E-sceal 538 - Supplementary Panel
- Published: 29 November 2018
Arrangements for access to the Supplementary Redeployment Panel for the 2019/2020 school year has been published in DES Circular 78/2018. Eligible registered primary teachers who have met in full, conditions of registration with the Teaching Council by 21 December 2018) in fixed-term/temporary positions, including substitute and part-time positions in recognised primary schools, may be eligible to apply for inclusion on the Supplementary Panel.
The Supplementary Panel is used to fill permanent teaching posts where they are not required for the redeployment of surplus permanent and CID-holding teachers. The supplementary panel is not used to fill fixed-term positions in schools.
Completed Forms must be received by DES, Primary Allocations Section on or before Friday 21 December. All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their decision by Tuesday, 30 April 2019.
E-sceal 538 - Minor Works Grant
- Published: 29 November 2018
The DES has confirmed that the Minor Works Grant of €29 million will be paid to all primary schools in the coming days and will be paid on an annual basis.
All primary schools will receive a flat rate Minor Works Grant of €5,500 plus €18.50 per mainstream pupil and €74 per special needs pupil attending a special school or special class. The grant is worth €6,425 for a 50 pupil school and over €11,000 for a 300 pupil school.
The DES is advising schools to prioritise fire safety prevention works in the first instance and will be developing guidelines for schools on the key issues identified from the fire safety assessment programme.
Click here to view DES Press Release
Further information on the Minor Works Grant is provided in DES Circular 0062/2013
E-sceal 537 - Professional Conversations – What if scenarios
- Published: 22 November 2018
What if a parent approaches a child in the school whom they suspect may be bullying their own child--------?
While schools make every attempt to communicate to all stakeholders in the school community the correct procedure for addressing issues or concerns in relation to a pupil, parents may sometimes take things into their own hands. This situation may or may not have happened in your case, but it is always wise to be prepared. Of course pre-empting this happening, is preferred to dealing with a situation where child protection issues may then have to be addressed. The “what if” conversation at staff meetings, might include:
- how communication of the school’s procedures has already, or should be managed
- discussion of the above scenario
- possible consequences of this happening
- the steps to be taken should this occur
- seeking advice in relation to the inevitable difficult conversations that result
You may find it helpful to refer to the Communication Resource Bundle on www.ippn.ie.
E-sceal 536 - Professional Conversations at Staff Meetings – 'What if' Scenarios
- Published: 15 November 2018
Currently the incidents of children who pose flight risks in schools appear to be increasing. With this in mind it may be opportune to discuss 2 “what if” scenarios.
- What if a child runs out of school and goes missing ?
- What if a child has been identified as a flight risk ?
The discussions might include:
- Protocols and procedures to be followed in the event of the first scenario, including notification of Gardaí and who does what, where and when.
- Review of incident: What worked well? What would we do differently?
- Where a flight risk is identified, it is advisable to carry out a Health & Safety Audit to identify the areas of risk and how these might be minimized or possibly eliminated.
- To whom does this need to be communicated? All staff and the parents of particular children need to know the protocols put in place to manage these situations. As with all communication this is best done before an incident occurs.
Being proactive in this regard should lead to better outcomes should such unfortunate incidents occur.
Click here for more information on this topic in our Supervision and Duty of Care Resource Bundle
E-sceal 536 - Preparing for Christmas – GDPR issues
- Published: 15 November 2018
At this time of year, many schools are preparing for their Christmas and Nativities plays. Everyone will be excited on the day of the performance, especially parents. Most parents and grandparents will come armed with mobile phones, ipads and cameras to record the entire show.
What are the implications for the school of parents recording their own and other children performing on stage?
A recording of a child, or children, is the collection and storage of data. As with the collection and storage of any data, consent is required. Parents are not required to comply with the Data Protection Act when taking photographs of their children for their own private use at an organised event. As long as the parents have been invited to the event and the subsequent pictures are intended for family or private use, there is no breach of the Act. This changes if the parents subsequently share images of other children in a public forum e.g. Facebook, website etc. The responsibility is firmly on the person who has captured the images not to share them publicly.
It would be advised that this is brought to the attention of parents in advance of the staging of the play. Some schools engage a professional videographer and make the CDs available afterwards to parents. Such activity would require the consent by the parents of all children being recorded.
Click here for more information and guidance on GDPR in your school
