IPPN

Published: 03 December 2020

Over the past few months, IPPN has responded to a number of requests from various sections of the Department of Education, the Joint Oireachtas Committee as well as proactive submissions to the ministers for education, finance, and public expenditure in relation to Budget 2021.

The submissions to the DES and the JOC are in relation to the following topics:

• Draft procedures re. Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 re. Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018
• The use of reduced timetables in schools
• Ensuring that schools are open in a manner which is both safe and sustainable
• Department of Education Statement of Strategy 2021-23
• Inter-agency Good Practice Guidelines for Schools on Supporting Students with Autism
• Supporting the Safe Provision of Schooling

All submissions are available on the Advocacy/Submissions section of www.ippn.ie.

Consultation Process
Each submission has its own merits and is important in its own right. Each one also takes a considerable amount of effort, if it is to be of value to IPPN, to you our members and to the stakeholder that sought the feedback. IPPN has been very open with the Department and the JOC highlighting the fact that in many cases the very tight timescales compromise IPPN’s ability to engage with school leaders in seeking feedback from members on the proposals being put forward.

To address this, IPPN has sought a cohesive approach to such consultations with education stakeholders - the Department and all the education agencies - to request that future consultations be brought to the Primary Education Forum in the first instance. This would ensure that there was consideration given to adequate notification, timing, sequencing and prioritisation of all consultation processes across the sector. This would facilitate organisations such as IPPN in engaging with practitioners in schools, to gather and present feedback in a planned, coherent manner.

This would also ensure that the feedback and recommendations put forward are comprehensive, reflective of the situation across all types of school, as well as balanced and fair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Published: 03 December 2020

As part of an increasing focus on Sustainable Leadership, IPPN is working with Dr Jolanta Burke and Dr Majella Dempsey of Maynooth University, to undertake deep research into primary school leaders’ health, both physical and emotional.

Click here to complete the survey, which will take 10-15 minutes. 

Why participate?
We will need as many school leaders as possible to complete the survey, to ensure that the data is reliable (representative of all school leaders) as well as credible and comprehensive.

The survey results will:

• allow you to compare your health practices to your peers’ results and see what changes you could make to enhance your wellbeing
• provide evidence-based data that IPPN will be able to use in meetings with education stakeholders to best advocate for the changes that need to be made in schools, in order to improve your own and your colleagues’ personal health
• help IPPN to structure the necessary support, webinars, conference and training events that best facilitate your work as a school leader
• help current and future leaders to shape and streamline their leadership role to ensure sustainable leadership for the future.

IPPN is aware of the pressures faced by school leaders on a daily basis. Your physical and emotional health is of paramount importance – to you personally, your family and friends, your colleagues, your pupils and the wider school community. It is also important to IPPN and we urge as many school leaders as possible to participate in the research.

What else is IPPN doing to make your role more sustainable?
There will be opportunities for school leaders to participate in IPPN research relating to the preparation for leadership, middle leadership, governance, administrative supports, and other aspects of sustainable leadership in the coming months. You will be kept informed of IPPN plans via E-scéal, Leadership+ and other communication channels.

 

 

 

 

Published: 03 December 2020

Research currently being conducted of relevance to school leaders:

• Teaching Council Droichead Survey - If you are a principal of a Droichead school and you have not yet received the link to the survey by email,  please contact the research team by emailing DEEPEN@mie.ie, and the link will be forwarded to you
• NCCA Draft Curriculum Consultation process
  
• Teachers' beliefs about multilingualism in the primary school classroom 
  

Published: 25 November 2020

The following information may be helpful to the parents in your school:

The environment that a child grows up in and the relationships that a child has with their parents in the first five years of life is very important to the development of a child’s long term positive mental health. 

National Parents Council has worked in partnership with St Patricks Mental Health Services to develop a programme to support parents to support their young child’s positive mental health at home, and we would like to invite you to take part in interactive workshops. This programme is developed to empower and give parents information on how they can support their children’s positive mental health through everyday interactions with their child.

The sessions will take place online via Zoom at 10am and 7pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week and are free to attend.Each session will have limited numbers for discussion and questions, and places will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Click on the link below to register.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EarlyYearsMentalHealth