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

Published: 30 September 2021

The Teaching Council has arranged for ALL registered teachers to have free access to Zhrum, an online personal and professional development platform, based on a coaching methodology for the remainder of the year. If the level of engagement with the platform over the period of the trial is significant, thereby demonstrating a high demand for such a resource among the teaching profession, the Council will explore how teachers might be provided with access to such a platform on a more sustainable basis. Further information is available in the Teaching Council's Ezine 

Published: 22 June 2021

Buíochas & Support Office Opening Hours

As we come to the end of an extraordinary school year where school leaders were presented with challenges on a scale we have only known over the past 16 months, we want to earnestly and sincerely thank each and every one of you for the incredible job you have done in keeping your school open and working. From battles emerge heroes, and when the story of how Ireland coped with the Covid-19 pandemic, the efforts of school leaders and their staffs should be lauded and celebrated. Whether you were a newly-appointed principal or a 25-year veteran, in a large urban or small rural school, you have brought your school through circumstances never encountered before, to a point where we can contemplate a return to ‘normal’ sometime during the forthcoming school year.

For many, this was their final year in school leadership and retirement plans are now real. We want to wish every one of our colleagues closing the Leabhar Tinrimh or its digital equivalent for the final time this week or next, a happy and fulfilling retirement. We would like to thank them for their contribution to education and to the numerous children they have guided and supported throughout the years of their teaching career. You should reflect on a job very well done.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone well during the holidays and urge you and your family to enjoy a proper break over the coming weeks .September will bring a continuation of Covid-related restrictions to which we have grown all too accustomed. We hope that at some stage during 2021/22, those restrictions can be lifted when safe to do so, and regular and unbridled interaction can resume in our schools and communities. While each summer holiday period usually involves work for school leaders with appointments, summer programmes, repairs etc…, we would strongly advise you to build in a proper and substantial break from schoolwork. You need it for your own health and wellbeing, and to be ready and re-energised for the next school year. Unless you identify and take care of your own needs, it is unlikely that anyone can or will do so for you. You owe it to yourself. Don’t forget that one of the strongest forms of leadership is through example. Others will learn from you, as you prioritise the importance of your self-care.

Buíochas
Despite many challenges and difficulties in leading your school community, there will also have been happy and fulfilling moments. Remember and cherish these times. We want to acknowledge and thank the many principals and deputy principals, who have given of their time and expertise to assist their colleagues in IPPN. We thank in particular the members of IPPN’s Board of Directors and National Council, who have worked tirelessly throughout the year, the members of our County Network Committees in organising CPD and developing new Support Groups, the members of the Professional Guidance Panel, who supported colleagues during difficult times, the school leaders who answered the many queries posted on the mailing lists and the team of retired principals who worked on a number of special projects. We thank the staff of the National Support Office for their commitment and work in supporting school leaders. We thank you, as a member of IPPN for participating in our network and providing the collegial support that is the strength of IPPN. Bíodh saoire iontach agaibh i mbliana.

IPPN National Support Office - Summer Opening
The IPPN National Support Office will remain open during the summer to provide support to IPPN members. Our telephone lines are open from 8.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday, providing assistance if needed throughout the summer.

Bainigí taitneamh agus tairbhe as laethanta saoire an tSámhraidh.

Is sinne le meas

Páiric Clerkin      Damian White
IPPN CEO          IPPN President

Published: 17 June 2021

Mary Immaculate College (MIC) is now accepting applications for a new scholarship designed to assist students undertaking postgraduate study at MIC’s Thurles campus. The MIC Thurles Postgraduate Scholarship is open to practicing teachers seeking to undertake PhD studies.

The scholarship provides for a full fee waiver over four years for PhD students conducting research in areas of school leadership and inclusive practices. The successful applicant will also be expected to provide a maximum of five hours teaching assistance per week at MIC Thurles.

Established in 2019, the MIC Thurles postgraduate programmes in Middle Leadership and Mentoring are designed to provide participants with greater knowledge, skills and insights into the role of middle leaders in both primary and post-primary schools. There are currently 26 students enrolled on these programmes, which are offered at graduate certificate and master’s level.

MIC recently launched its inaugural Framework for Doctoral Education, which aims to facilitate consistent excellence in the quality of postgraduate education, research and training at MIC. You can view MIC’s Framework for Doctoral Education here.

The deadline for applications for the MIC Thurles Postgraduate Scholarship is 31 July. Further information can be found here.

Further information on MIC’s postgraduate programmes in Middle Leadership and Mentoring can be found here.

Further information about MIC Thurles can be found here.