IPPN

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.

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

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

Published: 08 November 2018

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. There 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