IPPN

Published: 13 October 2021

A chairde

In respect of the measures that have been announced in Budget 2022, the following details IPPN’s response.

IPPN prioritised three key areas for primary education for Budget 2022:

1. the funding of supports to make primary school leadership more sustainable
2. the retention of pandemic supports for schools
3. adequate resourcing of supports for vulnerable children adversely impacted by the Covid pandemic.

In that context, IPPN welcomes the announcement, in yesterday’s Budget, of:

• the lowering of the pupil/teacher ratio
• additional funding to support pupils with special educational needs in terms of additional teacher and SNA posts
• administrative status being given to teaching principals of schools with two or more special classes & teaching principal of special schools
• retention of some of the Covid-19 related funding provided to schools in 2020/21.

However, IPPN is deeply disappointed to note that no commitment has been given to:

• sanctioning at least one leadership and management day per week for teaching principals on a permanent basis
• retaining teacher supply panels on a permanent basis and expanding the scheme to ensure all schools have access to a supply panel
• increasing middle leadership capacity in larger schools
• reinstating the ‘banked hours’ facility introduced in 2020/21 to allow schools who could not find a substitute teacher to avail of them when a teacher became available, thus ensuring vulnerable children did not miss out due to teacher absences.

It is recognized that effective school leadership is second only to effective classroom teaching as an influence on pupil learning. Accordingly, IPPN aspires to empower school leaders to provide dynamic leadership of their school communities resulting in inspired learners. However, this aspiration is compromised by an ongoing failure to adequately support school leadership in terms of ensuring that school leaders have the time and space to lead their schools and the requisite supports and resources to do so. This Budget is yet another missed opportunity to demonstrate an understanding of the importance of school leadership and a practical commitment to ensuring its greater sustainability. The system cannot continue to fail school leaders as such failure has serious implications for their leadership, the effectiveness of their schools and outcomes for the children in those schools.

IPPN will continue to advocate for adequate funding and supports to be made available to enable all school leaders to carry out their leadership and management roles effectively and in a sustainable way.

Is mise le meas

Brian O'Doherty
IPPN President