IPPN

Published: 20 May 2021

MESSAGE FROM DE TO ALL PRINCIPALS RE HSE CYBER ATTACK

To All Principals

As I am sure you are aware, the HSE ICT systems have been disabled as a precaution in response to the cyberattack on Friday. This has had significant consequences for the HSE, including for Departments of Public Health. Whilst alternative solutions are being put in place, we ask for your patience and consideration when contacting the HSE Departments of Public Health and Schools teams.

There was a short delay in results being received by Public Health on Friday and part of Saturday. However, we have since worked urgently to ensure these cases and all the new referrals are dealt with quickly. We are also experiencing some difficulties in being able to refer close contacts identified in the usual way for testing. Therefore, close contacts identified by contact tracing are asked to attend walk in centres for testing and not await appointments.

Given that Departments of Public Health are currently working very hard under difficult circumstances, we ask for your consideration when contacting us. Please do contact the HSE Principals line on (01) 2408785 if you are aware of a case of Covid-19 within your facility, but have not yet heard from us. In the short term, they will provide you with the appropriate number to ring the local Departments of Public Health. The numbers for Departments of Public Health are subject to change during this period. Therefore to ensure you are being directed to a correct line, please ring the HSE Principals line first. When you speak to Departments of Public Health,please ensure you state what type of school yours is e.g. primary, special educational needs school or post-primary and also what year group the case you are concerned about refers to.

For staff or students who are due testing, but have not received an appointment, they should attend the walk-in centres directly. Anyone who is awaiting a result of the Day 10 test, should continue to restrict their movements until they receive this result, or they have restricted their movements for 14 days, whichever is the soonest.

If someone is symptomatic but has not yet got a test result, they should continue to self-isolate as per guidelines. No-one with symptoms consistent with Covid-19 should be in the school. No close contact exclusions need to be made until a confirmed result is received. Whilst there is a slight delay compared to normal processes, positive results are being rapidly provided to patients.

General Covid-19 queries should be answered through the usual processes. Calls to the HSE Principals line or Departments of Public Health directly are for confirmed cases only please. The FAQs for Principals (link here) should be able to answer most other Covid-19 queries. The Department of Education is also available to assist with many queries and can be contacted by email covid19_alert@education.gov.ie or phone (057) 9324461 and we keep close contact with them.

We will keep you updated as things unfold, but be assured all departments are responding to schools to provide clinical support in a very timely manner.

Best wishes,

Dr Abigail Collins, Consultant in Public Health Medicine

Dr Kevin Kelleher, Assistant National Director for Public Health and Child Health

Published: 13 May 2021

Almost 900 IPPN members participated in research conducted by Maynooth University last December on school leaders’ physical and mental health. The resulting report ‘Wellbeing in Post-Covid Schools: Primary school leaders’ Reimagining of the Future’ was published last week. The authors, Dr Jolanta Burke and Dr Majella Dempsey, presented some of the key findings at the IPPN Principals’ Conference on Friday 7 May.

The research highlights a number of very striking facts about Irish primary school leadership, which are set out below. It explores the ‘daily hassles’ that affect levels of stress and wellbeing experienced by individuals and also suggests ways that leaders can support their own wellbeing, as well as how the system can ease the pressures that lead to excessive stress.

School leaders’ health and wellbeing is at the heart of IPPN’s priorities and is a key driver of IPPN’s Sustainable Leadership Project. The Maynooth University research will be very useful in providing both context and reference material for the project, as it highlights some of the root causes and potential solutions to the issues around leaders’ workload, which can lead to ‘illbeing’. All members are encouraged to read the report. In the coming weeks, synopses will be provided of each of the chapters.

Key findings:
A key indicator of wellbeing according to the research, is the taking of breaks:

•  25% of leaders surveyed had never taken a ‘sos beag’ during the day, 42% take it some days. Only 33% take it every day or most days.
• 11% had never taken their lunch, 42% take it some days, 34% take it most days and only 13% take it daily.

Of all the 27 daily ‘hassles’ (Figure 10), the five tasks that had the highest impact on leaders were as follows:

1. Covid-related safety measures
2. Time pressures
3. Ensuring all DE guidelines are followed
4. Late night/Friday communications from DE
5. Procurement.

