E-Scéal 101: Press Release - IPPN Calls for Major Shake Up of School Boards
- Published: 22 September 2005
A delegation from the Irish Primary Principals Network called today (22nd September) at a hearing of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Science for a radical overhaul of Primary School Boards of Management. The IPPN asked the Committee to recommend in it's report that an independent review body be established by the Minister for Education and Science.
IPPN's Sean Cottrell said 'The system we have was established 30 years ago. It was designed for a different era and needs to be urgently reviewed. Boards are not properly equipped with the necessary skills, expertise or training to operate effectively. Boards have to operate in a completely new and ever more regulated environment. There are now more than seven new pieces of legislation in the Education arena. There have been a whole series of new initiatives form Special Needs to ICT. There has been a marked decline in the role of religious orders, a dearth of volunteers and parents and members of the community are literally being press ganged on to boards. We need properly structured boards who have the knowledge and the expertise to fulfil their remit. Otherwise there is a danger that boards become principal and teacher led rather than a proper system of governance for schools. It is unfair, unreasonable and irresponsible to place volunteers in a role where they are asked to make important decisions affecting the education of children without the necessary training and backup. This is the reaction of many parents and community representatives who discover what is required of them having been coerced into serving on a board of management.'
Mr Cottrell added that 'All Schools have a board of eight regardless of size. It is unrealistic to demand that a three-teacher school have an eight-person board. We are suggesting that there be joint boards for clusters of small schools. We are also suggesting that boards of management should continue to have representation on interview panels. However the de facto employer of teachers, the Department of Education and Science, become the employer in law also. We also believe that a stand alone support unit be established and funded by the DES to assist boards with expertise such as financial or legal when necessary. We believe that there is an urgent need for more extensive training to be made available to all newly elected members of school boards. There should also be a system that also allows for continuity without the entire board having to be replaced at the same time.'
Mr Cottrell compared the present system of school boards as equivalent to harnessing a team of loyal Clydesdales to a forty foot trailer and asking them to negotiate their way safely home along a four lane motorway.
Is sinne le measSeán Cottrell & Virginia O'Mahony
E-Scéal 100: Upcoming Events 2005/06
- Published: 13 September 2005
A Chara,
I would like to draw your attention to the forthcoming IPPN events:
Prof. Andy Hargreaves
IPPN has invited the renowned educationalist Andy Hargreaves to deliver a one-day workshop entitled 'Leadership and Sustainability' in two locations in Ireland during the month of October. The venue details are as follows:
1.Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth, Co. Kildare on Thursday 13th October
2.Greenhills Hotel, Limerick on Friday 14th October.
Application Forms will issue to schools this week.
IPPN Conference 2006- 'Shaping our Future' - will take place from February 2nd to February 4th 2006 at CityWest Hotel, Saggart, Co. Dublin. Invited speakers include Ms. Mary Hanafin TD, Minister for Education & Science, Prof. Michael Fullan, Prof. John West Burnham and Mr. Paddy Flood.
Leadership Development for Schools (LDS) will facilitate a number of workshops for experienced as well Newly Appointed Principals.
Application Forms will issue to schools by the middle of October. Early booking is advised based on last year's experience.
On-Line Professional Development
Following the success of IPPN's online 'The Principal and the Law' programme facilitated by Mr. David Ruddy, B.L., further online professional development is planned for the year ahead. Mr. Joe O'Connell, Director of Limerick Education Centre, has previously conducted workshops for Primary Principals on 'Conflict Management' and has earned great respect for his work in this area. The development of this new programme is being managed by Peter Long, John Curran and Seaghan Moriarty and will be available in early October. Notification re application process will be sent in a future E-scéal.
Is mise le meas,
Seán Cottrell
E-Scéal 99: Publishing WSE Reports - Looking for your Opinion
- Published: 06 September 2005
Minister Hanafin has announced that she plans to publish Whole School Evaluation (WSE) reports in line with the DES's policy to provide information about schools to parents. In August, Minister Hanafin contacted IPPN inviting representatives of our Executive to attend a consultation session with the Chief Inspector, Mr Eamon Stack, on September 13th. The purpose of this consultation is to seek the professional views and perspectives of Principal Teachers on the publishing of WSE reports. We are pleased that the Minister has chosen to listen to Principal Teachers.
In preparation for this submission we will be again consulting broadly with school leaders throughout the country. Arising from media coverage of this issue in August, 25 principals have already sent their views and analysis on this issue to our Support Office. We have broken down the main points raised in their communications in the form of:
- The main arguments being used against publishing WSE reports
- The key arguments for publishing WSE reports
In order to collate the views of IPPN members nationally, we have prepared a short survey which begins with an outline of the main arguments and issues followed by a single question. The completion of this survey will take approximately two minutes.
