IPPN

E-scéal 36: Crisis in Special Education Needs

Published: 15 May 2004

Crisis in Special Education Needs

The present uncertainty concerning the allocation of SEN resources for 2004/2005 is putting an unacceptable burden on principals. The approaching end of the school year requires the principal to make decisions that are vital to the effective running of the school. This year principals find themselves unable to plan for teaching appointments, class allocation, accommodation requirements, textbook lists and transport needs. The broad thrust of curricular planning is also thrown off course by the uncertainty about staffing levels. Some of the serious pressures on principals include:

The difficulty of maintaining a positive level of staff morale among teachers who do not know where or how they will be employed on 1st September 2004
The anxiety of the parents, whose children have been waiting for resources since early 2003, and whose questions still remain unanswered.
The professional frustration at not being able to adequately plan and prepare for the effective running of schools in the new school year.

All this is happening in a context where the DES has increasingly raised expectations of schools' ability to strategically plan and evaluate the education of the children in their care.

IPPN acknowledges the anxiety being felt by all principals at this difficult time. We have made a considered submission to the DES reflecting what principals believe to be an equitable and workable method of resource allocation. IPPN will continue to support principals in the delivery of the new system whenever it becomes a reality. As with all areas of the principal's professional life, IPPN will promote best practice, collegiality and true professionalism in dealing with the most vulnerable children in our schools.

Our National Committee will meet this week-end in Portlaoise. Further consideration will be given to the area of S.E.N. resource allocation at this meeting.

E-scéal 35: Educationposts.ie & Obesity Poll

Published: 10 May 2004

EducationPosts.ie

If your school has a permanent or temporary vacancy coming up in the next few months, may I remind you to advertise the vacancy on www.educationposts.ie. Whilst regulations oblige that such vacancies are advertised in a national daily newspaper (minimum one day), principals report that the high number of applications in reply to advertisements on educationposts.com provides evidence of it's effectiveness in reaching the maximum number of teachers. Please note that:

advertising on educationposts.com is entirely free of charge
the advert for your vacancy is sent automatically to the mailbox of every teacher who is registered for vacancies in your county
as well as the basic information on the vacancy, you can include a comprehensive description of your school, website links etc.
web-based advertising reaches teachers 24/7 - on career break, working overseas on holiday, etc.
your school's advertisement is automatically removed following the closing date that you have chosen

Leaders' Views - Survey of your opinions on Childhood Obesity

IPPN seeks your views on the links between the marketing of soft drinks / fast food and childhood obesity. This survey involves clicking 'yes' or 'no' to answer 3 questions and takes less than one minute to complete. Please go to www.educationopinion.ie to take part in this survey.

This Friday, May 21st is the last day to participate in the survey.

E-scéal 34: Prof. Michael Fullan - 2 one-day Workshops

Published: 01 May 2004

"Leading in a Culture of Change"

Tuesday 11th May 2004 - Anner Hotel, Thurles, Co. Tipperary and
Wednesday 12th May 2004 - Bloomfield Hotel, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath

Prof. Michael Fullan has earned international respect from principals for his outstanding writing and teaching on educational leadership and school improvement.

Some quotes from last year's workshop participants:

"Helped me to focus my personal and professional priorities"
"Inspirational, it gave me hope"
"Informative, thought-provoking, practical, realistic and encouraging"
"Very positive, meaningful and pertinent to the Irish education system"
"Excellent handbook and bookmarks, great to have the book to dip into afterwards"
"Learned strategies to address negative responses about change from staff"
"Well paced and enjoyable; challenging cutting edge change ideas"
"Heartening to listen to such positive fellow professionals"
"I feel energised after the experience

Prof. Michael Fullan's Workshops in 2004 will enable participants to:

Identify key strategies for managing change under chaotic conditions
Deepen understanding of educational change
Participate in learning activities based on real school leadership situations
Develop greater capacity for effective school leadership

If you wish to take part in either of these workshops, please complete the application form and return it asap with a cheque for €100 to the address on the form.

E-scéal 33: Education for Persons with Disabilities Bill - Letter to Minister

Published: 05 April 2004

This Bill is due to come before Dáil Éireann soon and will shortly afterwards be enacted in law. The implications of this legislation will have a profound impact on you as principal. Consequently, IPPN continues to make every effort to affect change to this Bill while it is still possible. Having lobbied public representatives extensively in early January, IPPN has been successful in bringing about three key amendments - see below. However, there are still several aspects of this Bill which are seriously flawed and unworkable from the principal's perspective.

Whilst fully conscious of your enormous workload, I ask you to consider the future implications of this legislation and suggest that you write to Minister Dempsey, in your capacity as a principal teacher, urging him to take heed of the considered opinions of those who manage special needs education on the 'front line'. Any law is only as good as the extent to which it can be successfully implemented. Unless the Special Education Needs Organiser's (SENO) role is appropriately defined, the additional workload and responsibility allocated to principals will lead to an unworkable situation with even greater frustration for parents and teachers.

Click here to review the E-Scéal outlining the thrust of IPPN's proposed changes to the legislation.

I trust you appreciate the importance of this matter and thank you for your support.

Is Mise Le Meas,

Seán Cottrell Director

E-scéal 32: Education for Persons with Disabilities Bill

Published: 01 April 2004

This Bill is due to come before Dáil Éireann soon and will shortly afterwards be enacted in law. The implications of this legislation will have a profound impact on you as principal. Consequently, IPPN continues to make every effort to affect change to this Bill while it is still possible. Having lobbied public representatives extensively in early January, IPPN has been successful in bringing about three key amendments - see below. However, there are still several aspects of this Bill which are seriously flawed and unworkable from the principal's perspective.

