Schools’ Remediation Programme – IPPN Support
- Published: 21 November 2019
On Tuesday, 12 November, Minister for Education & Skills, Joe McHugh TD issued an update on the schools’ remediation programme. While progress is being made, there are a great many schools still affected, a fact which is putting considerable strain on school communities and those school leaders managing in very difficult and stressful situations.
To support our members, IPPN has established a support group for schools affected by the Western Building Systems issue, through which they can share concerns, possible solutions and general advice. If your school is one of those affected by the issue, please email your contact details, including email and mobile phone number, to damian.white@ippn.ie. This is a support group for principals and deputy principals only.
Click here to view DES Circular
Have you stopped receiving networking@ippn.ie?
- Published: 21 November 2019
The mailing lists have been updated to reflect membership for 2019/2020 school year.
To be GDPR compliant, all members whose forms were returned without the ‘Opt In’ box being ticked for the mailing lists were removed from networking@ippn.ie.
To subscribe to the mailing lists, complete the following steps:
- Log in to your www.ippn.ie member account
- Go to ‘Supports, Mailing Lists, Manage My Mailing Lists’ on the menu tool bar
- The email address is listed in the ‘Email Address’ field – please ensure this is correct
- Select ‘subscribe’ to your chosen mailing lists
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the ‘Submit Changes’ button
12 December - Sub Seeker has replaced TextaSub & Sub Teacher
- Published: 21 November 2019
Many thanks to the 850+ primary and post-primary teachers who have registered for the new Sub Seeker short-term substitute teacher service. We are delighted to announce that Sub Seeker launched at 10.00am on Thursday 12th December. TextaSub and SubTeacher are no longer available.
To avail of Sub Seeker, you will need to register for the new service, create your profile and update the availability page.
How to Register for Sub Seeker
Click here to log in to EducationPosts.ie and register for Sub Seeker. Once logged in to your EducationPosts.ie account, select your name from the menu bar, select ‘My Account’ and click the Sub Seeker button.
Job Seeker User Guide Primary
Job Seeker User Guide Post-Primary
KEY FEATURES
- Free service
- Profile includes your qualifications and experience
- Calendar view to update your availability for the next 7 days
- Select up to 6 counties you are willing to sub in
- Sub in primary and post-primary schools
- Receive sub offers directly on Sub Seeker and via email
- Optimised for all devices - smartphone, laptop, PC and tablet
Parent/Teacher Meetings – Practical Guidance
- Published: 14 November 2019
Every year, as schools begin to organise their parent/teacher meetings, school leaders seek clarity from the IPPN Support Office in relation to a number of issues. We have identified these main areas in order to provide support and guidance. Sometimes difficult conversations take place during the course of Parent/Teacher meetings. Meetings are tiring for teachers, especially after a day’s work, parents may be anxious about their child’s progress or difficulties and while most meetings will not present any problems, there is always the possibility of tension. These are the situations where “what if” conversations with staff prior to meetings could prove helpful in achieving a better outcome if one is prepared.
What if a parent becomes upset and/or aggressive during a P/T meeting ---------?
What if a parent wants to record the meeting ---------?
What if more than the allocated time is required--------?
Discuss and agree the procedure to be followed in these cases.
When should parent-teacher meetings be held?
A formal parent-teacher meeting will be held at least once during the academic year in each school. DES Circular 14/04 notes that the meetings will normally commence at 3.15pm and end at 5.45pm. This is subject to change, based on agreement between the relevant parties at local level. Normally the school will close a quarter of an hour early to facilitate staff and they commence a quarter of an hour after school normally finishes, leaving a half hour break in between. Most schools allow 10/15 minutes for each meeting. Some teachers use time in the morning before class contact time or after school in the same week, to meet parents if this suits both parties. Additionally, Croke Park hours may be used to extend the duration of parent/teacher meetings or to facilitate these meetings on more than one afternoon or evening.
Please note that parent-teacher meetings should not be arranged for the day immediately preceding or immediately following the school breaks as set out in the standardised school year calendar.
How to accommodate different family structures?
This requires some co-ordination. A blank timetable with 10 minute intervals is created for all classrooms. From school records, the family with the largest number of children is timetabled so that the parents can meet all teachers in the one session. It is a good idea to allow one 10-minute slot free, so that any delay doesn’t have a knock-on effect. This central timetabling is co-ordinated for families with e.g. 4, 3, or 2 children in the school. Each classroom timetable is then given to the class teacher who schedules appointments with the parents of the remaining children.
In instances where parents (guardians) have separated, individual meetings may need to be facilitated.
Do all teachers need to attend, including Support Teachers?
Normally parents of children availing of additional support will want to meet those teachers. This can be arranged as a follow-up to meeting the class teacher or involve both teachers at the same time. These arrangements will depend on the school context and procedures.
Resources
Click here to download DES Circular 14/2004
New IPPN publication - Left to their own devices: Trends in ICT at primary school level
- Published: 14 November 2019
Left to their own devices brings together research findings about the availability and use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Irish primary schools in recent years. It is framed in a broader context of national investment in ICT infrastructure in primary schools and policy related to the use of ICT in classrooms over this period.
The report is mainly based on data from successive cycles of the National Assessments and two large international studies of achievement: Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). These major studies provide trend data, allow some international comparison, and permit links between access to and use of ICT in the school, classroom, and home. The report covers policies, funding, an overview of research findings relating to ICT resources in schools, ICT resources in the home, use of ICT in the classroom as well as ICT usage in the home. It also provides an outline of the author’s considerations for the future.
The author of the report is Dr Eemer Eivers. Eemer is currently on secondment from the Educational Research Centre, where she is Research Fellow. This report was written in a personal capacity for IPPN.
The report is now available on the home page of ippn.ie and also under Advocacy/Publications.
