IPPN

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

 

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

Parent/Teacher Meetings - Guidelines for Teachers

Record of Parent/Teacher Meeting

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.

Click here to view the report

Published: 14 November 2019

This year’s event took place on 7 & 8 November in Citywest and was attended by over 300 deputy principals from around the country. The evaluation feedback was exceptionally positive, as was the reaction to the announcement that the 2020 event will be held in the Lyrath Estate in Kilkenny! Make a note in your diaries, the event will take place on 12 & 13 November 2020.

IPPN understands and appreciates the heavy workload school leaders manage in their schools and would appreciate that deputy principals be afforded the same opportunity to partake in professional development as is given to 1,200 principals by Boards of Management each year. We would very much like to see the number of DPs climb much closer to 1000 or even 1200 in the coming years. As well as continuing to press the DES to provide at least one leadership and management day per week for teaching principals, we will also be asking for substitute cover to be provided for DPs to attend their annual CPD event, as they have no allocated time for leadership and management at present.

The following presentations and recordings are now available on ippn.ie under CPD & Events/Deputy Principals’ Conference 2019:

• Minister for Education & Skills, Joe McHugh TD
• Adam Harris, CEO of AsIAm
• Bernard McHale, PDST – Curriculum Leadership
• Karen Belshaw - Managing stress and building resilience - looking after your wellbeing
• Dr Joan Kiely, Marino Institute of Education - Parental involvement, engagement and partnership in their children's learning during the primary school years: a focus on homework
• Finbarr Hurley and Maria Tully - PIEW Model
• Dr Déirdre Kirwan – Intercultural Inclusion
• Angela Lynch (IPPN), Anne Tansey (NEPS), Áine Fitzpatrick (IPPN) – Wellbeing
• Dr Eemer Eivers - ICT in Primary Schools

Click here to access these materials