Teaching Principals (TPs) and Administrative Principals (APs)

• Within the next 5 years, 13% of leaders intend to stay in their roles, 17% are thinking of leaving, 32% will be retiring, and 38% are unsure
• 75% of principals work more than 40 hours a week
• 33% of APs work 50+ hours vs 26% of TPs
• • Almost 4 out of 10 admin principals teach 1-4 hours a week (n=164, 37%), 1 out of 10 teaches 5-10 hours a week (n=45, 10%) and 1 % teaches 11-20 hours
• 7 out of 10 teaching principals teach 21+ hours, 2 out of 10 teach 11-20 hours, and 7% teach less than 10 hours
• TPs reported lower levels of stress than APs
• TPs reported lower levels of personal wellbeing compared to administrative leaders
• No statistically significant differences were found in relation to their work-life balance
•  No differences were found in relation to their overall work-related wellbeing
• No differences were found in relation to their experiences of positive and negative emotions, quality of work-related relationships, physical health or their levels of happiness

Notable quotes and statistics as presented by the researchers:
“Worryingly, approximately a quarter of the primary school principals began to experience an increased number of symptoms of depression, even though the number of symptoms do not yet reach the threshold of depression. If they are not addressed over the coming months, and action is not taken to alleviate their symptoms, school leaders’ mental strain may persist and lead to diagnosable mental illness.”

• 2 out of 10 participants experience symptoms of severe stress
• 2 out of 10 participants experience symptoms of severe anxiety
• 1 out of 10 participants experience symptoms of depression
• 2 out of 10 leaders show high levels of resilience, 3 out of 10 show low levels of resilience -> IPPN CPD opportunity

“Whilst the pre-pandemic levels of primary school leaders are unknown, given that the general population reports some levels of flourishing, it is possible that the Covid-19 crisis has led to a decline in leaders’ wellbeing, which is why no flourishing levels were reported. This finding is worrying and requires addressing to avoid further decline in wellbeing”.

Notable quotes by school leaders who participated in the research:

• “I spend a portion of day being an SNA - assisting everyone else in the school!”
• “Work life balance is perfect - it’s bananas at work & bananas at home! This is not sustainable”
• “It has taken 5 hours to deal with each positive Covid case we have had in the school […] (and this has always happened outside of school hours)”
• “Drawing up policies (often a one for all does fit!) Draft policies could be drawn up for all schools and then changes could be made on an individual level. An operating procedures manual for schools. McDonalds and Starbucks don't expect each franchise to make up their own policies and procedures!”
• “Restoration of posts for large schools needs to be a priority”
• “Teachers feel very overwhelmed by the gaps in learning and the efforts to bridge those gaps when children are presenting with social and emotional needs”.

The full report is available to view and download from the Maynooth University research portal at http://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/14412/

Published: 13 May 2021

The NCSE’s current Statement of Strategy expires at the end of this year.

IPPN has been asked to provide input to the NCSE’s review of their strategy and their strategic goals and actions for the period 2022-2026. The submission has to be made by the 28th of May. It It would be appreciated if members could provide feedback as soon as possible, so that it can be reviewed and finalised in time for the submission deadline. An online form has been set up to facilitate your responses. Please submit your input here by Monday evening 17 May.

The survey asks the following questions:

1. What key goals should be included in the NCSE strategy?
2.  What specific NCSE/other actions are required to meet those goals?
3. What is the TOP challenge you face in relation to NCSE policy, processes and procedures that you would like IPPN to raise in the submission?

The submission will be included in a forthcoming e-scéal.

Published: 13 May 2021

The proposed new ‘frontloading model’ for the allocation of SNAs to schools is paused for a second year, mainly because of the pandemic. The Cabinet agreed last Tuesday, 4 May to fund an additional 990 SNAs for next September, as they did last September. All schools will retain their current allocation. There are additional SNAs coming into the system.  About half of the 990 will be required for new special schools and special classes. This will leave the remainder to be allocated with priority been given to new schools, schools with developing school status and those schools currently without any SNA access. Teresa Griffin, at IPPN’s Conference, stated that a new slimmed down version of ‘Exceptional Review’ is in place for the coming year and will be online. There is a realisation, especially in the DE, that some schools will retain their SNA support for a second year, even though they may not have the same level of care needs. There will be many other schools who will be very disappointed with this announcement, as they are genuinely struggling to meet their care needs. The DE has advised that it will carry out a full review and re-profiling of schools for the next academic year 2022-2023.

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