Secondary and Community and Comprehensive Schools
Circular 0016/2024 - Unpaid Leave for Medical Care Purposes for School Secretaries covered by the terms of the 2022 Workplace Relation (WRC) Agreement, employed in Recognised Primary and Voluntary Secondary and Community and Comprehensive Schools
- Story-telling Week - 27 January to 4 February
- St Brigid’s Day – First Monday of February
- Safer Internet Day – 6 Feb
- Creative February – 1st to 29th Arts Council
- Children’s Mental Health Week - Second week of February
- International Day of Women and Girls in Science – 11 Feb
- Random Acts of Kindness Day – 17 Feb