Please click here to continue: www.educationopinion.ie
Thank you for taking the time to assist with this important consultative process.
E-Scéal 98: Sample Adverts & Newly Appointed Principals
- Published: 06 July 2005
Sample Advertisements
In response to requests, a number of sample advertisements for re-vacancies for teachers and SNAs have been posted in the Resources Section of our website. These sample adverts are designed to cover the obligatory information with a view to minimising costs. All additional information can then be posted on educationposts.ie which is free of charge.
New Website
Our new website is now live and I would like to encourage you to give us your feedback on what you think of the new design, functionality and user-friendliness. Your comments will be sent directly from the website in a 'feedback form'.
Newly Appointed Principals
IPPN, in collaboration with Leadership Development for Schools (LDS) arrange mentors for newly appointed principals each year. If you are a newly appointed principal in 2005 or if your school is soon to appoint a
new principcal please contact the IPPN Support office with the NAP's details. This will allow us to put in place the relevant supports in time for the new school year.
Principals' Workload and In-School Management
On July 11th, four members of the IPPN Executive will attend a meeting of the DES Working Group "Principals' Workload and In-School Management". IPPN is striving to streamline ISM structures including a more efficient review pricess and greater role flexibility.
Membership Renewal
Membership renewal forms will be sent to your school for the beginning of the school year. Some members have requested forms to be sent prior to re-opening. If you require same, please contact the Support Office.
Summer Holidays
This is the last E-Scéal you will receive during our summer holidays. We have also requested that the DES will not issue circulars during the summer holidays in recognition of a principal's entitlement to official leave. The Support Office will be closed from July 8th until August 22nd. A limited service for professional enquiries of an urgent nature will be available throughout the summer. Such enquiries should be submitted by e-mail to info@ippn.ie.
I trust that you will enjoy a decent summer break.
Is mise le mór-mheas,
Seán Cottrell
E-Scéal 97: Responses to Questions put to NEWB by IPPN
- Published: 29 June 2005
Questions to the NEWB from IPPN:
1.Gentle persuasion is not enough to encourage good school attendance in all cases. Will the NEWB use the legislation to prosecute parents of persistent non-attenders for whom all other strategies have failed?
Yes. The NEWB will use the full powers available to it to ensure that children's rights to education are vindicated. The NEWB has already issued 28 School Attendance Notices and prosecution will be considered in the light of each individual circumstance.
2.Would the NEWB be willing to replace the current multiplicity of absence categories with two more useful categories as follows:
2.a.Satisfactorily explained absence
2.b.Unexplained absence
The new Reporting system outlined in Reporting Student Absences and Expulsions is designed to reduce the requirement for schools to report via letter every time a student is absent for 20+ days, expelled, suspended for a total of 6 days or more, transferred to another school. The NEWB requires the information outlined to enable Officers to prioritise chronic attendance difficulties without engaging in further extensive consultation with schools. However, Officers will not normally make direct contact with a parent without first checking with the school.
The NEWB acknowledges that schools have not been categorising absences for the earlier part of this year before the publication of the Guidelines, and that there will be a short "changeover" period. Almost 2000 Primary Schools are already using the new system.
The NEWB will keep the categories under review.
3.Would the NEWB be willing to accept a total of three returns annually, i.e. one per term in place of the present system?
The 5 Reporting periods are designed to ensure that children's absences are reported to the NEWB in a timely manner, so that officers have up-to-date information about children .If a school is using the online reporting system, it will only be necessary to provide updates on information already supplied. The Board is currently looking at reporting requirements for next year and the views of IPPN will be considered in that context.
4.What happens to returns that are submitted on paper?
Returns submitted on paper are entered onto the system by the NEWB. The data is then made available to EWO's for follow-up as required. The data is then available for the absence information to be updated by the individual school removing the need to repeat the student details, as would be necessary using the paper format.
5.If a school makes returns on paper is it necessary to repeat the same information with every return?
If a school is making a paper based return it will be necessary to repeat data already submitted and update data where additional absences have occurred. This is due to the cumulative nature of the reporting. However as stated in point 4 above if you use the website www.schoolreturn.ie once the student data is entered once on the system it only requires updating of the absence data.
6.What are the advantages of making returns on line using www.schoolreturn.ie?
The main advantages to using the website are:
a.Student data only needs entry once
b.Absence data readily available to both school and NEWB
c.Standardised format for reporting absences
d.Removes need to report every time a student reaches 20 days
e.Can notify the NEWB of concern directly
f.School can produce individual student absence reports or class / year reports.
