Leadership+ Issue 110 September 2019 by Irish Primary Principals’ Network

ISSUEâ&#x20AC;&#x2C6;110 / SEPTEMBER 2019

+ Leadership THE PROFESSIONAL VOICE OF SCHOOL LEADERS

Sustainable Leadership a shared responsibility

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THE PROFESSIONAL VOICE OF SCHOOL LEADERS

School Leadership

Internet and Technology

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+ Leadership

Martin Moloney discusses a home / school partnership approach to technology.

How to Spend your ICT Grant?

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When considering ‘what should I buy’, Peter Coakley says a good starting point is to look inwards at the strengths and needs of your school.

Sustainable School Leadership

Maria Tully discusses how her school is implementing the PIEW model effectively.

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Equality of Opportunity Peter Creedon outlines the 5 goals of the 2017 DEIS Plan.

The Fish Philosophy

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Gavin Murphy reviews a decade of research on school leadership.

Cóilín Ó Coigligh discusses the Fish Philosophy and its potential benefits.

Irish Primary Principals’ Network, Glounthaune, Co. Cork • 1890 21 22 23 • www.ippn.ie Editor: Geraldine D’Arcy Editorial Team: Geraldine D’Arcy, Páiric Clerkin and Damian White n Comments to: editor@ippn.ie n Advertising: Sinéad Coakley sinead.coakley@ippn.ie n ISSN: 1649-5888 n Design: Brosna Press n n

The opinions expressed in Leadership+ do not necessarily reflect the official policy or views of IPPN

Signposts ISSUE 110 / SEPTEMBER 2019

THE PRESIDENT’S PEN

Flying the Flag DAMIAN WHITE IPPN PRESIDENT Regardless of which colours you wear, or indeed if you actively hate participating counties for nothing other than unforgiven flag-waving on previous trophy-less journeys home, the All Ireland Hurling Final is a unique and special day in Irish life. Croke Park is a cathedral of colour, noise, passion, exultation, and downright misery all in the space of about three August Sunday hours.

Limerick as the final whistle loomed. Sandwiched in between were my first baby steps as a school principal. All three events have their own special memories and two were carried off amid pomp and ceremony and some drama (try briefly forgetting to say ‘I do’!). But the large bunch of keys handed to me by my retiring predecessor jangled no less than my nerves!

This year, interested as I was in the searing aerial power of Tipperary, the enduring brilliance of Brian Cody’s men, not to mention the unending analysis of the movement of Richie Hogan’s right arm, which happened right in front of me incidentally, my day was more or less complete before the big game commenced.

Back then we had 182 pupils, 6 mainstream teachers, and shared ‘remedial’ support. Administrative principals were appointed at 250 pupils and secretaries were scarce. Our school building then was only six years old and was the pride of the village, whose residents had pounded many roads collecting money and bally-ragged politicians until it was completed in 1988. The principal’s classroom had a telephone and the only computer in the building. As I signed my contract, the parish priest asked if I’d do the collection as my predecessor had done, to which I answered blindly ‘of course’. The consequence was a desk in the church on Christmas Eve, recording offerings from parishioners listing their contributions in order of size, a list he duly read from the pulpit the following Sunday! It was a practice thankfully abandoned in almost all other parishes by then and mercifully finished with his retirement soon afterwards.

In between Galway’s impressive minor triumph and the senior neighbourly joust, 26 fellow Offalymen graced the sacred sod resplendent in the finest matching suits. These fellows were my age or thereabouts, grey and balding, but to a man, still all thankfully in good health. Their All Ireland victory in 1994 had reached its 25th anniversary. Some weeks previously, I had met many of them in Tullamore’s Galvin’s Menswear. I was spending my lovely parting gift from colleagues while they were being kitted for their special Croke Park day. We had also met in the same shop 25 years ago when I was squeezing into wedding apparel while they were being dressed for that year’s senior final. Paul, our dapper assistant and my good friend, joked that he had all our leg measurements from years back, but he might have to update the waistlines! In that late in the summer of 1994, the period between the back-to-school ads and the end of the first week in September was a busy one. It began with the taking of marriage vows and ended with a famous win in five frantic minutes when Offaly blitzed 2

Speaking recently to newlyappointed principals at Misneach, I mentioned this story. While it’s unlikely any principal would find themselves with such a duty today, there are, nonetheless, several who will inherit local ideas and customs they’ll find strange. Tread softly before making sweeping changes is my advice. I think that after 25 years, and almost 20 years after we launched IPPN, I have a reasonable handle on the job,

its joys and its pitfalls. My eight years as a teaching principal left me aware of the unique challenges, especially with the extra paperwork added to the mix since I moved to the office. As president of IPPN I will do everything in my power to serve you all well, to listen, share ideas and represent you as well as I can. My once-mighty county will spend the year travelling some unfamiliar roads to play in the less-heralded Christy Ring Cup. I too, will be in new territory, on some roads less travelled. Please God, I’ll see you on that road.

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September 2019

Sustainable leadership

EDITORIAL

a shared responsibility Sustainable leadership is about projecting positive energy and optimism, fighting the negative forces of life and encouraging those around us with that sense of optimism - crucial when we consider that optimists are generally healthier, happier, more successful, engage better with others and maintain better relationships. (Jacinta Kitt) It is also about building hope, which is the driving force for wellbeing. School leaders build hope by clearly communicating the standards expected from staff members, which impacts on the quality of behaviours, relationships, atmosphere and ultimately on the quality of teaching and learning of pupils. Appropriate behaviours and high quality relationships are characterised primarily by their levels of positivity. It is the school leader who sets the example through how they behave and relate to others.

School leaders build hope by clearly communicating the standards expected from staff members, which impacts on the quality of behaviours, relationships, atmosphere and ultimately on the quality of teaching and learning of pupils. The building of these positive relationships in the school develops a shared understanding of the need for distributed leadership. The wider team appreciates that the school leader cannot do everything on their own, doesn’t know all the answers and must prioritise. They must say ‘no’ or ‘not right now’ to many requests to ensure successful implementation of a strategic approach to planning with the objective of creating a sustainable

leading teaching and learning because of their full-time teaching duties. The present structure in our smaller schools is quite simply not sustainable.

PÁIRIC CLERKIN AND DAMIAN WHITE school environment for all, including the leader. This is the overall objective of IPPN’s PIEW model. “Sustainable leadership matters, spreads and lasts. It is a shared responsibility, that does not unduly deplete human or financial resources, and that cares for and avoids exerting negative damage on the surrounding educational and community environment.” The Seven Principles of Sustainable Leadership, Hargreaves and Fink. The system has a responsibility to ensure that appropriate structures are in place to support sustainable leadership. We are all aware of the fundamental change to staffing structures in schools, especially the smaller (1 – 4 teacher) school over the past 10 to 20 years. It is not unusual for these schools to have well in excess of 10 staff, including the teaching principal, class teachers, special class teacher(s), resource/learning support teachers, SNAs and ancillary staff. The leadership of these modern and inclusive schools bear no resemblance to Clancy’s 1986 description of the role of principal as being ‘a teaching one, with some minor bureaucratic and administrative responsibilities.’

The leadership of modern and inclusive schools bear no resemblance to Clancy’s 1986 description of the role of principal as being ‘a teaching one, with some minor bureaucratic and administrative responsibilities.’ IPPN has called for many years now for all teaching principals to be given one day per week to focus on leadership and management. This is the absolute minimum requirement so that they can engage with the myriad of leadership and management tasks associated with leading a modern and inclusive school. Budget 2020 offers a unique opportunity for the DES to close off the deal and deliver one leadership and management day for school leaders with full-time teaching responsibilities. We are asking you to lobby all government and opposition Oireachtas members over the next two weeks. This is most effective if you can communicate how your role has changed and how this provision costing approximately €8 million will help. The Minister and his senior officials understand your challenges but have to deal with many other requests. Let’s make this happen.

There is a similar degree of complexity in the smaller school and in larger schools, the difference being that the principal has less time to attend to 3

DAVID RUDDY BL

EXCLUSION IN JUNIOR CERT YEAR DEEMED ‘UNDULY HARSH’

“Children err; that is the nature of childhood; and when they do a level of understanding falls to be shown to them that would not necessarily be extended to adults.” Barrett J X (A minor) Suing by His Father and next Friend Y (Applicant) And The Board of Management of School Z (Respondent) (High Court) Barrett J 29th March 2019 Judicial Review (Interlocutory Injunctive Relief) FACTS A Junior Certificate student’s mother contacted the school to share her concerns that her son was using cannabis which he had sourced through Instagram. The boy admitted to the school that he smoked cannabis with other pupils in the school. He further admitted having a ‘stash’ of cannabis behind the school in off-campus woods and having had discussions with fellow pupils about collectively sourcing and/or going to smoke it. He strenuously denied that he had brought cannabis to the school and supplied it to other pupils. 4

Following an investigation, the boy was suspended by the principal with effect from December 3rd 2018. The parents instituted a Section 29 Appeal hearing which was unsuccessful on February 15th 2019. The Board of Management (BoM) arranged for their own hearing on January 21st 2019 but this did not take place because of the impending legal proceedings. This injunctive relief was sought by the parents on the grounds that a full hearing and determination might not conclude until the end of May. The parents argued that the boy was isolated at home, was receiving no structured schooling from his teachers, didn’t know what the outcome would be, and his overall health was suffering. They further argued that it had never been established that the boy supplied drugs to others in the school.

the suspension) would be refused. In fact, the decision to return the boy to school is a close-run matter. This is because the court is presented with a dilemma as to how to do right by the boy whilst ensuring that he does not do wrong by any of his fellow pupils. However, given that the suspension had been ongoing since early December and that there was no prospect of a swift resolution, the Court decided on the balance of probabilities to return the boy to school with immediate effect. In the words of the presiding judge, ‘The Court does not wish to be unduly harsh; children err; that is the nature of childhood; and when they do a level of understanding falls to be shown to them that would not necessarily be extended to adults.’ The boy was granted the injunction subject to two conditions:

JUDGEMENT The Court was of the view that, if the boy had supplied drugs to others, the relief which was now sought (to lift

(1) The Court will grant liberty to the BoM to seek at any time a lifting of the injunction if the principal has serious concerns

LEGAL DIARY

about the boy’s behaviour. The boy was cautioned that he was expected to behave well and not to be involved in gloating about his return. He was warned that any further involvement with illegal drugs will offer the BoM the soundest basis on which to seek a lifting of the injunction. (2) The Court will seek from Tusla: a. An immediate meeting with the boy and a preparation of a report about his general welfare/schooling b. to direct that a copy of that report be provided to his parents, principal, and Chairperson of the BoM c. to grant the BoM liberty to seek a lifting of the injunction in the event that any aspect of the report raises an especial concern. The Court accepted that ‘the present messy arrangement whereby a BoM tries to progress a disciplinary matter, a S.29 appeal against a suspension can be separately brought, and judicial review proceedings can

This case highlights the dilemma schools face when a judicial review is invoked prior to existing disciplinary proceedings being exhausted. The school was denied an opportunity to deal with the boy in relation to a sanction/outcome. contemporaneously be instituted concerning administrative law errors presenting, is not conducive to the efficient and timely despatch of school disciplinary proceedings, and yet may require legislative attention.’ The Court noted that this was the second such application to come before the Courts in a matter of four months and would be troubled that a school disciplinary process should come regularly before a court. If a pupil lands himself in trouble, in the first instance, it is more properly the preserve of educators and other experts in child and adolescence behaviour, not judges

trained in law. Disciplinary matters should be primarily for schools, and appeals processes operated by the Department of Education and Skills. OBSERVATION This case highlights the dilemma schools face when a judicial review is invoked prior to existing disciplinary proceedings being exhausted. The school was denied an opportunity to deal with the boy in relation to a sanction/outcome. The Courts, as alluded to by the presiding judge, have been loath to intervene in such situations unless the pupil was facing a watershed examination. The Court was of the view that the Junior Certificate constituted an important examination and felt that to deprive him of schooling in the lead-up to the exam would be ‘unduly harsh’ given that it was not established that he in fact had supplied drugs to others. This finding of fact could only be established at a full trial of the matter which would come too late for the boy in question.

LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

Internet and Technology

A home / school partnership approach

MARTIN MOLONEY PRINCIPAL, CLARECASTLE NS, CO. CLARE In Clarecastle National School, we place significant emphasis on and value highly the role ICT plays in both the educational and personal lives of our pupils. While we recognise and value the pivotal role of ICT in education, we are also acutely aware of the negative impact the inappropriate use of ICT can have on our pupils and on the learning environments within our schools. Bullying, exclusion, talk of self-harm/ suicide and the shattering of pupils’ self- esteem are prevalent in our schools. We, as school leaders, are largely helpless to counteract it as it is being perpetrated through social media and online gaming which is accessed and used outside of our schools. Due to the silence and often acceptance of its victims, parents are largely unaware of the devastating effect social media and online gaming use is having on their children. The consequences of this will be the burden of future generations. Where issues do surface, we as school leaders are facing increased pressures to ‘fix’ online issues which, at primary school level, have more often than not arisen as a result of pupils’ unsupervised use of age-inappropriate Apps outside of school. Parents must not abdicate their responsibility for the monitoring and management of their children’s internet-enabled device use. In September 2017, our school community agreed to adopt a proactive approach to the use of internet-enabled devices by pupils in the home with a view to assisting parents to manage same. We issued a survey to parents on pupils’ technology use in the home.

The majority of respondents (>90%), indicated that it would be beneficial to their child and to them as parents/ guardians if our school provided guidance and advice on: 1. Screen Time (93%) 2. Gaming (91%) 3. Technology in the Home (95%) 4. Social Networking Sites & Chatting Apps (94%) 5. Age of First Device (95%) 6. Security (97%) 7. Reporting (96%) With this significant mandate and under the direction of forensic psychologist Dr. Maureen Griffin of MGMS Training, we embarked on an extensive consultation process which involved students, parents, school staff and management. In September 2018, our collaborative efforts culminated in the launch of Clarecastle National School’s Internet and Technology Use Agreement. Our Agreement informs parents of recognised international best practice, details agreed approaches and boundaries (as formulated by parents) and provides links to a wide variety of websites and resources that assist and empower parents as they endeavour to manage pupils’ internet-enabled device use in the home. The Education (Digital Devices in Schools) Bill 2018 seeks to implement a code of behaviour on digital device usage during school hours. Senator Victor Boyhan has said that the aim of the proposed legislation is to strike

a balance between the benefits of the use of technology for educational purposes, and the negative effects of unsupervised use of devices. While legislation such as this would be welcomed, it does nothing to address the gap that exists between school and home in relation to practices and monitoring of children’s internetenabled device use. Our Internet and Technology Use Agreement bridges this gap. 84% of families in the school signed up to our agreement and it is strongly recommended in our Admissions Policy that new families do likewise on enrolment. Feedback from parents and pupils has been hugely positive with both groups reporting a significant reduction in the amount of screentime and an increase in time spent with family on non- technology based activities. Our initiative is not about removing or banning digital technologies from pupils’ lives, this would be unreasonable and unrealistic. In our school, we continually foster partnership with parents as a means of supporting pupils’ learning and wellbeing. Our agreement strives to ensure that when our pupils are online, whether inside or outside the school gate, we, as a school community, are making every effort to ensure they are supported, protected and ultimately afforded the opportunity to learn and grow with digital technologies in a safe and supervised environment. If you’d like to contact Martin about this article, you can email him to martin. moloney@clarecastlens.com.

LEADERSHIP SUPPORT

An Ordinary

Person ANGELA LYNCH IPPN LEADERSHIP SUPPORT MANAGER

‘I am just an ordinary person committed to doing extraordinary things.’ Iyanla Vanzant If I were to change one thing about this quote, it would be to leave out the word ‘just’. The difference I see between ordinary and extraordinary is that the extraordinary person is one who does things to make the world a better place and who, through their commitment, makes people feel valued and good about themselves. (S)he is a person who has a passion for helping others to be the best they can be. They have the strength to stand up and take action, to help others to set goals that are attainable as well as realistic, to learn from their mistakes and help others to achieve success by giving their time and effort to help them do it. A leader who encourages others to believe in themselves is the leader others want to follow. This may well sound aspirational. However, that is not to say it cannot be achieved. In fact, in terms of sustaining a leadership role within the school community, it is where we need to set our sights.

challenge. Leadership is not a position, a title or a job. Authentic leaders lead with ‘heart’ as well as ‘head’. This, for me, is where we begin to focus on personal sustainability. Jamais Cascio maintains that resilience is about being able to overcome the unexpected, and that the goal of resilience is to thrive. In order to be in a position to sustain others and lead the organisation, your ‘well’ has to be constantly replenished. Being able to sustain yourself, manage workload and maintain personal engagement and focus on relationships is dependent largely on own knowledge of self - knowing which questions to ask oneself, answering them honestly and having the courage to act on those answers. In my own leadership journey, continuous self-development has been the single most important element in sustaining me - as a school leader and as a person.

What I have learned is that: n I am not perfect – there is no such thing. I will do the best I can to make my personal and professional life as good as I possibly can – my best is good enough. n I will make mistakes – I will own up to them. I will learn from those mistakes – this will allow others to do likewise without the fear of blame or shame. n I will not let others define me – I will always define myself. I will decide who I want people to see when we meet and I will be that person. n I will share my story with you so that you will know what to expect from me when we work and live side by side. Remember: Every day, some ordinary person does something extraordinary. Today it’s your turn. Lou Holtz

We speak about leadership in terms of leading self, leading others and leading the organisation. Of course, we must acknowledge the current reality of school leadership with all its complexity and challenges. In order to make the role sustainable for ourselves, we must also acknowledge that we cannot do it all, certainly not all at the same time and definitely not on our own. Investing in the development of staff and challenging others to think, experiment and take risks in a safe environment, where mistakes are recognized as valuable learning opportunities, is central to building collaborative learning communities and essential to the creation of sustainable leadership. It has been widely acknowledged by school leaders that leading and managing self is the greatest 7

LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

DES Small Schools Symposium June 2019 IPPN Presentation/Submission Part I

GERALDINE D’ARCY IPPN ADVOCACY & REPRESENTATION MANAGER In June, IPPN had an opportunity to present at the DES Strengthening and supporting small schools Symposium. This article highlights many of the key points raised on the day and provides an outline of the supporting points that will be used in further discussions in relation to small schools. DEFINITION OF A SMALL SCHOOL The system considers ‘small schools’ to be those with 4 classroom teachers or fewer. IPPN considers small schools to be those led by a principal with fulltime class teaching responsibilities in addition to the school leadership role. There are many types of small school. IPPN’s submission explores the challenges in relation to each of these types of school and IPPN’s recommendations to resolve the issues as described. SUPPORTS FOR LEADERS OF SMALL SCHOOLS It may be timely to discuss the sustainability of small schools. Sustainability needs to take into account pupil learning as the primary concern and the school leadership role as another key priority. The role of teaching principal is very challenging and may not be sustainable until teaching principals are given the appropriate supports. The situation is already reaching crisis point for many. There will always be a need for small schools. It is crucial that additional supports are put in place to make the role of teaching principal more manageable, as follows: 1. Provide a minimum of one day per week for all teaching principals specifically for leadership and management 2. Provide access to skilled administration resources to ensure all administration is done effectively, efficiently and under the supervision of school leaders 3. Enhanced supports should be provided to principals of start-up schools 4. Administrative status for any 8

teaching principal leading a school compelled by the Minister to open a special class under the new Admissions Act Increase capitation and ancillary funding to ensure that all schools can administer the school and handle all of the requisite reporting, clean and maintain the school infrastructure and pay bills without fundraising and requesting voluntary contributions Provide access to the redeployment panel for any principal who feels they need to step down from the leadership role to focus on classroom teaching. This is only feasible if the principal retains (pro rata) their pension as a school leader for the portion of time working as a school leader, and also if they retain seniority if a vacancy occurs in their own school. Create incentives and opportunities for collaboration and professional learning across schools e.g. through clustering Initiate a review of the staffing structure and related allowances to address the in-built anomalies e.g. a. a review of the staffing in special schools is long overdue (not reviewed since the 1993 SERC Report) b. senior leadership allowances being linked to the number of mainstream classroom teachers only - this does not reflect the complexity of managing a significantly larger number of staff in schools c. differences between primary and post primary allowances for leadership roles.

SUPPORTS FOR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES Some school communities are severely challenged in keeping their local school open. They need to know what options and models are available and they need support in making the best

It may be timely to discuss the sustainability of small schools. Sustainability needs to take into account pupil learning as the primary concern and the school leadership role as another key priority. decision for the sustainable provision of primary education in their locality. Schools need specific support in relation to the considerations around amalgamating with local school(s) and also around divestment. In terms of what options and models are available, different leadership and clustering models should be piloted, researched and evaluated to inform local school communities. Such pilots need to be done across a range of schools, to explore how they could benefit pupils, teachers and school leaders. We believe these models would help to address role isolation, role overload, professional learning and governance issues, as well as benefitting pupils’ learning and development. The table on page 9 outlines the differences between the proposed models: Ultimately, the Federated Leadership model may be the most appropriate model for school communities facing the most pressing challenges to address the issues outlined in a sustainable way. It may also provide a viable option to communities who are facing the challenge of keeping their local small school open. In the next issue of Leadership+, we will look at the key challenges faced by different types of small school. Please refer to the full submission on www.ippn.ie Advocacy/Submissions. LINK

September 2019

Cooperative

Clustered

Federated

Roll Number

Separate Separate Shared

Campus

Separate Separate Separate

One Teaching Principal One Teaching Principal Principal

One Administrative Principal to lead all schools in the federation

BoM

Separate

Shared

Budget

Separate Separate Shared

Teaching Staff

Separate planning, shared CPD

Shared planning and CPD

Shared staffing schedule

Ancillary Staff

Possible shared

Shared

SNA

Possible shared

Shared

Procurement

Separate Shared Shared

Separate

Parent Association Separate

Separate

Shared

Resources Some shared

Some shared resources and facilities

Shared

Evaluation/ Standardised Testing

Separate

Joint

Separate

Differences between proposed leadership models for small schools

IPPN Staff David Buckley

New Support Office Staff Member David joined the Support Office team in May and provides vital administrative and planning support to the IPPN leadership team – the CEO, Deputy CEO and President – as well as supporting IPPN events and other projects. David previously worked in a similar role in London with Gieves and Hawkes and also with Harrods. He hails from West Cork and has already shown he’s up to the challenges of working in the primary education sector!

Claire O’Donovan Farewell!

Claire joined IPPN in 2014 and, over the past six years, she has led the redevelopment of EducationPosts.ie, worked on a number of key member engagement projects, particularly with one-teacher schools and special schools, and driven our PR and social media engagement. We are very grateful to Claire for her relentless focus on members’ needs and her strong advocacy work. We wish her well as she undertakes a senior business development role within an international IT services company based in Cork and Vietnam.

