IPPN

Published: 21 October 2005

National Committee AGM
This Sat Oct 22nd the IPPN National Committee will hold it's AGM at The Red Cow Moran Hotel, Dublin. Two reps have been elected from each of the 26 County Networks to form IPPN's National Committee for 2005/2006.

This committee is the consultative platform for IPPN Policy development. The AGM's business will include the election of officers to form IPPN's executive, consultation with each County Network on relevant issues and policy priorities as well as an input from Dr. Paul Ryan, teacher education section from the DES.

Congratulations to the new National committee and best wishes for their endeavors in the year ahead.

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Is mise le meas,

Seán Cottrell

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Published: 07 October 2005

In recent years many primary schools have been requested to enroll children with autism or to set up a special class to provide for autistic children. However, the associated resources granted by the DES appear to vary considerably.

IPPN are inviting Principals that currently have children with autism enrolled in their schools to complete a questionnaire on the ranges of provisions available to the children and their schools.

This questionnaire will help provide the necessary data to inform other Principals of what is in existence and what resources their school should receive. Your help is needed in completing this questionnaire and will be much appreciated.

To access the questionnaire, please clink on the link below.

http://www.educationopinion.ie/AutismProvision.htm

Is mise le meas,

Seán Cottrell

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Published: 29 September 2005

Arising from changes in the 'SNA Contract', IPPN has examined the key issues and questions that have been asked by members in the last few days. The following seven points are intended to provide you with Professional Guidance to assist with implementing the new SNA Contracts.

Who should be offered contracts?

Contracts must be offered to all SNAs in the school. For existing SNAs on a child specific contract, the option of transferring to the revised contract is a once-off option that must be exercised on or before the 30th September 2005. Those SNAs who do not transfer to the new contract before 30th September will remain on a child specific contract and their future employment will be dependent on the assessed needs of the child specified in the contract. For those SNAs not wishing to sign the new contract it would be good practice for the Board of Management to have this in writing from the SNA to avoid any misunderstandings in the future. Those signing the new contract will have their approved service from the date they commenced duty in the school as an SNA in the school reckoned for seniority purposes.

Length of Service of SNAs

The seniority of all SNAs is determined by the date of commencement of service in the school and not by the amount of hours worked. All full-time and part-time SNAs must be treated equally when seniority is being determined.

Determining Seniority

The Board of Management determines the SNA's seniority ranking based on the date of commencement of service in the school. If two SNAs started on the same date, interview scores could be used to determine seniority. If the Board of Management cannot access these marks or has not previously assigned a seniority ranking, consideration could be given to reaching a decision by comparing qualifications. Ideally the SNAs involved should be agreeable to the process. The BOM must be careful not to make a decision on any discriminatory grounds (gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race, colour, nationality, ethnicity or national origins, or membership of the travelling community). If service is broken, e.g. if an SNA worked previously in the school, resigned the position and was subsequently re-employed, it is the date of their most recent appointment that should be calculated for seniority purposes.

Probationary Period.

SNAs already probated in the school do not start a new probation if they sign the new contract. For newly appointed SNAs the probationary period is six months, but this may be extended for another period not exceeding twelve months.

Who retains Contracts?

The Board of Management retains the contract and the SNA retain a copy. They are not sent to the DES.

SNAs extra days

All SNAs may be asked to work the extra days on a pro-rata basis, ie
Full time full day - 12 extra full days
Part time - 12 extra part time days, or it's equivalent

Redundancy

The selection criteria for redundancy will be on a Last In First Out (LIFO) basis. The DES will make redundancy payments to any SNA who is deemed to have a redundancy entitlement. If an SNA has been made redundant in a school then they should contact the SNA payroll section of the DES.

Closing Date

It is important that all contracts are dated the 30th September 2005(or before). In circumstances where it is not possible to complete consultations and make decisions until later in October, contracts must be dated retrospectively to 30th September 2005.

Is sinne le meas

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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.

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