IPPN

Published: 21 December 2021

Positive leadership is a challenging concept in these uncertain times. The past 21 months have been tough in the extreme. Physical and mental well-being has been greatly challenged, and school leaders feel they were denied the opportunity to recover from the first exceptionally tough pandemic period. When summer holidays 2021 arrived, the inevitable exhaustion hit. Yet, the summer was one of hope and optimism for the school year ahead and the surprisingly good weather, together with falling covid-19 infections, enhanced this sense of renewed hope. There was quite a shaky start in September, a calmer settling in period and then, once again, everything began to deteriorate. Infection numbers rose steadily accompanied by inevitable severe illness and hospitalisations. The incredible vaccination programme waned in its protection and boosters emerged from scientific knowledge as being a necessary tool to keep people safe. The exhaustion of pre-summer times re-emerged as contact tracing in schools abruptly ended and principals felt alone attempting to manage rising cases, staff illness and absenteeism, and the lack of teachers and SNAs to help with substitution. The opening up of society went ahead as planned and there was a parallel universe of normal without any hope of normality in schools. Things got worse as time moved on, and even the support of students and seconded teachers could not bridge the gaping hole of daily substitution needs.

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Published: 01 December 2021

Would you like to become a formally-trained CSL Mentor? There are almost 500 CSL-trained mentors countrywide, 400 primary and 100 post-primary, supporting approximately 300 newly-appointed principals each year. For their generosity and engagement in this voluntary work, all CSL mentors are offered two residential professional learning events each year and travel expenses are paid according to DE rates, terms and conditions.

The criteria for principals applying to the mentoring programme are as follows:

• Being an established school leader of at least four years or retired within one year (please inform retired colleagues)
  
• Experience in networking with other principals
  
• Professional credibility and respect amongst principals in your local area
  
• Experience of working with or advising newly-appointed principals
  
• Availability for training on the training dates
  
• A commitment to access the CSL coaching service (if not already accessed) This criterion is not relevant to retired applicants.
  

Training begins at 4pm on the first day and runs from 9am to 4pm on the second day. Substitution cover is available to both teaching and administrative principals for the second day and to teaching principals who have to travel a distance on the first day.

Eligible principals will be invited to apply to be trained next year, and mentoring work will begin for them in September 2022.

What will be expected from those who undertake the training?

• A requirement to attend a 1.5-day residential programme for two sessions and a Professional Learning Day in April 2022
  
• A commitment to having contact with your mentee on a fortnightly basis via phone or email if requested by the mentee
  
• A commitment to a 2-hour meeting once a month for the first year of the newly-appointed principal’s appointment
  

How will the Principal Mentor benefit?

• An opportunity to engage in quality professional learning for you in your own leadership position, which will include a study of interpersonal skills, reflection on the role of the principal and up-to-date upskilling on all aspects of mentoring
  
• An opportunity to help a fellow professional and to embed mentoring into the profession
  
• Engagement in a mutually beneficial professional learning experience
  
• Participation in a network of mentoring school leaders benefiting from shared experience
  

The application process for the next round of training is now open, so please follow this link.

The closing date for applications is Friday, 18th December 2021

We look forward to hearing from you.

The CSL Team

Published: 21 October 2021

Strategic Plan Overview

Click here to view

Mentoring

• 177 primary mentoring matches have been made, with mentors meeting their mentees for the first time during the month of September
  
• The support of newly appointed principals in your local area is essential to ensure that they are aware of PSDT’s Misneach, CSL’s mentoring and coaching supports, and all IPPN’s bespoke supports for them
  
• CSL Bespoke Mentoring is open to those principals experiencing significant challenge. For more information, contact office@cslireland.ie or amrooney@cslireland.ie
  
• Mentor Training will take place in early 2022 in Sligo, Navan, Portlaoise and Ennis
  
• Professional Learning Days are planned for November but will depend on the DE’s guidance around public health advice
  

Coaching

• The coaching support is available to all principals who have not yet accessed one-to-one coaching. They are entitled to six coaching sessions, a chemistry check in advance of the meetings and a final meeting when the six sessions are completed
  
• There are 58 coaches available in six regions countrywide
  
• All principals who have engaged in four one-to-one coaching sessions have the opportunity to engage in team coaching with five other members of their leadership teams
  

PDSL

• Cohort Five participants begin the PDSL programme this week. The programme has been over-subscribed with 300 participants registered and waiting lists in Dublin, Cork, Laois and Athlone
  

Endorsement

• CSL endorsed 12 programmes in June bringing the total number of endorsed programmes to 26
  

Middle Leadership Project

• This project includes 35 schools in both Clare and Kildare Education Centres and 12 CSL Facilitators (six primary and six post-primary)
  
• The Opening Event took place on Tuesday September 14th @ 4-15pm

The Shared Calendar

• Stakeholders have been working hard to upload provision to the calendar and it is envisaged that the calendar will become an essential tool in system planning and school leader engagement in professional learning
  

Féilte

• CSL will organise a Middle Leadership Meet at this year’s Féilte on October 4th

Published: 13 April 2021

Coming towards the last hurdle, hitting the wall during the marathon, maintaining concentration and energy during the last few minutes of the match are sporting challenges we are all familiar with. These are the moments when the cheers are loudest, the hearts are beating fastest, the excitement ever mounting but the struggle on the ground is at its toughest. This is where we find ourselves as we reach over a year of fear, loss, struggle, exhaustion and anxiety. In the words of Winston Churchill: ‘We have won the Great War. Let us win the Great Peace’. Reaching this peace means continuous hard draft, the existence of constant threat and beating a year’s exhaustion, a tough ask indeed for Irish school leaders as they limp towards a more promising future, and return to school for the summer term.