OnYourBehalf

Highlighted below are a few examples of IPPN’s advocacy and representative work on behalf of principals and deputy principals, through meetings, events and submissions, since the last issue of Leadership+:

OMBUDSMAN FOR CHILDREN’S OFFICE ANNUAL REPORT 2018 Highlights of the Report: ■■ 1,622 complaints regarding children were processed. These were in large made by parents (78%). 42% of these complaints related to the primary and post primary sector. ■■ Bullying complaints were fewer this year. However, upon investigation the OCO found that whilst schools had anti bullying policies in place, sometimes they were ineffective or had been utilised too late. ■■ A School Principal made a complaint on behalf of a child who had a diagnosis of severe epilepsy and who was not granted a full time SNA. The Principal was having difficulty raising the matter with the NCSE. After OCO intervention the case was reviewed and the NCSE granted a full-time SNA. JOINT OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE HEARING RE. REDUCED HOURS Pat Goff represented IPPN at the JOC hearing. See www.ippn.ie – Advocacy/ Submissions for an overview of the points raised. LINK See also https://www.ippn.ie/images/ Submission_re._ReducedTimetable_ April2019.pdf LINK

DEIS ADVISORY GROUP BRIEFING The DES updated attendees on the implementation of the 2017 DEIS plan. DEIS incorporates 183,000 pupils, 876 schools in primary and post primary. Achievements to date include increased NEPS time allocation, restatement of the role of HCLO role, and a working group on class size. The DES will continue to prioritise CPD for DEIS schools through PDST/CSL. 70 schools were brought into DEIS with 30 being upgraded from Band (2) to Band (1). Access to DEIS was discussed and in particular the use of data from the 2016 census and other indices. DES SMALL SCHOOLS SYMPOSIUM STRENGTHENING AND SUPPORTING SMALL SCHOOLS The DES hosted a symposium in June on the topic of Small Schools, which are categorised by the Department as schools with four teachers or fewer. 10

Páiric Clerkin represented IPPN and provided an overview of the key challenges and potential solutions to meet the needs of small schools. See page 8 for a synopsis of the presentation. NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION As part of Pat Goff’s role as a Council Member, Pat visited three schools in Sligo - a primary school, a special school and a post-primary school. These visits were very informative in outlining how each school and sector were managing pupils with special educational needs. THE NATIONAL TRAVELLER AND ROMA INCLUSION STRATEGY (NTRIS) PILOT PROJECT A meeting of the oversight group was held in the DES Athlone on 10th June 2019, chaired by Grainne Lally (Social Inclusion, DES). The Department of Children and Youth Affairs are undertaking research on the project over a two-year period. The group signed off on the Guidance Document and Local Pilot Terms of Reference. A GDPR protocol for the pilot team is being handled by Tusla. IPPN is part of the implementation group of NTRIS and was requested to nominate a member to sit on the Local Steering Groups. The aim of the pilot is to help further increase school attendance and retention at primary and post primary level. Improved learning experiences and outcomes for students and better engagement with parents are also objectives of the project. The pilot project is based in 3 centres - Bunclody, Tuam and Dublin. A further project is likely to be based in the Munster area. The project supports a cluster of primary and post primary schools. Resources include a dedicated Home School Community Coordinator, a dedicated Educational Welfare Officer, and two project workers for each project. The project will have a major input from Tusla with supports from NEPS, the Department of Justice and Equality and the Social Inclusion Unit of the DES. SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP FACILITATED DISCUSSION IPPN had a number of discussions with Dr Karen Edge, Reader in Educational

Leadership at University College London Institute of Education, in recent months about progressing our work on sustainable leadership. We are particularly keen on exploring her ideas relating to the need for credible evidence as a lever for progress; harnessing school leaders’ expertise; the importance of generating pride and positivity about school leadership; and involving key stakeholders in shaping the role of school leader to become more sustainable. IPPN organised a facilitated discussion in July to progress this work. Attendees included the DES, the Inspectorate, the Teaching Council, NAPD and the Centre for School Leadership. We will keep members informed as this work progresses. NATIONAL INDUCTION PROGRAMME FOR TEACHERS (NIPT) NIPT have a staff of 17, of whom 8 are focused on the primary sector. 2019/20 & 2020/21 will see the final two years of the implementation of Droichead. The DES participation in probation concludes in June 2020. To date, over 4,000 NQTs have been inducted. Each year there is an annual report on the Teaching Council website. A Droichead Quality Assurance Panel operated by the Teaching Council visit a small number of schools to review practice. Schools are encouraged to seek the assistance of NIPT as early as possible if support is required for the NQT. MIE & Trinity are conducting research on the roll-out of Droichead, which will feed into a formal review at the end of the growth phase in 2021. DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH AFFAIRS - CONSULTATION EVENT IPPN President David Ruddy continued his visits to member schools in the summer term in May and June. These visits help to deepen IPPN’s understanding of the challenges and opportunities involved in school leadership, as well as surfacing ideas for the future. David visited the following schools: ■■ Gaelscoil Uí Ríordáin, Ballincollig, Cork and principal Gabriel Ó Cathasaigh, with IPPN Board Member Íde Ní Dhúbháin

■■

St. Mary’s Junior NS, Clondalkin, whose principal Padraig McCabe is also an IPPN Board member Bunscoil Rís, Wexford, whose principal Gerry Moran served on the Board of Directors until 2018 New Ross Junior Primary School, Wexford, principal Alma Sutton Loreto School, Gorey, Wexford, whose principal Aileen Kennedy is an IPPN National Council member Ravenswell Primary School, Bray, whose principal Emer Breen is a National Council member representing Wicklow Little Island NS, principal Micheál Rea, former IPPN Board member Gaelscoil an Athar Tadhg, Douglas, Cork, principal Andrias Ó Foghlú, who is on the National Council Scoil Naisiunta an Chroi Naofa An Gleanntan, Glounthaune, Cork, principal Damien Irwin St Pauls NS, Ratoath, Co Meath, whose principal Morag McGowan is also a National Council member.

OTHER MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES ATTENDED OR HOSTED May ■■ Group Mentor Training in Limerick ■■ Teaching Council Stakeholder Briefing - Droichead, the Integrated Professional Induction Framework ■■ PDST Technology in Education re. Technical Support Clusters and ICT content for IPPN’s Summer School ■■ CSL Cluster Advisory Group meeting - to review the feedback from the 24 CSL facilitators ■■ ETBI, Teaching Council, DES and NAPD – presentations regarding future development of EducationPosts.ie

■■

CSL Steering Committee meeting.

June NPC Education Conference 2019 ■■ Eversheds Sutherland Education Seminar ■■ NTRIS National Steering Group ■■ NCSE Council Meeting ■■ IPPN Board of Directors and National Council meetings on 13th and 14th June ■■ NCSE re SNA professional development ■■ COGG re. an Irish-language portal for substitute teachers ■■

July/August Ciall Ceannaithe – IPPN’s online course 2019 ■■ IPPN’s blended summer course Effective School Leadership was hosted in six Education Centres across the country - in Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Clare, Cork, Mayo, Navan and Waterford ■■ Tánaiste courses – IPPN representative David Ruddy spoke to participants about supports and services offered by IPPN, including CPD, county AGMs and the annual deputy principals’ conference 2019 ■■ Misneach/Headstart– a seminar for new principals hosted by PDST and IPPN in Athlone ■■ Ciara O’Donnell, National Director of PDST – re. opportunities for further collaboration ■■ Joint Committee on Education and Skills – launch of annual report in relation to Education inequality & disadvantage and Barriers to Education; school costs, school facilities and Teaching Principals; and the Committee’s examination on the current use of reduced timetables ■■ CSL Evaluation Group ■■

■■

Teaching Council - FÉILTE Festival of Learning 2019 Launch and updates DES launch of Primary Language Curriculum / Curaclam Teanga na Bunscoile, Stages 1–4 DES and Culture, Creativity & Education (CCE) re. Creative Schools initiative Wellbeing for Teachers and Learners group - strategic planning meeting

September NPC Meeting re Partnership schools Ireland Advisory Group ■■ IPPN Professional Briefing in Citywest attended by over 500 school leaders ■■ NCCA - Meeting on primary curriculum developments ■■ NTRIS Pilot National Steering Group ■■ CSL Implementation Group Meeting ■■ NCCA Symposium on RSE ■■ NCSE Council Meeting ■■ IPPN Board of Directors meeting, Portlaoise ■■ IPPN County Network AGMs ■■ CSL Steering group meeting ■■ Irish Learning Support Association ■■ IPPN group mentoring training cohort 2 & 3 in Portlaoise. ■■

Forthcoming IPPN Events Deputy Principals’ Conference – 7th and 8th November 2019 at Citywest ■■ Board of Directors’ meetings – 11th October, 15th November and 6th December ■■ National Council meeting – Saturday, 16th November ■■ Annual Principals’ Conference 2020 – 23rd and 24th January, Citywest. ■■

David Ruddy, IPPN President, at Bunscoil

David Ruddy with Loyola Madden, Acting

Padraig McCabe, principal of St. Mary’s

Rís, Wexford

Principal, Talbot SNS, Clondalkin

Junior NS, Clondalkin, and IPPN Board member with David Ruddy

LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

10 years of research on

school leadership What does it say?

GAVIN MURPHY RESEARCH FELLOW IN EDUCATIONAL POLICY AND LEADERSHIP, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN INTRODUCTION Over the last decade, school leadership in the Republic of Ireland has undergone significant reform. Some examples of systemic reforms we are familiar with in daily practice include school self-evaluation (SSE); teacher induction and mentoring (Droichead); curricular reform (including the Primary Language Curriculum); and new structures of leadership and management. Indeed, like many other countries including Sweden and the Netherlands, both evaluation and school leadership have become increasingly interconnected. As Circular 0063/2017 outlines, school leadership plays a key role in improving schools and in both teachers’ and pupils’ learning. These statements in policy correspond with international research findings about school leadership (Leithwood, Harris, & Hopkins, 2019). The circular further states that the practices outlined in Looking At Our Schools 2016: A Quality Framework for Primary Schools should align with the responsibilities of senior and middle leadership. Significantly, it also specifies that selection of successful candidates who apply for formal school leadership positions must be based on competencies outlined in the Quality Framework for Leadership and Management.

Research demonstrates that there is a need to provide a greater breadth of more targeted, practice-based and context-specific school leadership development opportunities after appointment It struck me that, given what could be seen as a pivotal point in school leadership policy and practice in Ireland, it would be timely to review 1212

the research literature published on school leadership in our context over the same time period. Based on a recent peer-reviewed research paper I have published in the Journal of Educational Administration, here I share a summary of findings from the review under six themes. THE THEMES IN THE LAST DECADE OF RESEARCH Leadership preparation and development Scope to improve the preparation and development of school leaders, both formally and informally, is clear from research. Many researchers conclude that only a minority of those who become school leaders have felt well prepared for the role. Those who have engaged in formal preparation and development report an easier transition into the role of school leader than those who have not, especially in managing the complexity associated with the role and assuming the identity of school leader. Pressing challenges associated with participation in formal preparation include both financial and time constraints. Research demonstrates that there is a need to provide a greater breadth of more targeted, practice-based and context-specific school leadership development opportunities after appointment, particularly in (i) administrative and financial duties (ii) conflict management and resolution (iii) the management of challenging behaviours and (iv) the distribution of leadership roles and responsibilities. Teacher, middle and distributed leadership Teacher and middle leadership reflect the continuum of leadership practice towards senior school leadership. In other contexts, like Scotland, this is called a continuum of leadership practice, or in the United States, the leadership pipeline. Teacher and middle leadership underpin school improvement activities and

they are associated with distributed leadership in practice, the theory of school leadership mentioned extensively in Circular Letter 0063/2017. These concepts of school leadership underscore that leadership can become part of all teachers’ practice and is not exclusively formal and positional. Teacher leadership extends to student teachers on placement; newly qualified teachers; and those teachers who do not wish to progress to formal positions of school leadership. Middle leadership extends to those in and between AP2 and AP1 roles. What is less clear, however, is how certain challenges involved in implementing distributed leadership in Irish schools are resolved to create the conditions, both formally and informally, for these kinds of leadership to thrive. One barrier identified in research was a need for more professional development for senior school leaders concerning how best to foster cultures and relationships where distributed leadership thrives. Supports are required most particularly in school cultures who may, in the past, have tended to hierarchise, script or license leadership for ‘the some’ rather than for ‘the many’. Another barrier exists regarding the kinds of activities that might tend to be distributed. Research has found a tendency towards the distribution of bureaucratic management activities rather than the leadership of school improvement. Leading for equality, inclusivity and care There are two interpretations of this title. One relates to the research conducted on being and becoming a leader. Research has shown that gendered ideas about senior school leadership persist in pockets. Research has argued that we ought to be intentional in our efforts to diversify the image of the school principal to attract more people to the role, and to more inclusively reflect school communities in

