IPPN

Published: 25 September 2017

• The recognition of the importance of school leadership in improving the outcomes for our pupils
• A focus on distributed leadership throughout the school as a key support for pupil learning
• The flexibility in identifying and prioritising the evolving leadership and management needs of the school
• Assigning and re-assigning post holders to specific roles and responsibilities to meet the evolving needs of a school
• Full restoration of posts of responsibility for schools with 6 teachers or less
• The phased introduction of open competition for the role of Deputy Principal

However, the provisions of the circular are inadequate in terms of addressing the leadership deficit that exists in our primary schools as a result of the moratorium. Any model of distributed leadership needs to be properly resourced. Many schools will start to incur losses and could lose up to half of their current allocation over time. Cutting some schools by up to 50% is not conducive to having an effective leadership team. Nevertheless, there are positive gains for some schools.

All schools with six teachers or less will have full restoration of their posts of responsibility, resulting in an end to the moratorium for these schools. Schools with six or more teachers were the worst affected by the moratorium. Some, but not all of these schools will be able to replace post holders who will retire or leave the school.

We would describe the content of this circular as a ‘first step’. IPPN will continue to advocate on your behalf to have a properly resourced Leadership & Management team that will allow principals to have effective distributed and shared leadership in our schools.