7.What happens to returns which are submitted on paper? Is it necessary to repeat the same information with every single return?
Answered in point 4.
8.The school year ends officially on 31st August. Why then is the deadline for the end of year report not scheduled for September?
Section 21(6) of the Act requires that a school's board of management return the Annual Attendance Report, "....not later than 6 weeks after the end of (the ) school year." The NEWB's view is that the date set for return of the Report is not later than 6 weeks after the end of the school year. The Act has also enabled the Board to determine the form and content of the Report [Section 21 (7)]
The information submitted by schools will be analysed and summarised, and Report will be published in the Autumn.
The data that we collect through this Annual Attendance Report is used for
a.Planning the future needs of the service.
b.Making submissions to Government for Resources. (A major plank of our submission last year was the Annual Attendance Report data. The Government subsequently approved a 1.3 million euro increase in our budget for 2005, which will translate into extra staff later.)
c.Advising the Government on Policy on matters that affect school attendance.
d.For research purposes.
9.What is the role of the NEWB in encouraging good attendance for children less than six years of age?
The Act does not require under 6's to attend school. However, good habits start early in life, and the NEWB is committed to encouraging parents to send their young children to school regularly. This will be done through working with principals of schools, a public information campaign for parents, and the development of guidelines for School Attendance Strategies. If a principal has a concern about a particular child then the local EWO should be contacted.
10.Some families now regard missing school for up to 20 days as their entitlement and as an acceptable level of school absence. How is the NEWB going to change this perception?
The NEWB has an obligation to persuade parents that every (school) day counts in a child's life, and this is the principal thrust of the Board's Strategic Plan 2005-2007. A public information campaign will form an important part of the implementation of this plan. The NEWB cannot of course change this perception on its own - schools are a major partner in the process, working with parents and students on the ground through the implementation of the School Attendance Strategy. The NEWB recommends that each school develop its own Attendance Policy (in consultation with parents), which should be communicated to parents in a timely fashion. This should include the school's expectations re attendance, notifications of absence etc. The Guidelines on Reporting of Absences recently issued contain template letters which can be used by schools in implementing this Policy.
11.Hospital schools and Special schools have particular difficulties making returns on the forms as they are currently designed. Are there any plans to modify the forms to take account of these particular types of schools?
We have already agreed to meet with the principals of the Hospital Schools to discuss the implementation of the Guidelines, and would welcome a meeting with the Special Schools.
12.Particular difficulties arise when a chid leaves a school, as the 15-day rule (for taking the child off the roll) no longer applies. What will NEWB do about the illogicality of continuing to mark a child absent indefinitely, in the absence of any notification from the receiving school, which may be situated abroad?
The NEWB is working with the DES in finding a practical solution to this issue that enables compliance with the Act, ensures no child "falls through the cracks". We expect to be able to communicate with schools on this issue in the near future.
13.An electronic pupil database for primary school pupils could reduce considerably the administrative burden on schools in relation to attendance. Are there any plans for the development of such a database?
The DES is already working on such a database and the NEWB is actively supporting and encouraging its development.
14.Given that attendance is now under the legislative remit of NEWB, what plans are in place to modernise Roll Books, Attendance Books and Registers in line with today's requirements?
Under the Act, responsibility for school registers and attendance is shared between the DES and NEWB. We are working with the DES to bring clarity to the situation.
15.Are schools obliged to notify parents when their child has missed 20 days from school or will it suffice to send a general notification of this policy to all parents at the start of each school year?
See answer to Q 10.
If a child reaches 20 days absence the school should inform the parent that it is informing the NEWB in line with the school's attendance policy.
16.Is the NEWB supportive of the standardised Student Transfer Form devised by IPPN and NAPD? This form is used for the transfer of all relevant information between schools and provides evidence of enrolment by the receiving school.
The NEWB will examine this issue in the near future. In general, the Board is supportive of any initiative that supports children's education.
17.What plans have NEWB for areas of the country that do not have a satisfactory level of service from an EWO at present?
Having EWO's covering all areas will depend on resources. The NEWB is currently in the process of appointing Officers to counties which do not have an Educational Welfare Officer - Cavan / Monaghan, Longford, Offaly, Laois, Kildare, Mayo, Galway / Roscommon. Leitrim will be served on a partial basis by the new Senior Educational Welfare Officer based in Sligo town. In addition 2 officers will be appointed to cover long-term leave (maternity, sick leave etc).
Further deployment of staff will be decided by the Board as resources permit.
18.How will the NEWB meaningfully consult and work with IPPN in the future order to support principals in their efforts to comply with legislation and to improve school attendance?
The NEWB has regular meetings with IPPN and is committed to this arrangement on an ongoing basis.