September 2019

contemporary, plural Irish society. The other interpretation relates to research which has demonstrated that striving to have equal, inclusive and caring educational experiences for all pupils forms part of successful school leaders’ core work and values. The emotional ups and downs experienced when driven by the desire to effect deep change have been discussed, such as in the leadership of inclusive and special education and in multi-ethnic schools. How schools are led to be safe and happy places has also been explored in research. Contending with cyber bullying, homophobic bullying and bullying amongst staff have been reported as being specifically challenging. No research has yet to be published concerning the educational leadership complexities encountered as a result of child poverty, which has drastically increased since 2008. Leading with heart Unsurprisingly, research has found that there is a huge emotional dimension to the leadership of schools. The negative impact of the economic crash, particularities of each unique school context (for example DEIS schools; Gaelscoileanna; or small rural schools) and quality of the relationships between professionals working in the school have been found to particularly emotionally impact leaders. Research has found that school leaders have high stress levels owed to their work, extending to those in middle leadership. For those whose job satisfaction is high, researchers warn that this is not a protective factor against the negative impacts of high stress levels. Teaching principals consistently report a lack of sustainability in their role. To alleviate the negative impact of stress, some researchers have recommended that more administrative supports be given to teaching principals; that more professional development be offered to better manage conflict; that counselling psychology by properly-qualified professionals be regularly and confidentially offered to school leaders free of charge; and that Boards of Management more formally and proactively support school leaders.

The array of educational reforms over the past decade has been found by some researchers to be connected to negatively impacting school leaders’ emotions. role in the leadership of educational reform. This applies, for example, to both school evaluation and curriculum. School evaluation has particularly focused on SSE over the last decade over two iterations. Research has shown the key role school leaders collectively play in pursuing school improvement and how they achieve this, for example, through collaboration and datause. However, research exploring how school leaders pursue school improvement by consulting research and evidence beyond traditional data sources still remains sparse. Given that curricular change is currently afoot, the context is ripe to explore more deeply how leadership at all levels of the school plays a role in curriculum reform. Religious influence on school leadership Several studies have focussed on this theme, describing how school leaders create inclusive schools when the school’s vision and values typically tend to be singularly determined

or heavily influenced by particular, mostly Catholic, religious influences. While ethos and spirituality have been reported in some studies to result in inclusive practices, in some studies they have been reported as legitimising exclusion. A key issue for school leaders on the ground, given the on-going debate on the role and extent of religious influence on publicly-managed schools, has feeling left in limbo about matters such as participation in religious instruction and enrolment policy due to a lack of decisive policy-making on the matter and a complex education system architecture by international standards. Gavin’s teaching and research focuses on teachers’ and school leaders’ education, both nationally and internationally. In 2018, Gavin was an Endeavour Research Fellowship holder at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education. This full research overview Murphy, G. (2019): ’A systematic review and thematic synthesis of research on school leadership in the Republic of Ireland: 2008-2018’ by the Journal of Educational Administration is available at https://doi.org/10.1108/ JEA-11-2018-0211 If you wish to contact Gavin, please email him to gavin.murphy@ucd.ie. LINK TO STUDY

Leading educational reform The array of educational reforms over the past decade has been found by some researchers to be connected to negatively impacting school leaders’ emotions. Nonetheless, research has found that school leaders play a key 13

LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools

PETER CREEDON RETIRED PRINCIPAL OF ST AIDANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PS, ENNISCORTHY, A DEIS BAND I SCHOOL Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, was initiated in 2005 by the Department of Education and Science (as it was then known) as their main intervention to tackle educational disadvantage in schools. It streamlined a number of previous interventions. In 2017, a new DEIS plan outlined five goals to build on the success of the programme going forward. Goal 1 - To implement a more robust and responsive Assessment Framework for identification of schools and effective resource allocation Using information held by the Central Statistics Office and the schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; POD system, DES aims to improve the identification of needs of schools. A very welcome development is that this is now done independently of the school and removes the previous onus on schools to collect this sensitive information from parents and the onerous paperwork that went with it. There is mention of a verification process with which schools can check the accuracy of the data used. However, this is vague and the process needs more transparency so schools can be confident that their needs are being met by DES. Goal 2 - To improve the learning experiences and outcomes of pupils in DEIS schools Certainly, the extra supports of DEIS resulted in improvement in pupilsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; literacy and maths attainments. A welcome development is the Schools Excellence Fund, where schools can apply for funding for innovative programmes aimed at improving learning outcomes. Schools would be more confident in adopting evidencebased programmes that have worked successfully in an Irish context. Goal 3 - To improve the capacity of school leaders and teachers to engage, plan and deploy resources to their best advantages The report acknowledges that success in education is dependent on the 14

quality of leadership in schools. To build on this, the plan envisages further supporting the DEIS planning process and prioritising access for principals of DEIS schools to leadership programmes. This is commendable and should be easy to implement. The 2005 plan outlined the setting up of a sabbatical scheme involving 50 teachers annually, to take a year out to do in-service which would benefit their schools on their return. This was a good idea in 2005 and is still a good idea now. Regrettably, it was never implemented. Burnout among teachers and principals was one of the main concerns DEIS schools reported in the review. Perhaps if those teachers, and particularly school leaders of DEIS schools, had the opportunity to renew themselves through such a scheme, burnout could be avoided. Ideally, a pilot scheme would be introduced, perhaps starting with school leaders with longer service, to take this part of the plan forward.

online portal where good practice will be showcased and information posted regarding external supports and services. In the first years of DEIS, DES did organise regional gatherings of principals of DEIS schools â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as part of the excellent PDST CumasĂş programme - where good practice was shared and professional contacts enabled. It would likely require little effort to reinstate this programme and provide much-needed support to those leading our DEIS schools.

Goal 4 - To support and foster best practice in schools, through interagency collaboration The 2005 plan placed an emphasis on schools working with each other and other agencies through the Home School Clusters and School Completion Committees. This meant that interventions could be targeted properly and duplication of resources avoided and resulted in a positive effect on school attendance, progression and participation. Improved early yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; provision has also been a huge benefit to DEIS schools by increased pupil attendance, but the plan lacks clarity in how agencies can ensure that all children access these programmes.

- ACCREDITED COURSE FOR TEACHERS

Goal 5 - To support the work of schools by providing the research, information, evaluation and feedback to achieve the goal of the plan. DEIS has been positive but there is very little evidence-based information on what is working in schools and therefore little or no sharing of good practice. The DES plan to set up a DEIS

Peter was principal of St Aidanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s from 1994 to 2019. St Aidanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is the largest DEIS Band I school in the country, with 850 pupils of 38 nationalities, and 66 staff.

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In Memory of

JOHN

RIP

September 2019

Meaney 1968-2018

THE STAFF OF ST COLMCILLE’S NS THE QUAY, WESTPORT, CO. MAYO

Our deepest sympathy lies with John’s wife Siobhan and his four young children. John was born and bred in the town of Westport. He loved his home town and couldn’t understand why anyone would want to live anywhere else. As the town united in grief for his funeral, the esteem and fondness by which he was held was very evident. He was very much part of Westport and is sadly missed. John grew up in Westport. On leaving school he studied for his B.Ed Degree in Mary Immaculate College Of Education in Limerick from 1986 to 1989. On graduating, he took up teaching positions in various schools in his native Mayo, including the CBS in Westport and Newport National School. In February 1997, he was appointed as principal in The Quay School, Westport and held this post for twenty one years. John loved the school and his loyalty and dedication was second to none. He was immensely proud of the achievements of the children and encouraged all to reach their

full potential on all levels, in the classroom, on the sports field and beyond. This is seen in the variety of opportunities afforded to the children in the school, from sports to technology, art to music, quizzes to gardening, there was room and time for all. The children loved when John would bounce into the classroom with news of an up and coming event or treat … and treats they got many. The children held Mr Meaney in high esteem and had great respect for him. Their grief at his passing is testament to this. As a staff, losing our principal was difficult, losing our friend was heartbreaking. At the helm for twenty one years, he lead a very good team. Teachers came and went but the ethos of the holistic education of the children in our care remained. We all have our strengths and he valued that. We all have our personal lives and he valued that also. John, we miss you dearly. We appreciate your hard work, dedication and sheer determination to get things

done. Only now when you are no longer with us do we see the true expanse of the work you did to help make our school what it is today. For all of that we thank you. We miss your presence in the office, in the classroom and in the staffroom. We miss your stories , your ‘What’s Apps’ and your text messages . You were always the first with breaking news, be it the passing of a local, the latest deal on Ryan Air flights or world-changing events, not to forget the temperature of the yard on a snowy morning. We miss the political debates and updates on golf and tennis. We miss the way you wanted everything finished before it even started. That went down particularly well at staff meetings - done and dusted. And every evening when we leave the school we miss hearing you say ‘Enjoy your evening’. This mantra will echo silently in the corridors of The Quay School for many years to come. John, you may have left us but your legacy remains as our principal, our colleague, our friend. May you rest in peace.

LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

www.ippn.ie Latest resources

If your school has a policy or plan that is not available on ippn.ie, or which would supplement available resources, we would appreciate if you would submit it for review by email to rachel.hallahan@ ippn.ie. The following are the new resources available in the different sections of the website:

RESOURCES

DES CIRCULARS n 051/2019 - Recruitment and Appointment Procedures for Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) n 0050/2019 - Revision of Salaries for all Staff paid directly by a recognised School or ETB with effect from 1 September 2019 n 0047/2019 - Revision of Salaries with effect from 1 September 2019 for Clerical Officers and Caretakers employed in National Schools under the 1978/79 Scheme for Clerical Officers employed in Post Primary Schools under the 1978 Scheme n 0046/2019 - Revision of Salaries for Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) with effect from 1 September 2019 n 0044/2019 - Recruitment/ Promotion and Leadership for Registered Teachers in Recognised Primary Schools n 0043/2019 - Home Tuition Grant Scheme 2019/2020 – Special Education Component n 0041/2019 - Public Service Stability Agreement 2013 – 2020 - Revision of Teacher Salaries with effect from 1 September 2019 n 0035/2019 - Changes to the Career Break Scheme for Special Needs Assistants employed in recognised Primary and Post Primary Schools Employment while on Career Break C n 0034/2019 - Revision of Capitation Grant Rates for recognised Primary M Schools in 2019 Y n 0032/2019 - Appointment of Administrative Deputy Principal CM and Staffing Arrangements in MY Special Schools for the 2019/2020 CY school year CMY n 0030/2019 - Recruitment of Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) K - Supplementary Assignment Arrangements for the 2019/20 school year n 0027/2019 - Multi-Annual Summer Works Scheme (SWS) 2020 Onwards n 0026/2019 - Information in relation to Standardised Testing and Other 16

Matters Academic Year 2018/19 and Subsequent Years n 0022/2019 - Revision of 2011 Entrant Teacher Salaries with effect from 1 March 2019 – Application of Additional Increments under the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013-2020 (Haddington Road Agreement/Lansdowne Road Agreement) n 0021/2019 - Application of additional increments awarded in relation to New Entrants under the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013-2020 (Haddington Road Agreement/Lansdowne Road Agreement) RESOURCE BUNDLES Distributed Leadership: Recruiting and Appointing: Deputy Principal (Internal) & Assistant Principals n Recruiting and Appointing Deputy Principal - Open Competition (revised) n

SCHOOL POLICIES Anaphylaxis Policy n Multi-grade teaching - Issues & Strategies n

PARENTS & PUPILS n Standardised Tests & Results FORMS & TEMPLATES ASD Reports

STAFF MANAGEMENT Deputy Principal Post iCard_Leadership_Advert.pdf n IPPN Guide to Interviews1 –06/08/2019 DP (open competition)

Sample Interview Questions – DP (Open Competition) n Sequence Of Activity For DP (Open Competition) Recruitment and Appointment n Sample Criteria & Marking Sheet n

PLANNING PROMPTS A new prompt is uploaded each week to this section.

