IPPN

28th January 2010 Leading Schools Through Recession is Principals’ Greatest Challenge

Last Updated: Thursday, 28 January 2010 00:00

Children's right to a fully resourced education system must not be sacrificed at the altar of fiscal rectitude. This is the key message to be delivered by Irish Primary Principals' Network President, Pat Goff to 1,000 Principals at the annual three day IPPN conference which opens today Thursday 28th January in Citywest Hotel and Convention Centre, Co Dublin. 'The challenge for Principals is to ensure that pupils do not pay for this recession and that schools continue to provide quality learning, even with fewer resources and dwindling morale' states Mr Goff.

The last decade has seen our schools change beyond all recognition with almost all schools now catering for pupils unable to speak English, pupils with special needs, children from disadvantaged backgrounds and pupils with emotional and behavioral needs. Principals must now lead by example, but so must the Department of Education and Science. 'We believe that the Department of Education and Science should implement a more equitable model such as operates in New Zealand, whereby every school is graded on a scale of 1 to 10 according to the level of disadvantage among children enrolled and appropriate supports allocated accordingly. This, after all, is a right not a privilege' said Mr Goff. The Irish model has only three categories of disadvantage and more than 50% of Irish children from disadvantaged homes attend schools that are not included in these categories.

Mr Goff will also highlight the recent withdrawal of supports to children with Special Needs as a 'false economy' with an ultimate cost to society through short-changing our most vulnerable children. In recent years, Principals and teachers have changed their teaching and classroom management to embrace inclusion and remove barriers to learning. The recent Government decision to shelve the Education for Persons with Special Education Needs (EPSEN) Act is akin to saying 'there's no room in the inn' said Mr Goff. 'The legacy of Minister O'Keefe must be to ensure that the most vulnerable in our schools are afforded some hope'.

ENDS