IPPN

Published: 24 August 2020

Your hard work over the past weeks has brought you to where you can now safely reopen your school. There will still be challenges as everyone acclimatises to the new routines and procedures. Your preparations are in place to welcome back everyone to school for the 2020/2021 school year.

We would suggest that you consider the following as priorities for this week – many of you will have done some of these already:

Communicate

• Send a third and final communication to the parents and staff – template in Live Resource Bundle
• Talk to those staff members who have indicated an anxiety or difficulty about returning to work in the school. Reassure them that the control measures to keep them safe are in place. See if you can provide any additional reassurance requested by them
• Keep the BoM informed of last minute preparations and difficulties. This can be done by communicating with the Chairperson rather than holding full BoM meetings
• Thank all those from the school community who have assisted you in your preparations over the past weeks
  

Checklists
Use the checklists in Section 8 of the Live Resource Bundle to ensure that all measures are in place and attend to any last minute issues they uncover.

First day back
Give some thought to how you intend to welcome the staff back to school for their induction training later this week. In particular, think about how you will conduct the induction training, while adhering to social distancing protocols. Current restrictions are that indoor gatherings are confined to 6 people from no more than 3 households. For larger staffs, this may mean considering holding the induction training and staff meeting or discussions on induction via online platforms. The need for adults to maintain a 2m social distance is still paramount.

You are ready
You have done all you can with the help of your colleagues throughout the school community. Be confident now, both in what you have done to prepare and in what you will do as you welcome children, staff and parents for the new school year.

If you have any concerns, where you need support or advice, particularly over the coming week, as always, you can contact us on:

• 1890 212223
• 021 4824070

Is sinne le meas

Leadership Support Team

Published: 19 August 2020

Published: 17 August 2020

A chara

We are now into week 3 of the preparations for reopening our schools. As we draw close to the reopening, IPPN would again like to remind you that our Leadership Support Team is there to address any issues which will inevitably arise over the period of time prior to the reopening and during the first few days of the term.

You may want to consider the following as priorities for this week – many of you will already have completed these.

Communicate

• Send a second letter to the parents and staff – template in Live Resource Bundle
• Complete phone calls to staff members about their return to school issues where considered necessary
• Letter to Staff - template in Live Resource Bundle, informing them of:
  o who has been chosen (by nomination or vote) as LWR
  o details of return to school for staff
  o induction and familiarisation training dates
• All teaching and SNA staff will need a copy of DES Circular 49/2020
• Ancillary Staff (Secretaries, Caretakers, Cleaners, Bus Escorts) will need a copy of DES Circular 54/2020

Delegate

• Continue to delegate tasks to the Response Plan Team established in conjunction with the BoM
• The Environmental Cleaning Plan (example in Live Resource Bundle)
• The signs should arrive in schools this week and will need to be put up by the Response Team

Procurement
Complete the procurement and ordering of PPE/sanitizers, either from the DES list or locally (using 3 quotes )

Reopening Logistics Plan

• Inform parents and staff of the details of the Logistics Plan as it affects them
• Drop off and collection procedures
• How to make an appointment to meet with a teacher or the principal 
• SEN and SET arrangements
• Arrangements for children who cannot return to school

BoM

• Has the BoM read and adopted the Logistics Plan?
• Has the BoM read and adopted the COVID-19 Risk Assessment and adopted it as part of the School Risk Assessment?
• Has the BoM read and adopted the Environmental Cleaning Plan?

Principal Release Days Cluster

• Continue with clustering arrangements for Teaching Principal Leadership & Management days

Is sinne le meas
IPPN Leadership Support Team

Published: 10 August 2020

We are now into week 2 of the preparations for reopening our schools.  We in IPPN would again like to remind you to put your own wellbeing at the top of your priorities for this week and the weeks to come.  There is a solid reason for this – as the school leader you must be in a position to oversee all of the issues which will arise during the first weeks of reopening. 
 
To do so effectively and to project a positive atmosphere for your staff and the wider school community, you will need to be mentally and physically fit and relaxed and to have built up your resilience.  These are the weeks to do that.  So, delegate the tasks and factor in time out for yourself and your family.
 

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