SUPPORTS

E-SCÉALS A new E-scéal is uploaded each week to this section. LEADERSHIP+ n Issue 109 - May 2019

ADVOCACY

SUBMISSIONS n Presentation at DES Small Schools Symposium – see page 8 n Reduced Timetable n The use of physical intervention for the prevention and management of crisis situations n Oireachtas Procedures

ABOUT US

NATIONAL COUNCIL REPORTS Meeting Updates 18/19 Meeting Reports n 15th June 2019 ABOUT IPPN Learn More n IPPN CLG Constitution – as ratified by IPPN National Council on 15th 16:35:14 June 2019

September 2019

How to Spend your

ICT Grant?

PETER COAKLEY RETIRED PRINCIPAL OF ST MARY’S BNS, MAYNOOTH, CO. KILDARE AND IPPN REPRESENTATIVE RE. ICT IN SCHOOLS

25 years ago Robbie O’Leary, renowned leader in the use of digital technologies (DTs) in primary education, had a wellrepeated mantra – “It’s not about the technology – it’s about how you use it.” The same holds true today. So when considering ‘what should I buy’, a good starting point is to look inwards at the strengths and needs of your school. There are a number of supports to assist you to do this: What I have learned is that: n School Evaluation Reports: Subject Inspection or WSE Reports are a good starting point to help you identify areas where you may wish to support improvement, using DTs. n Standardised Test Results: These may guide you to specific areas of the curriculum where DTs could benefit the teaching and learning. n Looking at Our School: Your ongoing SSE process and SIPs may also be helpful in directing where DTs could be focused. http://schoolself-evaluation. ie/primary/wp-content/ uploads/sites/2/2016/08/ Looking-at-Our-School-2016-AQuality-Framework-for-PrimarySchools_English_WEB.pdf LINK

Selfie: Not to be confused with the internet safety programme (My Selfie) this is a free, easyto-use, customisable tool to help schools assess where they are on their digital journey and identify areas for improvement. (https:// ec.europa.eu/education/schoolsgo-digital_en) LINK

EQUIPMENT/HARDWARE/ RESOURCES, ETC. While embedding DTs in the school’s learning environment, the ultimate priority must always be enhancing children’s learning and access to the curriculum. Following are some points to consider and a selection of resources that are currently being put to highly effective use in schools. It is by no means comprehensive. WIFI NETWORK With the shift towards handheld/ portable devices, this is becoming a basic requirement. COMPUTATIONAL THINKING (CT) This is the development of logical reasoning skills and enhancing children’s problem solving ability. It is becoming a core skill in the digital age. Some excellent computational activities are available through Bebras, who organise a competition each year. Lots of free practice activities are available at https:// challenge.bebras.uk/ LINK https://challenge.bebras.uk/index. php?action=user_competitions Synonymous with CT are Coding and Robotics, which are very much interlinked. LINK

Digital Learning Framework (DLF): Your staff’s engagement with the DLF last year and the initial Digital Learning Plan will already have identified actions you intend to undertake.

ROBOTICS Schools are using a wide variety of hardware/apps in this area. Some include: n Bee/Blu Bots, Ozo Bots, Pro Bots n Sphero, Sphero Mini n Lego WeDo 2.0/ Lego Mindstorms EV3

The Bee Bots suitable from Infant level are an excellent, easy child/ teacher-friendly way of introducing robotics/coding. The others can be used progressively up the class levels.

CODING Scratch Junior, Scratch 3.0, BBC Micro Bit - Scratch Junior, progressing onto Scratch, are free, easy to learn, downloadable, ‘block’ coding programmes. The micro bit is a small programmable electronic card, for which many add-ons are available. Also, www.code.org has excellent resources for introducing coding.

TABLETS Some schools are using android and other hand-held devices very effectively. I chose iPads for their versatility, huge range of high quality educational apps, ease of use, battery life, uncomplicated operating system, simplicity of camera/sound recording, etc. Their use is almost limitless. There is an enormous range of applications for supporting not only literacy and numeracy, but all areas of the primary curriculum. Wonderful examples of such use can be seen at https://www. pdsttechnologyineducation.ie/en/ Good-Practice/Videos/ and https:// www.dlplanning.ie/teaching-learning/ LINK

LINK

Continued overleaf 17

LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

iPads can be used with most, if not all, of the aforementioned Robotics and Coding suggestions. Note: When costing iPads/Tablets, remember to include the cost of individual protective cases, charging and management software (if required).

applications such Mentimeter, etc.

Kahoot,

E-PORTFOLIOS Many teachers are using the free Class Dojo, which allows for some pupil work to be displayed. A growing number of schools are purchasing Seesaw, which is a much more comprehensive digital portfolio and ‘communication to parent’ tool. NUMERACY AND LITERACY ONLINE SUBSCRIPTIONS You pay an annual licence fee per pupil, which allows access at school and at home e.g. Mathletics, Khan Academy, Reading Eggs, etc.

ASSESSMENT As well as digital versions of a range of standardised and diagnostic tests, there are also many informal

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS n Hardware: Chromebooks/ Notebooks/Laptops n Cloud Storage: Google Drive/ Dropbox n Augmented Reality, Green Screen, QR Codes, Podcasts, Video/Fís, Virtual Reality n Google Classroom & G-Suite vs Microsoft 365

OTHER RESOURCES & IDEAS n Scoilnet - Learning Paths in particular – flipped classroom https://www.scoilnet.ie/ LINK n PDST Technology in Education - https://www. pdsttechnologyineducation.ie/ en/Technology/ LINK n School Excellence Fund Digital: (Digital Learning Clusters) https://www. pdsttechnologyineducation.ie/ en/Good-Practice/Projects/ LINK Clusters/ Whatever you decide to purchase, ensure you know how you intend to use it to support and enhance learning in your school. If you are considering trying something new, I would highly recommend a visit to a nearby Digital School of Distinction or a school already using the DT you have in mind - Ar scáth a chéile a mhairimíd. Peter Coakley recently retired as principal of Maynooth Boys NS and continues to collaborate with IPPN in supporting the use of digital technologies in Irish schools.

LEARNING.GAA.IE/5STAR

2019-2020

@GAA5star

InTouch 5Star Advert.indd 1

17/05/2019 16:38

September 2019

GAA 5 Star Centre: New National Development Initiative for Primary Schools ORLAITH HENNESSEY PRINCIPAL OF TINRYLAND NS, CARLOW

Last May, Tinryland NS became the first school ever to become an official GAA 5 Star Centre. It was one of 300 schools to roll out the initiative as part of Phase 1 of the national pilot. The GAA 5 Star Centre initiative aims to ensure that every child gets 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week throughout the school year, which enhances their movement abilities and well-being. We are thrilled to become a GAA 5 Star Centre. The online sign-up process is quick and easy. We had a planning meeting with Sean Gannon of Carlow GAA, who explained what the programme entailed and how he could contribute. Carlow GAA development staff provided training for teachers after school. The range of online and print learning resources are relevant to the curriculum and are user-friendly.

It is good to have some external coaching from development staff and club volunteers. But we see this programme as a teacher-led initiative. We believe that the 5 Star Centre is a way of facilitating self-sufficiency and sustainability in our promotion and development of Gaelic games and wider physical activity in the school. The children love the wide range of activities. It not only includes the full spectrum of Gaelic games, but fundamental movement skills development and the non-contact game of Fun & Run. The 5 Star Centre is a great way of encouraging teachers and pupils to be more physically active. Every class does at least 6 hours of any activity they wish over six weeks. In addition, one or more of the classes does 26 or more hours across the school year. 74 hours of activity

was our target. What we found is that we doubled this. We include lunchtime yard games where, under teacher supervision, 5th & 6th pupils organise activities – Strike It and Catch & Kick – for the younger pupils. We also play lots of Go Games after school. The GAA 5 Star Centre is the complete package for any school beginning the journey of developing physical literacy, as well as for those trying to enhance their established sport and physical activity programmes. Most importantly, it gives every single child in the school, including those with disabilities, an opportunity to have a positive experience of Gaelic games. We will be proud to have a GAA 5 Star Centre flag flying above our school and will definitely be continuing the programme next year.

LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

The Fish Philosophy

CÓILÍN Ó COIGLIGH PRINCIPAL OF BUNSCOIL MHUIRE, BAILE ÁTHA TROIM, CO. NA MÍ It all started with the true story of Mary Jane who moved to Seattle with her husband and young family to further both their careers. Mary Jane worked with First Guarantee Financial in central Seattle. After her husband died unexpectedly, she was left with a mountain of medical bills and only one salary on which to raise her family. She was offered a promotion to be supervisor of “The Third Floor” also known as “The Toxic Energy Dump”. They were poor at customer service and also service within the company. There was low morale and low productivity there and no one wanted to work in such a negative environment. She needed the money and decided to give it a go. “How bad could it be?” she thought. Worse than she ever imagined, she realised almost immediately.

One day, on her lunch break, she left the building and instead of turning right she turned left. After a while she heard some commotion. She soon came upon the Pike Place Fish Market and observed guys selling fish in a fun way that was most entertaining and uplifting. These guys had to start work at the crack of dawn and unpack smelly, frozen and cold products which stank! Yet they were having great fun. They were making the most boring, humdrum, low-fun task seem like the best time of their lives. Business was booming. She befriended Lennie, one of the workers. Over a short period of time Lennie explained to her the four principles behind their Fish Philosophy. Mary Jane reckoned if it worked for the 20

Do something nice for those you work with and for. Have fun/Play: The fishmongers had a great time chatting and laughing with their customers and each other. We can be serious about our work without taking ourselves too seriously. fishmongers, it should also work for the Third Floor. She called a meeting of the Third Floor and invited them to visit the Fish Market. They did and were blown away. If guys who were working with cold, smelly products and spent their days up to their ankles in smelly blood and guts could have a good time, why couldn’t they? They decided to set up committees to work on the four principles. Choose Your Attitude: The fishmongers could have focussed on the difficulties of their jobs but chose to have fun and enjoy what each day brought them. We decide. There is always a choice about the way we do our work, even if there is no choice about the work itself. We can choose the attitude we bring to our work. No one but ourselves can tell us how we feel today. Be Present/Be There: The fishmongers focused on the customers in front of them and included them in the fun. Give your co-worker, customer, boss, spouse, child etc your undivided attention. Focus on them.

Make their Day: The playful way the fishmongers did their work allowed them to engage in a fun way with their customers and their fellow workers.

Find Ways To Let Staff Discover The Fish Philosophy For Themselves. Mary Jane realized it wouldn’t work to simply tell her staff about the Pike Market. They saw it for themselves and then came up with a plan for each of the four principles.

To see how we did that in St Mary’s, Trim, follow these steps (Augmented Reality): 1. Download HP Reveal app. 2. Username: fishphilosophy 3. Password: fishvideos 4. Click the blue square on your phone screen and hold your device over each of the five symbols below and a video will appear.