Whilst fully conscious of your enormous workload, I ask you to consider the future implications of this legislation and suggest that you write to Minister Dempsey, in your capacity as a principal teacher, urging him to take heed of the considered opinions of those who manage special needs education on the 'front line'. Any law is only as good as the extent to which it can be successfully implemented. Unless the Special Education Needs Organiser's (SENO) role is appropriately defined, the additional workload and responsibility allocated to principals will lead to an unworkable situation with even greater frustration for parents and teachers.

I include below for your convenience a number of documents outlining the thrust of IPPN's proposed changes to the legislation.

I trust you appreciate the importance of this matter and thank you for your support.

Is Mise Le Meas,

Seán Cottrell
Director

Background and Rationale:

Following IPPN's oral and written submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Education & Science, we have prepared a number of amendments to the Bill which we feel are necessary for the successful implementation of this important legislation.

In the attached document you will find the aforementioned amendments.

The rationale for these amendments is based on the following points:

If the rights of children with disabilities are to be meaningfully addressed in this Bill, the role of the Special Education Needs Organiser (SENO) must be defined so as to carry primary responsibility for co-ordinating the various services, facilities and resources required. The SENO's role must be defined so as to give it sufficient clarity and authority to act on behalf of the best interest of any child with special education needs. The SENO must provide 'a one-stop-shop' service for parents and principals in relation to the educational needs of children with disability. Placing an impossible burden of responsibility on principals is to design a system which cannot and will not work.
75% of all Principals are full-time class teachers and consequently it is humanly impossible to carry out the responsibilities allocated to principals as currently defined in this Bill.
There is universal agreement that the principal teacher's role is severely 'overloaded' and 'lacking the necessary supports and resources to effectively deliver existing functions', (see HayGroup Report, 2002 pages 35 - 37).

Important achievements from earlier lobbying by Principals:

Section 18 - The principal can delegate functions of 'the principal' to other teachers. This is a very significant change as the power of delegation was not in the original Bill.
The original Bill stated that a school, when transferring a pupil to another school, was responsible for ensuring that the new school had adequate resources and IEP for the pupil in question. This requirement has now been dropped.
The definition of Educational Disability has been altered to include the possible further designation of other disabilities such as ADHD, Dyslexia and Dispraxia.
Following a request by a principal, if the Special Education Council refuses to arrange an assessment or prepare an IEP, Section 3 (12) now includes a provision empowering the principal to appeal that decision to an independent Appeals Board.

CONTACT DETAILS Minister Noel Dempsey, TD, Newtown , Trim, Co. Meath Telephone: 046 94 31146

Education for Persons with Disability Bill 2003 IPPN's Proposed Amendments:

PARAGRAPH A of this document refers to IPPN's desire to be actively involved in the Special Education Consultative Forum. In our capacity as a professional association dedicated to primary school leadership, IPPN requests that we are represented on the appropriate committees, independent of / in addition to the relevant trade unions.

PARAGRAPH B refers to the specific amendments required to clarify the role of Special Education Needs Organiser which is not defined in Section 26. It is important to note that 75% of all primary school principals are full time class teachers. In expanding the role of the Special Education Needs Organiser the committee should review the adverts placed in the national media a numbers of weeks ago for those positions. A more clearly defined job specification should be incorporated in to Section 26 of the Act.A) IPPN SEEKS MEMBERSHIP OF THE CONSULTATIVE FORUM

SECTION 21 (3) (b) before appointing persons to be members of the consultative forum the council shall consult with - "recognised trade unions and staff associations representing teachers and principals of schools". B) EDUCATION FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITY BILL 2003 SPECIFIC AMENDMENTS

SECTION 3 - PREPARATION OF EDUCATION PLANS BY SCHOOL (Including steps preliminary to such preparation)

Subsection (4) Delete reference to "the principal" and replace with "the Special Education Needs Organiser

Subsection (8) Delete reference to the principal and replace with Special Education Needs Organiser.

Subsection (9) Delete term principal and replace with Special Education Needs Organiser.

Subsection (10) Delete principal and insert Special Education Needs Organiser.

Subsection (12) Delete Principal and insert Special Education Needs Organiser.

SECTION 9 - CONTENT OF AN EDUCATION PLAN

Subsection (8) Delete "Principal of the first - mentioned school" and replace with Special Education Needs Organiser.

SECTION 11 - REVIEW OF THE EDUCATION PLAN

Subsection (1) Delete principal and replace with Special Education Needs Organiser.

Subsection (2) Delete principal and replace with Special Education Needs Organiser.

Subsection (4) Delete "Principal" and insert Special Education Needs Organiser.

Subsection (5) Delete "Principal" and insert Special Education Needs Organiser.

Subsection (6) Delete "Principal" and insert Special Education Needs Organiser.

Subsection (7) Delete "Principal" and insert Special Education Needs Organiser.

SECTION 26 - THE SPECIAL NEEDS ORGANISER

The SENO shall be the point of contact for parents/guardians of children with disabilities and special education needs.

The SENO shall liaise between the parents/guardians, the school, the Department of Education & Science and the Department of Health & Children, on behalf of the child.

The SENO shall in consultation with the parents/guardians and the principal teacher, make arrangements for the relevant educational, psychological or developmental assessments as required

The SENO shall facilitate and advise in the provision of appropriate Individual Education Plans (IEPs).

The SENO shall facilitate and advise on the appropriate reviewing of Individual Education Plans.

The SENO shall facilitate and coordinate any appeals arising from the needs of a child with a disability/special education needs.