IPPN

Published: 21 June 2004

Special Education Needs- Update from DES

On May 26th IPPN met with Minister Noel Dempsey and Mr Peter Baldwin, Assistant Secretary General, on a number of issues including SEN. Subsequent to the meeting a letter was submitted asking five specific questions. These were:

1. The redeployment panel was originally scheduled for publication on May 11th, subsequently May 21st and as of yesterday, officials in Athlone have told principals that they have no idea at present when the panel will be published! When will the redeployment panel for teachers be published?
2. Decisions regarding SER 1 and SER 2 applications will have direct impact on matters such as teacher-class allocation, job sharing arrangements, curriculum planning, transport and accommodation. By which date will the Special Education section reply to SER1 and SER2 applications that have been submitted as far back as October 2002?
3. What is the present status of Circular 24/03?
4. Is the DES recommending a merging of the roles of Learning Support Teacher and Resource Teacher into a single 'Support Teacher' type of role from September?
5. When will the DES issue a clear statement outlining policy decisions pertaining to the weighted system?

A reply to our letter was received from Mr. Baldwin on Tuesday 8th June. The main points taken directly from his letter are as follows:

• The DES appreciates that the length of time it has taken to respond poses difficulties for Principals and acknowledges their co-operation in this regard.
• The panels resulting from the operation of the mainstream appointments schedules have now been issued.
• The DES is finalising details of a weighted system for allocating resources to schools to meet the needs of pupils requiring learning support intervention as well as pupils with less acute/high incidence disabilities.
• It is proposed to retain the individual application process in the case of pupils with more acute/low incidence disabilities.
• The DES intends to issue a comprehensive circular on the new allocation system before the end of the school year.
• The circular will also set out the arrangements for processing applications received after August 31st 2003.
• Meanwhile, before the end of this school year the DES will notify schools of the outcome of applications received before August 31st 2003.
• The introduction of the new system may involve redistribution of some posts between schools. In order to minimise disruption the DES has decided that no teachers will be placed on panels this year as a result of the introduction of the new weighted model.
• Circular 24/03 is still in place.
• In relation to the roles of Learning Support Teacher and Resource Teacher, the DES continues to advocate flexibility in the deployment of resources.

The above points are taken directly form Peter Baldwin's letter and are as much information as we have been able to gain at this point in relation to proposed changes. We await the arrival of the new circular and look forward to responses from Special Ed. in Athlone to SER applications made prior to August 31st 2003. Some of these applications were submitted as early as October 2002!

Meanwhile, IPPN's Executive will continue to liaise with the DES and issue further professional guidance to support you in the management of SEN towards the beginning of the 2004/5 school year. If you have any constructive suggestions/observations on how best Principals can address any of these challenges, please forward same to
office@ippn.ie and we will include them in a future E-scéal.

Is mise le meas,

Seán Cottrell
Director

Read more ...

Published: 20 June 2004

Communicating Professionally

Telephone calls from the DES to schools in recent weeks relating to SEN issues have raised serious concerns among principals. The key issues are:

• The timing of calls:
  Given the importance of special education needs, it seems very unprofessional that principals are telephoned in such a casual manner. Such important business should be conducted through normal correspondence or by a pre-arranged visit to the school. Even if this cannot be done, a telephone discussion should be arranged by appointment, particularly for teaching principals as they are engaged in fulltime class teaching. Callers have demanded detailed information requiring access to files and time for consultation with other staff members, hence the need for preparation.
• The nature of the information sought:
  Most, if not all, of the information requested has already been provided in written form to the DES and is a matter of record. Many principals are now giving the same information for the third time.
  

  ---

Professional Guidance

Where sensitive information about children or staff is sought by the DES, Health Boards or other third parties:

1. Insist on the caller / visitor to verify their identity to your satisfaction and provide appropriate contact details.
2. Establish the purpose of the call.
3. Request the nature and scope of the information sought and implications thereof. You are entitled to request the purpose(s) for which the information sought will be used.
4. Return the call or make an appointment for a mutually appropriate time.
5. Consider if the information being requested is privileged i.e. - do you have the right to pass it on without written permission? If a third party seeks a copy of a report which you have received on behalf of a child, written permission to release such a report should be sought form the parent / guardian.
6. Consider if any of the information requested is outside your area of professional competence i.e. are you being asked for a legal, medical or a psychological opinion?
7. Consider the wisdom of confining discussion, information and opinions within the scope of your professional expertise in educational matters. Stick to facts and professional opinions which you can stand over.
8. Keep a written record of any information which you have passed on verbally and copies of any letters, forms etc.
9. Unfortunately, principals have discovered in the past that 'informal telephone conversations' have been recorded in detail by health board officials etc. and subsequently relayed to others causing considerable stress to the obliging principal.

