Submission to JOC on keeping schools ‘open, safe and sustainable’ – we request your input
- Published: 14 October 2020
IPPN has been invited by the Joint Committee on Education, Research, Innovation and Science to make a brief written submission by 21 October on the topic ‘Ensuring that schools are open in a manner which is both safe and sustainable’. They have asked us to focus on the key issues and effective strategies to assist the Committee in examining the issue.
As you will be aware, IPPN has advocated for many years as our top priority for teaching principals to be given the additional leadership and management time they require to carry out their responsibilities as school leaders. Since the COVID-19 mandated closure of schools, we insisted in the strongest possible terms to the DES that additional time must be provided to enable principals cope with all of the additional work required to reopen schools during a global pandemic. The other education partners agreed that this was a key priority.
We also advocated strongly for adequate resourcing of schools to enable them to put in place all of the necessary measures to reopen school buildings and safeguard the health of their pupils and staff. The additional cleaning, PPE and hygiene requisites will need to be fully funded until such time as the virus has been fully contained nationwide or until there is ‘herd immunity’ through an immunisation programme, to allow schools to continue to manage and maintain the high standards of cleanliness that has meant a minimal spread of coronavirus within school buildings.
In our Budget 2021 submission to the Ministers for Education, Finance and Public Expenditure & Reform, IPPN called for the leadership and management time for teaching principals to be placed on a permanent footing, and for the level of resourcing currently in place for schools to maintain cleaning and hygiene to be continued for the duration of the pandemic.
If you have any additional suggestions or strategies that you would like IPPN to raise as part of the submission to the Committee, please email project@ippn.ie by 5.00pm on Friday 16 October.
Evaluation of The Centre for School Leadership – Survey of School Leaders
- Published: 08 October 2020
The Department of Education and Skills has recently commissioned an independent evaluation of the Centre for School Leadership (CSL) which, as you may know, was established in 2015 to support, enhance and modernise the quality and quantity of professional development of school leaders in Ireland.
The evaluation is being undertaken by Fitzpatrick Associates Economic Consultants Ltd, a firm of independent economic and public policy consultants, on behalf of the Department. As part of the evaluation, the consultants are undertaking a survey of all primary and post-primary school leaders, and have asked that IPPN and NAPD members be invited to participate. The link to the survey is below, and your participation would be appreciated. The survey should take no more than 15 minutes.
The consultants carrying out the evaluation are entirely independent, and your personal information or contact details have not been provided to them. All survey responses will only be accessible to the consultants, and none will be accessible by IPPN, NAPD, the CSL, or the Department. Responses will be treated in confidence by the consultants, and findings will only be reported in aggregate and in ways that uphold the anonymity of the respondents.
Scéalta ón Túslíne
- Published: 15 September 2020
The new live resource bundle will contain a section titled ‘Scéalta ón Túslíne’. This will contain a selection of Covid- 19 related stories reflective of the various school sizes and types. The objective of this section is to provide a forum for school leaders to share the learning from their experience with colleagues.
If you are willing to share your learning, submit your story to donal.kerins@ippn.ie. Please use the following format:
- Size of School
- Number of Pupils
- Location – Urban/Rural
- Issue/Problem – Brief Description
- Learning – How the school dealt with the issues.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases - Schools’ difficulties implementing DES/HSE guidelines
- Published: 10 September 2020
Since schools reopened in late August, a number of confirmed COVID-19 cases have arisen in primary schools around the country. A certain number of schools have had a positive experience of contacting the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the support provided to them. A number of members have contacted IPPN in recent days about difficulties they were experiencing. The issues relate to implementing the Department of Education & Skills (DES)/HSE guidelines that are to be followed by schools in the event of a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the school community. In some cases, schools have not been able to reach the HSE support line in a reasonable timeframe to find out what course of action to take, which has caused considerable frustration and concern. This has been particularly challenging after office hours midweek and over the weekend. In other cases, frustration has been expressed at delays in returning test results and extended the period of required self-isolation by a significant amount. A key challenge has been the communication with the whole school community.
IPPN raised these issues and concerns with the DES on Tuesday morning, and requested that the HSE and DES resolve the issues as soon as possible. We also requested that an agreed generic communication be made available to schools who are aware of a confirmed case, so that it can be issued without delay, as this would help to allay fears and reassure the school community. The DES committed to raising the issues with the HSE at a joint working group meeting on Tuesday afternoon. We have sought a follow-up meeting to establish what progress has been made. We will notify members as soon as we have an update.
IPPN has called for dedicated support for schools by the HSE. We will continue to apply pressure to the relevant agencies so that adequate supports are in place for all schools dealing with such a challenging situation.
We sincerely thank those school leaders who have been in this situation for the professional manner with which they have dealt with the crisis in their schools, and also for the support they are providing to their fellow school leaders. Maith sibh go léir.
IPPN Support
If your school has a confirmed case and you experience any of these issues, or indeed other issues, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the IPPN Leadership Support (LS) team. We will support you as you deal with this situation and will raise any issues arising to the relevant agency. During office hours 08:30 to 17:00 Monday to Friday, please contact the team by phone to 1890 21 22 23 or by email to info@ippn.ie. For support outside office hours and over the weekend, please email covid@ippn.ie – this email address will be monitored and responded to as soon as possible by a member of the Leadership Support Team.
