E-Scéal 154: DES consults Principals on Curriculum and SEN
- Published: 02 April 2008
Special Education Needs - A review of the general allocation model
Based on your school's experience in recent years please outline in simple bullet points the aspects of the GAM which you value and wish to continue and also the changes you would like to see in a revised version. Please refer to the DES letter which is available as a link below.
Putting the Primary Curriculum on a legislative basis
Up to now the curriculum in Primary Schools has been regulated by DES Circulars which advise on content, methodologies, time tables etc. The practice has been one which has given schools a lot of autonomy and freedom to adjust and balance the curriculum for the school context. The Education Act (Section 30) allows the Minister to place the curriculum within a legal framework which would have the effect of making it far more prescriptive and less flexible for schools. There may be advantages and disadvantages in both cases. There are particular implications for Gaelscoileanna and policy re. the timing of introducing the teaching of English. Equally so, it would have consequences for the teaching of other 'modern' languages which continue to be 'piloted' in some schools.
Important
Both of these issues will have direct long-term implications not just for Principals but for everyone engaged in primary education. Please bring these issues to the attention of your teaching staff and, where possible, involve them in formulating your feedback to IPPN.
Feedback
Please email your views and recommendations to info@ippn.ie Place the word 'CURRICULUM or 'SEN - GAM' in the subject line of your e-mail. It would be appreciated if you can keep your feedback as succinct as possible in bullet point format in order to facilitate the members of the IPPN Executive who will be collating your feedback.
Deadline
Unfortunately, the Department have given us very short time-frames for submissions. Please prioritise the SEN - GAM feedback to be received Wednesday 9th April. Feedback on the Curriculum to be received by Wednesday 25th April. (Ed - please note the deadline date for Curriculum feedback was subsequntly extended to May 23rd)
SEN - Review of the General Allocation Model
Curriculum - Regulations to Prescribe the Primary Curriculum
E-Scéal 153: IPPN Press Release: Autism Provision - not so special
- Published: 31 March 2008
E-Scéal 152: Dail to Debate the crisis of Primary School Funding
- Published: 10 March 2008
The Labour Party's Private Members' Motion will be debated in the Dáil on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the opening speech to be made by the party's leader Eamon Gilmore.
The motion reads: 'That Dail Eireann notes with grave concern the serious financial crisis facing many primary schools and calls for the doubling of the capitation grant with effect from the school year 2008/2009.'
IPPN are pleased that the campaign to highlight the serious problem of funding in our schools has received the national and media attention it deserves and is to be discussed in the Dail. This campaign will continue until principals are satisfied that they can concentrate on the teaching and learning aspects of their role rather than worrying about fund-raising and paying the bills.
It is open to any member of the public to attend the debate in the Dáil. You might like to attend yourself or suggest to your Parent's Association, Board of Management, staff - or, indeed, parents and children - to attend. The debates will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at about 7.30 p.m.
Arrangements for admission to the public gallery must be made in advance either through your local T.D. or by contacting the following:
Cathy Flanagan, Campaigns Officer, Labour Party, Ph: 01.6784715, E: cathy.flanagan@labour.ie
A large attendance in the public gallery in the Dail will send a strong message on the importance of this issue for principals. Please encourage as many as possible to attend.
Is sinne le meas
Seán Cottrell & Larry Fleming
E-Scéal 151: Substitute Teachers - Qualifications & Suitability
- Published: 06 March 2008
IPPN's advice is that no matter how you find a substitute teacher (or indeed any staff member), you should request that a copy of their qualifications, accompanied by a passport, driving licence or other official photo-ID, be presented prior to commencing work.
A second level Principal recently contacted the IPPN Support Office alerting us to a teacher who has legitimate qualifications at second level and is currently taking on substitute work in Primary Schools. However, the Principal in question has serious concerns about the suitability of the individual in question. For this reason, aside from seeking documentation to verify qualifications, it is also reasonable to ask a substitute teacher for details of recent employment so that an oral reference can be sought from those schools.
In summary, the Board of Management, through the Principal, is responsible for recruitment regardless of the means by which it is carried out. A clear disclaimer to this effect can be seen on www.textasub.ie.
Meanwhile, TextaSub.ie has helped hundreds of Principals to find thousands of substitute teachers in the last three years. It takes three minutes to send out your message, giving you access to the substitute teachers currently available in your county. If you wish to avail of this service, which is free to IPPN members, simply log in to www.textasub.ie and register your information.
Is sinne le meas
Larry Fleming & Seán Cottrell
E-Scéal 150: Keeping Banking Details Confidential
- Published: 06 March 2008
It has come to the attention of IPPN that at least one school in the Galway area has this week received an e-mail, purporting to come from their own bank and including the Bank Logo, requesting details of their bank account for confirmation purposes. Luckily, the school recognised the e-mail as potential fraud and did not act on it.
As this type of approach by email has happened frequently with individual bank customers, all banks are very clear that they will never seek such information by email. This is our first experience of a school being approached in this context. This situation should be brought to the attention of any school employee who might receive it in the line of duty. As we have advised previously in the case of the European Schools Directory issue, no information about the school, or its bank account details, should be given to anybody online.
We are all grateful that this information has been brought to our attention so that we can keep you informed.
Le meas,
Virginia O'Mahony
IPPN Support Office
