28th January 2011 - Principalship for Life – Not A Good Idea?
‘Many primary school Principals spend too long in the same school and effectively become ‘Principal for life’. This practice is neither good for the Principal personally, nor for the wider school community’, stated Mr Seán Cottrell, Director of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) in his address to 1,000 school Principals at the IPPN Principals’ Conference in City West Hotel, Dublin.
28th January 2011 - Guaranteed Government Bond to Fund Primary Education
‘The incoming government should issue a new guaranteed Government Bond to attract monies currently on deposit in Irish banks and use it to fund Primary Education’, states Mr Seán Cottrell, Director of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN).
Primary education is grossly under-funded in Ireland, with 9 out of every 10 schools having to resort to fundraising and voluntary contributions from parents. A recent IPPN survey indicates that the average 100-pupil school operates at a €6,000 loss each year and that this shortfall must be made up through fundraising.
27th January 2011 - New Government Must Create A Whole New Department for Children
‘Politicians only see statistics while Principals see only children,’ states leader of school Principals.
Irish school children have been short-changed for generations and only a complete change in mindset from the new Government can save our present generation from the same fate. This is the stark message which will be delivered by Mr Seán Cottrell to over 1,000 School Principals at the Annual Conference of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) at the City West Hotel in Dublin on Thursday, 27th January, 2011, the largest gathering of school leaders in Europe.
26th January 2011 - Easier To Trace Cattle Than Children
IPPN Director Seán Cottrell, in his address to 1,000 primary school Principals at Citywest Hotel on Friday 28th January 2011, commented:
‘Every calf, cow and bull in the state is registered by the Department of Agriculture and Food in the interests of food traceability. Why isn’t the same tracking technology in place to capture the health, education and care needs of every child?’