September 2019

IPPN Presidents

Farewell and Welcome! We bid a very warm adieu to outgoing IPPN President, David Ruddy, and an equally warm welcome to incoming President Damian White. The role of IPPN President is not for the faint-hearted! As well as representing the organisation at many and varied events and meetings throughout the two-year term of office, the role also involves working side by side with the IPPN CEO and staff at the National Support Office to drive and deliver on IPPN’s Strategic Plan, as well as chairing meetings of the IPPN Board of Directors and National Council, among countless other activities, projects and tasks.

David Ruddy We bid a very warm adieu to outgoing IPPN President, David Ruddy, and an equally warm welcome to incoming President Damian White. The role of IPPN President is not for the faint-hearted! As well as representing the organisation at many and varied events and meetings throughout the two-year term of office, the role also involves working side by side with the IPPN CEO and staff at the National Support Office to drive and deliver on IPPN’s Strategic Plan, as well as chairing meetings of the IPPN Board of Directors and National Council, among countless other activities, projects and tasks. During the period 2017 to 2019, David Ruddy, who was principal of Talbot SNS in Clondalkin, Dublin, oversaw a number of key pieces of work. This included a focus on building strong, positive and collaborative relationships and working tirelessly to advocate among stakeholders for progress on IPPN’s stated priorities for school leaders; an overhaul of the IPPN Constitution; and ensuring compliance with the various elements of legislation. These are just a few of the many significant and challenging projects David led or contributed to. We thank David sincerely for so ably steering the IPPN ship over the past two years and wish him the very best in his future endeavours.

Damian White Damian White, IPPN President 2019-2021, is no stranger to IPPN, having been involved from the very beginning as a founding member, as a member of IPPN’s Executive Committee from 2003 (now the Board of Directors), as Leadership+ Editor for many years, and authoring close to 100 articles in Leadership+. Damian, who is principal of Scoil Shinchill, Killeigh Co. Offaly, has wasted no time getting involved in the detailed work of IPPN and he has been working on the advocacy and representation aspects of the role over the past several months. Damian’s key priorities as IPPN president are to push for sustainable school leadership at all levels, particularly in small schools, and to increase the support for, and engagement with, deputy principals. He will continue to develop strong relationships with stakeholders and to make sure the voice of school leaders is heard. In recent weeks, Damian has taken a lead role in consulting and advocating for school leaders in relation to Budget 2020 and he will continue to use his network of contacts to further that aim. I look forward to working closely with Damian and progressing IPPN’s key priorities.

For more information on David and Damian’s biographical details, please refer to www.ippn.ie – About Us – Our People – Board of Directors. LINK

LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

Sustainable Leadership

Part 1 – The Aims of the PIEW Model

FINBARR HURLEY PRIMARY CO-ORDINATOR AT THE CENTRE FOR SCHOOL LEADERSHIP “The key is not to prioritise what’s in your schedule, but to schedule your priorities” Stephen Covey (1989). Even though quoted thirty years ago, Covey’s words on prioritisation still ring true today. Our schools are extremely busy places and we, as school leaders, are at a point of complete saturation which inevitevibly leads to stress and burn out. Sustainable Leadership for our school leadership involves many facets, from true distributed leadership, which becomes a culture in our school and not just superficial delegation, to looking at the prioritisation of what we do in schools.

ideas on a Wait list until it comes under a school priority area. The P I E W Model aims to help prioritise what is happening in our schools; controls the flow of good ideas and initiatives and assists in structuring the workload, informed by SSE and the SIP which is rooted in LAOS 2016. AIMS OF P I E W The aim of P I E W is to provide school leaders with a practical model which will n n

The challenge of sustainable school leadership can be summed up as establishing two or three priorities for your school, setting goals to achieve them and then single-mindedly organising your team to set about accomplishing them. Once you have put your strategic priorities in place, it is easier to say no to off-mission activities, to be present for your staff, pupils and parents and to cope with the unexpected. Speaking at the Deputy Principals’ Conference in 2018, Dr. Harold Hislop, Chief Inspector at the DES, urged school leaders to do things differently. He advocated for schools to consider identifying priorities for their schools based on their capacity and context; that these priorities should be informed by the Quality Framework for Primary Schools in Looking At Our Schools (LAOS 2016), linked to School Self Evaluation and the school’s own School Improvement Plan. This is where the P I E W Model will assist in this task. IPPN is proposing a model of planning which eases the burden on school leaders by assisting them to prioritise what is happening in their schools. The model is based on a 6-year cycle of Piloting / Planning, Implementing and Embedding projects / initiatives whilst putting the good 22

n n

not impose an extra workload on school leadership allow school leadership control and manage the flow of initiatives into the school enable school leadership to manage the expectations of those who would exert pressure to have their initiative adopted by the school to the exclusion of others – to empower school leadership to say ‘No’, politely will aid in structuring the workload of school leaders provide a means of prioritising initiatives, considering: l the capacity of the school at any given time l the ability of the initiative to enhance Teaching and Learning l their importance, at the particular time, in relation to competing initiatives l the willingness and recognition by the school staff that the initiative will be taken through all phases – Pilot, Implementation and Embedding.

In the next issue of Leadership+, I will explore how to prioritise and the P I E W model in practice. See also Maria Tully’s piece in this issue on page 30. HOW DO I PRIORITISE? The most important tasks in a school context will be those which progress Teaching and Learning - the raison

d’être of the school. Prioritising allows you identify the most important tasks at any moment - the tasks most deserving of attention, energy, and time. It allows you to spend more time on the right things. Prioritisation aids in planning and minimising stress.There are many starting points from where a school can begin to prioritise their workload including: SIP The SIP will identify the important projects to be undertaken by the school in order to improve the quality of Teaching and Learning for the pupils Inspectorate The DES will often make helpful suggestions in the course of their visits to schools. Many of these are issues which the school will be in a position to address immediately while others may be considered as initiatives which would require school wide planning and implementation Good Ideas In addition, there will be a plethora of “Good Ideas” which various people and bodies will recommend to the school as being of immense value to the pupils. Examples of this include n Ideas which School Leaders and Teachers bring back from attending courses or from talking to other professionals n Initiatives run by Patron Bodies n Promotions by groups such as those offering flags or other recognition of the school for pursuing their policies THE P I E W MODEL IN PRACTICE P: Pilot Phase – Years 1 & 2 In this phase, the school takes a project or area of improvement (this is dependent on the school’s capacity and usually defined by the SSE process and resulting SIP or by one of the starting points mentioned above) and pilots it for 2 years. During this phase those teachers and pupils involved will come to grips with the project and

September 2019

PILOT PROJECTS

WAIT LIST PROJECTS

Years 1 & 2 IMPLEMENTATION PROJECTS

EXCEPTIONAL IMPERATIVES

Years 3 & 4

Unforeseen

EMBEDDING PROJECTS

Awaiting a Vacancy

Years 5 & 6 tweak it to suit the school’s particular needs and culture. I: Implementation Phase – Years 3 & 4 During this phase, the school is ready to implement the project/area of improvement throughout the school. It will by now have been adapted to suit the school. Careful monitoring is still required in this phase E: Embedding Phase – Years 5 & 6 In this phase, the school begins the process of embedding the project into the ‘DNA’ of the school. By the end of year 6, the project has become part of the school’s standard operating procedure EXCEPTIONAL IMPERATIVES Exceptional Imperatives are initiatives of a magnitude which places them on a par with items on the School Plan. They are outside of our control, arise unexpectedly and have to be given precedence. They will therefore have an immediate impact on the capacity of the school to deliver on its School Plan. Exceptional Imperatives normally arise as a result of Government policy / legislation which is often, though not always, mediated through the DES. Examples in the 2017 / 2018 school year were Child Protection and GDPR. In impelemtning P I E W it is necessary to take a step back and audit what

is already going on in the school especailly in the area of Teaching and Learning. A few easy steps to do this would include: Step 1: List the current initiatives The first step is to make a list of these initiatives and put them on the Grid. This gives everyone a clear perspective on the range and scope of curricular based initiatives which are already in place in the school Step 2: Celebrate Take time to celebrate with the Staff the work that is already being done in the school and thank them for it. The BoM might be encouraged to recognise and show appreciation also Step 3: Populate the Waiting List The Waiting List will be populated in the first instance from suggestions from the Teaching Staff and then from the various sources as listed above. A number of key questions should be asked of any initiative which seeks to be included in the Waiting List. These include: Why should the school undertake this initiative? n How does this initiative contribute towards or enhance the Teaching and Learning in this school? n How does this initiative give expression to an item in the Quality Framework? n

Is this initiative rooted in the curriculum? n Why is this initiative more important, at this time, than the other initiatives on the Waiting List? n Are we as a School Staff prepared to undertake this initiative for a period of 6 years and see it through the Pilot, Implementation and Embedding Phases? n Have we got the capacity to undertake this initiative properly? n

Step 4 : Being the Process Choose what you have prioritised from your planning and begin the journey of piloting, implementing and embedding it in school culture. When this has been achieved, only then will the school look at the Wait List and choose from it an initiative or project that is in line with what has been prioritised for that school year. Sometimes the simplest protocols are the most effective. The P I E W Model developed and advocated by IPPN will assist school leadership in taking control and prioritising their Teaching and Learning intiatives in school; give the school community a clear vision and focus and aid in one facet of sustaining the leadership in our schools. More information regarding P I E W is available on www.ippn.ie under Resource Bundles. LINK

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LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

Towards a Better Future

NAPD PRINCIPALS AND DEPUTY PRINCIPALS

A Review of the Irish School System DR. JOHN COOLAHAN (RIP), DR. SHEELAGH DRUDY, DR. PÁDRAIG HOGAN, DR. ÁINE HYLAND, DR. SÉAMUS McGUINNESS

CHAPTER 4: Assessment – Part I

This is the fifth in a series of excerpts from the IPPN/NAPD-commissioned research publication. In this issue, we present excerpts from the first sections of Chapter 4 – Assessment: Primary and Junior Cycle. In the interests of brevity, we have focused here on excerpts relating to the primary sector only. The next issue of Leadership+ will look at standardised assessment results, performance patterns and considerations for the future. Introduction Up to the late 1960s, assessment policy and practices in Ireland were mainly limited to externally devised and administered terminal examinations. What happened in relation to inschool assessments was in the main undocumented and at post-primary level, school-administered end-of-term tests were mainly a mirror image of the public examinations. This was not very different to that in most developed countries at this time. However, policy changes introduced in Ireland from the mid-1960s onwards led to widespread debate on curriculum development and assessment. At primary level, the abolition of the Primary Certificate examination in 1967 and the introduction of a new primary curriculum in 1971 opened up new opportunities for schools to develop assessment policies free from the demands of a centrally-devised examination system. With this came the introduction of standardised tests in literacy and numeracy aimed at monitoring standards across the system (DES, 2012). This created a basis for renewed discussions on assessment and standards, especially in the light of unsubstantiated claims that the abolition of the external examination would inevitably lead to falling standards in literacy and numeracy. Nature, Scope and Purposes of Assessment Internationally, following the downturn in the economy in the early 1970s, schools came under increasing scrutiny mainly because, it was contended, that they were not producing students with employable skills. Questions were raised as to whether schools were making 24

a difference to the advancement of their pupils, above that already conferred on them by their home and social background. There followed a wave of research studies into school effectiveness and school improvement, and a new emphasis on assessment. This became evident in some countries in the competency testing movement, the introduction of standardised testing and the publication of school league tables based on examination results. Assessment involves the use of a range of techniques aimed at capturing the achievement of students across a wide span of knowledge and competences. It is defined by the NCCA (2007, p.7) as: The process of gathering, recording, interpreting, using, and reporting a child’s progress and achievement in developing knowledge, skills and attitudes. While the emphasis is generally placed on the assessment of cognitive and psychomotor skills, it is also important not to lose sight of the role of key skills in the ‘affective domain’ such as the ability to work alone, to work in groups, to participate in classroom discussions, etc. that can have a significant influence on the motivation and development of learners. These form part of the informal observations that teachers make on a daily basis in classrooms. Assessment forms an integral component of the curriculum development process. Its fundamental purpose is to promote and support high quality teaching and learning. In the past, assessment policies have frequently been developed in isolation from the aims, objectives and content

of the curriculum. In such a scenario, assessment can unwittingly dominate the teaching and learning process and thus frustrate the intentions of developers by narrowing the focus of instruction to that which is measured. This can be especially so in the case of ‘high stakes’ testing and has been described as ‘teaching to the test’. What gets tested gets taught and gets learned. Assessment has many purposes. The findings are of interest to a wide range of audiences, each having its own particular interest in the outcomes. Its main purpose is to support teaching and learning by providing feedback to pupils and teachers on the progress of the students and to assist in planning the next stages of teaching and learning. This is generally known as ‘formative assessment’ and is based on various combinations of observation of pupils’ performance in the classroom setting, homework, projects and short classroom tests. Thus, it can be seen as being contiguous with regular classroom activities. For the teacher, it requires well-developed skills in the areas of observation, test design and interpretation, record-keeping and reporting. For the pupil, it provides immediate feedback and, hopefully, motivation to tackle the next phase of learning. Assessment in this case is flexible both in its timing and in its focus, which can be on the individual pupil, specific groups in the class, or on the class as a whole. One of the main advantages of this form of assessment is its closeness to the teaching and learning activity, thereby affording the opportunity to provide immediate feedback to the learner and to chart the way forward for the next phase