This professional guidance should be considered in all situations where you are engaged in a telephone conversation or a face to face meeting with a third party seeking any information that might be considered sensitive.

Is Mise Le Meas,

Seán Cottrell
Director

Read more ...

Published: 15 June 2004

Criteria for Appointments of Teachers and Principals

You will have noticed from the new BoM Handbook 2004, page 46 and SOLAS (April 2004) that new regulations apply to the appointment procedures for teachers. Each applicant called for interview shall be supplied with the details of the established criteria for the post by the Interview Board / Selection Panel. As you well know, we are now at the beginning of peak 'recruitment season'. Several Principals have been in contact looking for sample criteria re vacancies arising both in their own schools and in other schools where they have been requested to chair / participate in selection boards. In response to such requests, IPPN has uploaded two files to the 'Management Resources' section of our website. These files contain sample criteria along with a matrix which can be used as a scoring sheet forming an essential record of the interview / selection process. The criteria offered are only a guide and should be amended or supplemented to reflect the ethos and educational needs of the school. The chosen criteria must be sent in advance to the candidates called for interview by the Chairperson of the Selection Board. If you wish to access the sample criteria for the positions of Teacher or Principal please check: http://www.ippn.ie/resmgmt.php

Whole School Evaluation - WSE

You will be familiar with recent media reports concerning the high court decision which ruled in favour of the Information Commissioner's decision that the DES should release a particular school's Tuarisc Scoile which had been requested under the Freedom of Information Act. You will also be aware that the DES has been piloting WSE as a replacement of its Tuarisc Scoile predecessor. Recently a representative of the inspectorate has written to IPPN inviting a submission to the DES regarding the WSE process. In order to make an appropriate submission I would like to establish a working group of principals who have been involved in the WSE pilot project or who have a good knowledge of the WSE process. This is an important opportunity for IPPN to make its views known to the DES. I would appreciate if you would contact our support office at info@ippn.ie or 1890 21 22 23 if you are willing to help with preparing the submission. It is very important for schools and in particular for principals that this opportunity to influence WSE is undertaken.

Is Mise Le Meas,

Seán Cottrell
Director

Read more ...

Published: 14 June 2004

Correspondence from NEWB

This week, you received correspondence from NEWB. The IPPN support office has received numerous e-mails and telephone calls from principals who are dismayed that the NEWB document includes an official deadline of July 16th for the return of data. You will have noticed that they referred to consultation with school management, principals,teachers and parents, I would like to provide some background and clarity to the situation that has unfolded:

1. Last July, the NEWB invited IPPN to nominate a representative to the "Schools Implementation Committee". This committee was constituted to work out the practical details as to how NEWB's services would interact with individual schools. A few weeks later the NEWB notified IPPN that we were not to have a representative on this committee after all!

2. When IPPN queried the withdrawal of the invitation, we were told that the INTO objected to IPPN's inclusion as they (INTO) already represented Principals. The NEWB acceded to the INTO's view.

3. IPPN subsequently sought a meeting with the NEWB. Kevin O'Meara, Darndale SNS, IPPN Dublin and I raised a considerable number of professional issues with the NEWB pertaining to their intentions vis-a-vis interacting with schools. We also pointed out that it was quite bizarre to set a deadline for returning data to the NEWB in the middle of official school holidays! We indicated that this was likely to be counter productive for the NEWB in their efforts to build professional relationships with school principals and their deputies. Let me clarify that whichever "Principals" the NEWB consulted with in drawing up guidelines which result in a deadline of July 16th for data returns, it was not Principals represented professionally by IPPN. The NEWB asked IPPN to "support" the July 16th date both during and subsequent to our meeting. IPPN refused to "support" the date for several obvious reasons and cannot understand how the "Schools Implementation Committee" decided on it given that committee included the INTO.

May I respectfully suggest that Principal teachers who are alarmed at this development, should communicate their views directly to the INTO. IPPN is a professional association for school leaders - not a trade union. We have consistently been clear in differentiating between a professional association and a trade union. We feel it is reasonable that Principals and their Deputies would expect that their trade union would protect their terms and conditions of employment. The planned erosion of official holidays is a matter for the trade union to address and is not something that IPPN can deal with other than to provide support and clarification.

Is Mise Le Meas,

Read more ...