Working in the system during these challenging times has been a privilege and a struggle. There is a sense of gratitude for being relieved of the responsibility of running a school and all that entails, while the practitioners in us yearn to roll up our sleeves and assist with daily life in a school community. There is a strong feeling of responsibility to help and support school leaders as much as possible from the side lines, to cheer and encourage, to provide and facilitate. Such a motivation takes away work boundaries, necessitates constant online engagement and mentally exhausts. There is a consistent feeling of not doing enough, of adding an extra layer of work through communications with schools, and a compelling search to find out what else can be done and what innovation will succeed in finding a balance between helping and hindering. Too many messages of goodwill, encouragement and reminders of the importance of wellbeing can tip the balance and grate on the ear, too few can elicit a sense of abandonment from the system. Social media communications can hit the spot perfectly or instigate exhaustion and anger. Online events can disappoint and motivate simultaneously. Lack of face-to-face engagement raises a deep yearning for the networking opportunities of the past and a strong sense of nostalgia for the social aspect of educational events, while disillusionment with available alternatives prevails. Interaction online is haphazard depending on platforms and internet access, and the stress of presenting online or meeting a group remotely is exacerbated by the possibility of an unexpected glitch. Door bells, smoke alarms, unsilenced telephones and family pets can add humour or frustration. Being dressed professionally from the waist up and in tracksuits, jeans, leggings and pyjamas from the waist down can lose its charm when memories of long past face to face events come to mind. The working space shrinks at times, the walls close in, the laptop feels like a body part and the discourse of online engagement- ‘you’re frozen’, you’re on silent’ consistently grates. A sense of safety and reduced responsibility competes with an inherent feeling of wanting to support and assist where you can. Being removed from the tough reality of the coalface offsets an ever-ending timetable. Like every situation since the pandemic began, there are advantages and disadvantages, silver linings and challenge, good days and bad.

A constant source of motivation during this trying time has been the strong sense of hope, joy and optimism that has shone through the gloom from school communities. Despite the challenges, people have clung to the smallest things and made the very most of the joy they bring. At CSL online events, principals and deputies have spoken about the joy of the school building being full again, and how much this means to them. They have received solace from the children, rejoicing in the fact that children will be children no matter what. They have shared pictures of treats being left in their offices and notes of gratitude on their tables. They have spoken about a renewed sense of teamwork, a building of leadership capacity and of people previously new or quiet or reticent coming to the fore. They have reported on the silver linings of the pandemic, reduced expectations, a stronger focus on teaching and learning and a pace, that although has sped up due to the management of covid19, has simultaneously slowed somewhat, due to its restrictions. There is a stronger sense of what should be prioritised, what can be left behind and where the focus should be in the future. There is also a renewed understanding of the importance of resilience and wellbeing, and how this can be taught through the curriculum, and developed among staff members.

Right through their conversations, school leaders have demonstrated an acceptance of all that has been learned alongside a resentment that it had to be learned so quickly. Rather than a rush to put this period behind them, they speak about using the learning to be more adaptable in the future. For many, their future leadership role is about returning to the old normal with choices. It’s about considering what is not adding value to the learning and teaching in their school and being open to innovation and creative opportunities which arose out of necessity since March 2020. It’s also about appreciation of their school, the children, the staff and the wider school community. More especially, it’s about wonder and gratitude; wonder at people’s resilience and ability to adapt, and gratitude for their trust and support.

What strikes me most from my vantage point in the system is the absolute willingness of school leaders to share. CSL mentors have reached out to newly appointed principals as they take the reins in the most problematic of times. Those newly appointed principals in mentoring relationships have reported on such generosity when mentors themselves have so much to contend with. They feel motivated, encouraged, reassured and affirmed by their mentors and privileged to avail of the non-judgemental safe space provided by the mentoring relationship. Mentors in turn are humbled by the courage of principals new to the role. School principals, deputies, middle and teacher leaders have taken part in online events, contributed to surveys and questionnaires, written blogs and evaluations, shared their research, made videos, and partaken in online professional learning at a time when their energy is at its lowest. They have risen to the support of others and maintained a strong sense of hope and optimism despite being pushed to their limits. Newly appointed leaders have stepped up to leadership courageously while those in retirement have maintained close contact with their schools and their successors to do all they can to navigate the ship through stormy waters.

In the system, collaboration has become the key to successfully supporting those working in schools. Education Centres have assisted in joining the dots to link the work of professional organisations, management and trust bodies, supports services and unions. The Teaching Council, the NCCA and the NCSE have worked closely with stakeholders to address the needs of schools. The DE is fully supportive of such collaboration and advocates for more of the same. This is a key learning point for those of us working in the system and it mirrors the learning in schools. The best way to achieve the best outcomes for our students and to develop leadership capacity is to work together. Ní neart go cur le chéile.

I paint a glowing picture. It’s not all roses in the garden! There are challenges and real struggles. There is deep exhaustion, a real sense of monotony and no special events to look forward to. The pandemic needs to recede, the vaccination roll out to increase rapidly. There is fear and trepidation as schools open again and high infection rates stubbornly prevail. There is frustration and weariness about the progress of vaccinations and the identity of frontline workers. Yet, as the last hurdle is approached, the Irish education system has proved its worth once again. The learning is rich, hope and optimism prevail, and joy escapes from the cracks. This joy is a tribute to all teachers and school leaders out there who celebrate the return to school having sent school books home at the end of March just in case. It’s a sign of hope for a brighter future. It’s a safety blanket for those of us who work in the system to grab hold of and a true source of pride in our work. Although we live in a postmodern world with an uncertain future, we can proudly say that Irish schools have sustained their focus on hope and optimism. The least we can so in the system is to be inspired by their strength and courage.