September 2019

of learning, and, where necessary, to adapt pedagogical practices. ‘Summative assessment’ takes place at specific stages such as at the end of a course, term, school year or the end of a programme cycle. It can be based on a combination of teacher/class-based tests, projects, portfolios and externallyadministered examinations. Unlike formative assessment, summative assessment typically occurs at the end of a programme and thus too late to provide feedback which can inform the teaching and learning for the students in question. Assessment should not be an end in itself. Its main benefit lies in the uses that are made of the findings. Assessment outcomes not only provide feedback to students and their teachers; the findings also form an important source of information for school administration in building whole-school policies for sharing assessment data among school classes and year groups, and as a source for the development of schoolimprovement strategies. They are also of interest to the Inspectorate and to the DES in evaluating the effectiveness of the wider education system. Parents have an immediate and direct interest in the performance of their children and in this case, the reports of their school assessments form a basis for linking home and school in the learning progress. Assessment results, particularly summative assessments, are used as a basis for planning further study and by further education institutions in planning admission policies and programmes. Employers also have an interest in the certification provided on the basis of terminal examinations for employee selection purposes, while prospective parents use assessment findings as part of a strategy for the selection of schools for their children.

Standardised Assessments Introducing standardised assessments to a system can be controversial and, in the main, this depends on the purposes for which they are used. They can serve three main purposes: to support teachers’ assessments of the work of their students; to provide information on standards of achievement nationally; and to provide information on standards of achievements internationally. When, however, the results of such tests are used solely for accountability purposes, such as in developing and publishing league tables of schools and consequent competition, they can have detrimental consequences in narrowing teaching and learning to what the tests purport to measure. Ireland participates in a range of standardised tests, both nationally and internationally, and happily, the findings reported are used to best effect to support and promote the achievement of students and to consider any strengths or weaknesses identified in the programmes being offered.

achievement in Mathematics and Science every four years and was first conducted in 1995. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted under the auspices of the Organisation for Economic and Cultural Development (OECD), assesses achievements in Reading Literacy, Mathematics and Science every three years since 2000. The ERC, in addition to managing the administration of the various surveys, also provides a most valuable and professional service in preparing and issuing detailed reports on how students in Ireland perform on the various assessment surveys. In considering the findings of standardised tests, or indeed any other tests of achievement, it is important to bear in mind that any single test result only provides a limited picture of achievement and needs to be interpreted against other test findings and the context in which they are conducted. However, analysing the outcomes of assessments conducted over a number of cycles of the same survey programme can be useful in tracing trends in achievements over time. In the interests of coherence and in order to facilitate comparisons between studies, assessments conducted at primary level are grouped together, and similarly those at postprimary level. In so doing, differences in all aspects relating to the design and administration of the various assessment programmes should be borne in mind when comparing outcomes. As noted above, the remaining sections of Chapter 4 will be summarised in the next issue of Leadership+. To download an electronic version of the publication, go to www.ippn.ie – Advocacy – Publications. To purchase a hard copy, go to www.otb.ie and put ‘towards a better future’ in the search box.

Tow

ards a There is a long-standing practice BETTER in Ireland in conducting national surveys FUTURE in A Review level of attainment at primary of the Irish School System English reading and Mathematics. About the Authors International assessments of Reading Literacy, Mathematics and Science at both primary and post-primary levels have been conducted. The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) survey takes place every five years and is conducted under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Ireland took part in PIRLS for the first time in 2011. Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), also conducted under the auspices of IEA, surveys

Towards a Better Future

Dr. John Coolahan is Emeritus Professo r of Education at the National University of Ireland Maynooth.

Dr. Sheelagh Drudy is Emeritus Professo r of Education and former Head of the School of Education at UCD.

- A Review of the Irish

Dr. Pádraig Hogan is Senior Lecturer in Education at the National University of Ireland, Maynoo th.

School System

Dr Áine Hyland is Emeritus Professor of Educatio n and former Vice-President of Universi ty College Cork, Ireland.

Dr. Séamus McGuin ness is a former Senior Lecturer in the School of Educatio n, Trinity College, Dublin.

BETTER FUTURE A Review of the Irish School System

John Coolahan | Sheel agh Drudy Pádraig Hogan | Áine Hyland Séamus McGuinness

PRINCIPALS AND D EPUTY PRINCIPALS

ISBN 978-0-9555050-5-

Towards a

NAPD

Assessment at Primary The abolition in 1967 of the Primary Certificate examination and the introduction of the new primary school curriculum in 1971, later updated in 1999, were significant policy decisions that supported new initiatives in teaching, learning and assessment. Up to this stage, assessment practices at primary level were largely informal. As assessment practice was no longer dominated by a terminal external examination in Irish, English and Mathematics, schools were provided with greater latitude to concentrate on assessment strategies more closely geared to the on-going development of their pupils.

Assessment of this nature is described as having four main features: formative, summative, diagnostic and evaluative (NCCA, 2007, p.3). Formative assessment encompasses a wide range of techniques including teacher observation, discussions in the class, performance on homework, projects, portfolios, pupil self-assessment, and teacher-designed tests that are usually administered at the end of a section of a programme or at the end of the year. A new focus on two distinct but related concepts of assessment has come into focus: Assessment of Learning (AoL) and Assessment for Learning (AfL). The former relates to monitoring the ongoing achievement of pupils throughout their schooling and the latter summing up the attainment reached at particular stages in the system.

Published by the Irish Primary Principals’ Network National Association and the of Principals and Deputy Principals

NAPD PRINCIPALS AND D EPUTY PRINCIPALS

LINK

PRINCIPAL IN PROFILE

Mad About Life CAROL WHITE PRINCIPAL OF BOHER NS, CO. WESTMEATH

On a cold Saturday morning last November, I found myself spraying grey colour into my hair and popping on some “old lady” clothes in the back of my car beside our local greyhound breeders’ yard - not exactly Universal Studios, but I was so excited for what lay ahead. ‘A Night at the OsKars’ (sic) was looming and I was an old scary posh lady in our movie ‘Man About Dog’ as part of a fundraiser for my local GAA club. Hollywood bound I wasn’t, but for me, taking part in this amazing event represented more than just raising funds for our club - it was the first time in years that I had been able to give time to something outside of work. I was fortunate to be the Administrative Principal of the Presentation School in Thurles for the previous 5 years, but living in Tullamore meant that I had a 3-hour commute every school day, not including all the extra days that we have to put in! My day started at 5.40am when the dreaded alarm bleeped and I didn’t return most evenings until after 6pm. I’d be back in the bed by 9.30pm - not exactly the life of a superstar! My weekends consisted completely of housework. I was very fortunate, however, that I enjoyed my work and loved the people I worked with. Because of this, leaving my job never really entered my head until a phone call came one day in early July 2017 when I was working the July Provision. The call was from my brother informing me that my dad had been in an accident and was on his way to hospital. That was the longest journey home ever and was the day that I decided that I needed to look for work closer to home, closer to my family (I’m a bit of a homebird!). Making the decision was the easy bit, but getting a job was going to be a bigger hurdle. As I was an administrative principal, I thought that I had to move to a similar job. 26

However, throughout the following year I thought about what I wanted for my work life. It became apparent that I missed teaching but also enjoyed the leadership aspects of the job. I realised that I missed the teaching principalship. My first principal role had been as a teaching principal in Walsh Island NS, Co. Offaly where I remained for a very happy seven years before deciding to take on the new challenge in the Presentation Primary in Thurles. On applying for the principalship of my current two-teacher school in Boher, Co. Westmeath, there were many “Are you mad?” and “She must be crazy!” statements made, both to me and behind my back! People thought that I was losing my ambition or ‘stepping down’ or indeed demoting myself. For me, I was so excited at the prospect of working in a small rural community once again. I really wanted to get back to teaching (what I was trained

for!). The job in Boher NS would give me the opportunity to do both. The day I got offered the job I was holidaying in Caherciveen. It was the best feeling ever (the morning-after feeling was not so good - too many celebratory gins!). Never be afraid to go for what makes you happy. Yes, it’s scary to move job or change your role. But it is much more important to be happy and content in life. I’m now working in a fabulous school with a wonderful team of people around me and amazing children in my class. I go to work with a smile on my face most mornings! I’m free to spend time with my family and my friends during the week and partake in various activities at the weekend. Man About Dog has taught me that I’m now Mad About Life!

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Irish Primary Principals’ Network Líonra Phríomhoidí Bunscoile Éireann

LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

SMALL SCHOOLS EXCHANGE PROGRAMME IPPN and SCEL

SEÁNA HAUGHEY PRINCIPAL OF KILLAVIL NATIONAL SCHOOL, CO. SLIGO In October 2018, I was lucky to get the chance to participate in a pilot exchange programme initiated by IPPN and SCEL (Scottish College for Educational Leadership) aimed at leaders of small schools in Ireland and in Scotland. The programme involved hosting a head teacher from Scotland in my school during the week before midterm break, followed by my return visit the following week. Before returning home, we met with representatives of both IPPN and SCEL in Glasgow, where we had the opportunity to give feedback and reflect on all aspects of the programme. As principal of a two-teacher school, this exchange programme was a golden opportunity to see how things are done elsewhere. The common language and the geographical proximity of both countries added to the attraction of this particular programme - communication on all fronts was not the obstacle or challenge it might have been otherwise. Due to the fact that most small schools in Scotland are situated in the Highlands, a bit of research into the most efficient way to get there is worthwhile.

The open-ended nature of this exchange programme allowed for much discussion and debate as well as informal sharing of background information and chatting about how a whole range of scenarios are dealt with in our respective school systems. Yes, the week before midterm was a busy time to host a visitor to our school (when would be a good time?!), but having known about it for three weeks or so beforehand, this allowed enough time to prepare and adapt my work schedule. It did mean taking a few principal release days to allow for time to share my experience as a school leader with my visiting colleague. I tailored the few days to include some teaching time also so that the Scottish teacher would have the opportunity to meet the children in our school and spend some of her time working with them in the classrooms. She also met the staff of a neighbouring school while here. I was lucky enough to meet the principals of a number of schools in Scotland, however, as my colleague’s school was one of a cluster of nine schools in her area – not all small schools – one was a large school with a Special Ed unit in a nearby town. Seeing a variety of school settings was most worthwhile.

