IPPN

Published: 25 May 2017

 

School Tour

At this time of the school year, many classes will be travelling to a variety of venues for their school tour.  This raises a number of issues for schools.  It is advised that every school has a policy on tours and excursions to ensure that all practical possibilities are covered to reduce the risk to children.  As ever, the code of behaviour will cover conduct issues, but risks increase when leaving the controlled environment of the school. A template policy is available on www.ippn.ie (Resources, School Policies), titled ‘School Tours, Excursions & Field Trip Policy’.  It is easily tailored to meet the needs of your school and covers issues such as:

• Levels of pupil/adult supervision (Advice is available from Allianz)
• Bus/Road safety issues
• Conduct on tours
• Bus hire considerations
• Tour kit
• Tour costs

Job Share

We have been receiving numerous queries in the support office regarding different aspects of career breaks and job-sharing.  We have compiled this guide for members to address these queries and concerns.

There is an onus on each Board of Management (BoM) in consultation with staff to draw up a policy statement based on the needs of the school in relation to approving career breaks and job-sharing.

The guiding principle of any policy is to ensure that the welfare and educational needs of pupils takes precedence over all other considerations.  When drafting a policy, include the number of teachers that will be allowed to participate in job-sharing or career break arrangements in any one school year. It is best practice to include direction on the issue of the approval of EPV days in the policy.

Download a Job Sharing Plan below:

https://www.ippn.ie/index.php/resources/forms-a-templates/5361-job-sharing-plan-power-point

As both these arrangements affect the terms and conditions of employment of the teacher, we would suggest that teachers themselves would seek guidance and advice from INTO about the implications of these applications.

It is a matter for the BoM to determine if the duties of a post of responsibility can be filled by the teacher in a job-sharing arrangement.  In making the decision to grant approval for a career break or job-share, the BoM would need to be aware that the only posts that can be filled in an acting capacity are those of principal and deputy principal.

Published: 16 May 2017

Angela Lynch – Team Manager Angela Lynch is the Leadership Support Manager for IPPN. Prior to taking up this role in 2011, Angela taught in Glasheen Girls Schools, Cork, for over 36 years, 20 of these were in a Teaching and Administrative principal role. She is a trained mediator with a particular interest in the area of conflict resolution. From being a founder member of Cork Primary Principals’ Network (CPPN), Angela went on to serve on the IPPN Board of Directors for over 10 years. She is also a regular contributor to Leadership+.
Rachel Hallahan Rachel is the IPPN Principal Information Officer and is responsible for managing the professional, factual queries received at the IPPN Support Office, working closely with the Leadership Support Manager to coordinate and respond to all queries received. She develops Resource Bundles on specific topics of key relevance to school leaders and content for CPD modules as well as for www.ippn.ie and the IPPN Dashboard. She also moderates the dedicated mailing list for IPPN’s 6000 members and manages the weekly members’ email bulletin – IPPN’s E-scéal. Rachel holds a B.Sc. Degree in Government and Public Policy from UCC, a Masters in Planning and Sustainable Development, also from UCC and a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Relations accredited by the Fitzwilliam Institute and the Public Relations Institute of Ireland. In addition, she has a Diploma in Social Media from the Digital Marketing Institute. Prior to working with IPPN, Rachel worked in a variety of roles in PR and marketing as well as an internship with the Revenue Commissioners.  Rachel is currently on maternity leave. Sarah McNamara is fulfilling the role during this time.
Ann Ryan Ann has spent her teaching career in areas of social disadvantage, as a mainstream teacher for 17 years and for 3 years as a teacher counsellor. She was Principal of St. Mark’s JNS, Tallaght for 17 years. Ann has worked with the IPPN Leadership Support Team since September 2016. Ann is passionately committed to a positive school experience for all. She considers Emotional Literacy as the bedrock on which to build the best possible outcomes and believes relational trust can never be overstated. She is an advocate of Restorative Values and Practices in schools and delivers workshops to school staffs on getting started in restorative practices. She is a qualified Life Coach and also works as a mentor with CSL.
Donal Kerins Donal taught in Midleton CBS for 21 years and was Principal of Bunscoil Rinn an Chabhlaigh in Cobh, Co. Cork for 19 years. Donal has been trained as a Mentor with NIPT and has a passionate interest in the development of capacity in teaching staff as the prime means to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools.  Donal joined IPPN’s Leadership Support Team last September and has contributed to Leadership+ and E-scéal. Donal is an avid cyclist and walker and has completed the Tour de Munster and Camino trails.
Jack Durkan M.Ed Jack was Principal in Togher Boys’ School until his retirement in November 2016, when he took up a position with IPPN’s Leadership Support Team. Jack completed his B.Ed. degree in Mary Immaculate College and holds a Master’s Degree in School Leadership and School Management from the University of Hull. He was a member of the Leadership Development Team (LDS), now the PDST Leadership Team, since 2002, where he also works as an Associate on the Misneach and Toraíocht programmes as both a Lecturer and a Tutor. He is a trained Relationship Counsellor and is a qualified Executive Coach and Mentor.

Published: 09 May 2017

CLICK HERE 

New Foundations: Exploring Gender Identity and Gender Norms in Primary Schools

Published: 22 March 2017

In January, Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton TD spoke about the role of religion in the school admissions process, stating that he believes it is unfair that:

 

• a non-religious family, or a family of a different religion, living close to their local publicly-funded school finds that preference is given to children of the same religion as the school living some distance away

 

• parents, who might otherwise not do so, feel pressure to baptise their children in order to gain admission to the local school.

 

The Minister set out four possible approaches for dealing with this issue (click here for more details) and sought the views of those who might be impacted by the proposed changes or have views on the proposed changes.

IPPN decided to respond as it is an issue that affects a significant number of schools. In a short survey, we sought the views of school leaders on the four approaches put forward by the Minister.

The following are the key results:

 

 

In addition to the above, IPPN used members’ responses to answer the questions in relation to impact that were asked by the DES.

Click here to view the IPPN submission