I really enjoyed sharing my school with a colleague in this way. Our pupils were delighted also to meet a principal from another school and were very interested to see what her school looked like – we took a ‘spin’ around the area on Google maps and I returned the compliment in return, showing her pupils around Killavil! The main thing I will take from this experience is how essential it is to have a good support network around you in your daily professional life as leader of a small school. The trust IPPN and SCEL put in us to set our own agendas and priorities for this exchange was hugely positive and affirming. The opportunity to spend time in another school in this way and be a ‘fly on the wall’, so to speak, was a privilege. Seeing how the education system operates on the ground in a neighbouring country was fascinating and enlightening. Our job is so busy and multi-faceted, we can at times lose sight of what really matters – our own health and well-being is number one so that we can handle each challenge we are faced with from day to day effectively in the best interest of our staff, pupils and whole school communities.

September 2019

Boards of Management

Packages from

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SINĂ&#x2030;AD COAKLEY IPPN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT With current Boards of Management coming to the end of their term on November 30th, it is timely that you have begun to look at your School Plan and considered the specific skills sets required in relation to governance for the forthcoming four-year term. Since the current boards were elected, schools, and consequently Boards, have seen the advent of increasingly complex responsibilities. GDPR regulation has changed how data is processed, child protection and HR are more complex and there are new regulations relating to tax compliance. Additionally, schools have obligations relating to FSSU and accounts. These all pose a challenge to schools, particularly small schools. The Department has also introduced inspections of leadership and learning, focusing on how the school is managed and how the board is run. All of these factors mean that being part of a school board a more onerous task than ever before, resulting in schools struggling to recruit time-poor members of the community and parents of schoolgoing children. Furthermore, our members and those serving on boards will say that often there is inadequate training available for board members, relative to the increased responsibilities of the role. There is a considerable reliance on voluntary work to govern schools in Ireland, which has led the Department to establishing a pilot shared governance model which would be responsible for a number of schools in a parish or locality. However, only two schools have availed of this option to date. Ideally, you would review your School Plan and look at the related governance

requirements. For example, if you have school building works planned in the next 4 years, you would target a trusted and experienced member of the community with the relevant experience in this area to join your board. Equally, the same could be said in terms of approaching a solicitor to support legal matters, an IT consultant to support this area of development or an accountant to manage the new requirements for schools in terms of VAT. The reality is that your school community may be small or those suitable may not have the time required to commit and you may have difficulty in finding the right people. There are options available to you however, if this is the case. Boardmatch Ireland is worth investigating in this regard. Boardmatch, is the only Irish charity that specialises in matching individuals to the skill gaps on not-for-profit boards. Boardmatch offers a free online service matching individuals from the corporate/public sectors to not-for-profit boards. Their core objective is building the governance capacity of not-for-profit boards. They do this through recruiting highly skilled individuals with a variety of different backgrounds and skills who have offered themselves as available to serve on voluntary boards in various areas of the country. Their website will allow you to search according the desired skills and location of the person and it will also allow you to post your specific board vacancy along with the skillset required. This service is used by a variety of primary schools around the country who rate it highly in identifying suitably skilled individuals to serve on their Boards.

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LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

Sustainable School Leadership

How our school is implementing the PIEW Model MARIA TULLY DEPUTY PRINCIPAL OF SCOIL PHÁDRAIG, CLANE, CO KILDARE AND IPPN BOARD MEMBER

The key question is ‘Can we do it all?’ The answer is simple. ‘No, we cannot.’ We have experienced a tsunami of initiatives in recent years that have tested the best of us, not to mention all other demands specific to our own school contexts. Endless cries of ‘There is just too much to do!’, ‘I am so overwhelmed!’ are examples of what I have heard in my own school context and I’m sure many more of you have heard similar cries in your own schools. Over the past number of years, it has been assumed that school leaders will lead reform and manage the constant stream of change, not to mention heightened expectations. We can find ourselves drowning.

We have experienced a tsunami of initiatives in recent years that have tested the best of us, not to mention all other demands specific to our own school contexts.

At the IPPN Deputy Principals’ Conference in May 2018, Harold Hislop, Príomhchigire, acknowledged the initiative overload in schools and asked us as leaders to ‘think differently’ about prioritising our workload. He spoke about the need to sequence change more effectively and the need to ‘join the dots.’ This involves using Looking at our Schools 2016 (LAOS) as a quality framework, using School Self Evaluation (SSE) as a process of internal review and a way of working that enables schools to focus on implementing change and effecting improvement in teaching and learning, and using circular 63/2017 as a model of distributed leadership which is based on the Leadership and Management domains of LAOS 2016. Together, the framework, the SSE process and the leadership model enable school leaders and staffs to review current practice. This flexible approach allows a regular review to focus on current priority needs, assume some control of the agenda and then, using the SSE approach, make a difference to teaching and learning.

IPPN EVENTS

Sounds simple? Well no, but it certainly gave me food for thought and a way of thinking that might actually work in sustaining leadership in our school and managing initiative overload. I returned to my school with a spring in my step and, at our next In School Management (ISM) meeting, discussed this way of working as a model for the following school year 2018/19. In consultation with our staff, we identified our top priorities. It is important to point out that I was making my own of the Chief Inspector’s advice and only since then has this model been developed by my colleagues in IPPN

Dates for your Diary

IPPN Deputy Principals’ Conference 2019

7th and 8th November Citywest Convention Centre

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

PLENARY SEMINARS

Minister Joe McHugh n Adam Harris, CEO of AsIam

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Keep an eye on ippn.ie and your E-scéal for notification of event registration 30 30

This approach, he said, should involve staff consultation to ensure buy-in and commitment. We would work out and agree the priority areas of improvement in our school context for the coming year. The areas needing attention are coming directly from the staff, encouraging a shared commitment to identify priority needs and this moves leadership distribution beyond delegation to collaborative engagement.

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Curriculum leadership – Bernard McHale, PDST Intercultural Inclusion - Déirdre Kirwan Wellbeing - Áine Fitzpatrick, Anne Tansey and Angela Lynch ICT in Primary Schools - Dr Eemer Eivers Working towards a model of Sustainable School Leadership: The PIEW model – Finbarr Hurley and Maria Tully Managing stress and building resilience - looking after your wellbeing – Karen Belshaw

September 2019

WAITING LIST Gaeilge – Teanga ó bhéal timpeal lna scoile n Assessment n Attendance Strategies Awaiting a Vacancy n

and become known as the PIEW (PilotImplement-Embed-Wait) Model. Each phase takes 2 years and is embedded into school culture in years five & six. The visual on the left is the 5-year plan agreed by our staff in June 2018, which outlines our priorities and what year of the model those initiatives are in. This acknowledges the work going on in our school in previous years and provides us with a clear roadmap of where we are going for the years to come. All good ideas that have come from teachers during the last year are acknowledged and placed on our ‘Wait’ list and were addressed at our consultation process in June when addressing our priority needs for 2019/2020. As the next school year approaches, we have added a new priority to our list - Digital Learning. The PIEW model has helped our school to address our priorities, achieve more balance and regulate the rate and pace of change with the introduction of initiatives. Our primary focus must be to improve learner experiences and learner outcomes for our pupils while enhancing the wellbeing of our pupils and staff. I am hopeful that this is a model for sustainable leadership in our schools for the years to come.

IPPN Deputy Principals’ Conference 2020

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS include n n

Dr Karen Edge, Sustainable Leadership Viv Grant – Leadership Matters

23rd and 24th January Citywest Convention Centre

PLENARY SEMINARS n n

Leadership Pathways A wide range of leadership and management-related seminars

Keep an eye on ippn.ie and your E-scéal for notification of event registration 31

LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

ILLEY – Inspiring Language Learning in the Early Years

A tool for learning developed by the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) DÉIRDRE KIRWAN COMMUNICATIONS PERSON, ILLEY PROJECT, ECML AND RETIRED PRINCIPAL OF SCOIL BHRÍDE CAILÍNÍ, BLANCHARDSTOWN School leaders are expected to lead learning in their schools. The rapid growth of knowledge requires quick and easy access to information that is succinct, relevant and user-friendly, particularly where demographic change requires a reappraisal of what the curriculum is and how it may be best delivered. When principals and teachers are confronted with linguistic diversity, questions arise: What is the most effective way for pupils to learn? Is there a role for their home language? If there is, can home languages be included in the life of the school to the benefit of all? How will Irish be affected? Inspiring Language Learning in the Early Years (ILLEY), specifically designed to provide practical support in answer to these questions and many more, has been developed by the ECML. Based on principles that already form the bedrock of educational practice in Irish schools, the ILLEY website can be found at www.ecml.at/inspiringearlylearning. The following graphic is used to access different sections of information:

is gained via the flower’s six petals. ILLEY has been developed by practising teachers from Council of Europe countries, including Ireland. Language plays a key role in learning at school. It is by listening (and understanding), speaking, reading and writing that pupils achieve the goals of the curriculum. The information and tools available on the ILLEY website heighten teachers’ awareness of their own and their pupils’ existing linguistic repertoires. Including home languages in the learning process, even when they are not known by the teacher, has a positive effect on children’s selfimage, self-confidence, motivation and engagement in learning, social involvement, and social cohesion. It also promotes the development of observational, reflective, and analytical skills that are brought to bear on all areas of learning, including STEM subjects, and it encourages social involvement and social cohesion inside and outside the classroom.

Research shows that children who are bilingual derive cognitive benefits from their dual language competence, including improved language learning skills. Multilingual classrooms where all languages are valued and used provide a bonus for language learning for all pupils, including those whose first language is the language of schooling. At least one linguistically diverse primary school has found that if language education embraces the languages immigrant pupils bring with them, Irish acquires enhanced status as an alternative medium of education. The Council of Europe’s concept of plurilingual education is based on the claim that languages interact in the mind to support the learning of other languages. This concept is fundamental to the integrated approach to language learning promoted by the NCCA. Knowing how to identify the connections that exist between languages, and learning that there are many different ways to express the same concept, are powerful tools to support learning. Awareness of language is one of learning’s most valuable outcomes. It develops when pupils are encouraged to make autonomous use of the languages at their disposal. ILLEY supports this process. n

The centre of the graphic captures the purpose of the website, to explore ways of inspiring young learners to develop their linguistic skills. Access to guiding principles, context, myths and facts, FAQs, practical examples, further ECML resources and more, 32

The ECML, of which Ireland is a member, promotes and supports quality language education that furthers increased international communication, intercultural dialogue, democratic citizenship and social cohesion. The EU recommends that, in addition to their mother tongue, learners should be able to make practical use of two other languages. Early language learning has been identified as a key element in achieving this objective.

Little, D. and D. Kirwan (2019) Engaging with Linguistic Diversity: A Study of Educational Inclusion in an Irish Primary School. Bloomsbury Academic.

Dr. Déirdre Kirwan (kirwandm@tcd.ie) is a former principal of an Irish primary school where 80% of pupils came from immigrant families and between them had more than 50 home languages. She is currently working on the ILLEY project with the ECML. Note: Déirdre will be speaking at the IPPN Deputy Principals’ Conference in November this year. LINK

And Finally…

‘

QUOTATIO

away w o r h t t ’ n Do you l i t n u t e k the buc new e h t r e h t e know wh water s d l o h e n o us Anonymo

’

Key quote s from the c ollected works of Andy Harg reaves! On being: Arrogance is not the prerogative of the gifted. Pompous asses kno w how to pu t the moa n in sanctimo nious.

*Every* learner has special needs.

‘

QUOTATIONS

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new Albert Einstein

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Sustainable leadership does not compromise the future by expanding and accelerating too quickly in the present.

www.andyhargreaves.com

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