Leadership+ Issue 74 April 2013

ISSUE 74 ● APRIL 2013

+ Leadership THE PROFESSIONAL VOICE OF PRINCIPALS

Cyber-bullying

Principals need a job description The boundary between the day to day management role of principals and the role of the board of management needs clarification.

With thanks to

Sponsor of IPPN Publications

An interview with Joan Crowley O’Sullivan School Tours Amalgamation One school’s story New website for parents and guardians www.helpmykidlearn.ie

Pupils from St John the Evangelist National School, Adamstown, Co Dublin; 8 October 2008

Free Primary Schools Summer Workshops for 5th and 6th classes Bring the world into your classroom!… by bringing your class to take part in the Summer Primary Schools Programme in the Irish Aid Volunteering and Information Centre in O’Connell Street Dublin

Workshops are free of charge and include: Activites, games and music to explore the links between our lives and the lives of people in other parts of the world.

Learn how protecting the environment can help to improve the lives of people in poor countries.

The Summer Primary Schools Programme is specially designed for pupils aged 10 to 12 years and will be relevant for the Human Environment Strand of the SESE, Geography curriculum. It will be highly participative and is designed to be as enjoyable as possible.

Workshops will take 1 hour and 30 minutes and will take place at 10.00 and 12.00 daily from Monday to Friday, classes of 30 need to be accompanied by 2 adults, including one teacher. Advance booking necessary.

To book or for enquiries phone Ruth Powell: 01-8546932 Irish Aid Volunteering and Information Centre, 27-31 Upper O’Connell Street, Dublin 1.

What: workshops on food and farming in Africa For: 5th & 6th classes When: May & June 2013

Principals need a job description

By SeĂĄn Cottrell and Gerry Murphy How often do we hear expressions such as ‘the role of principal is overloaded’, ‘unless you’ve been a principal you can’t understand the complexity of the role’ or ‘we need a job description’? These statements are all true. Various research publications have contributed to our understanding of the principal’s role, such as Circular 16/1973, the Education Act 1998, the Haygroup Report - Defining the Role of the Primary Principal in Ireland (2002) and Investing in School Leadership (2006). These contributions have all been significant; however there is still a lack of clarity in terms of role priorities and boundaries.

The boundary between the day to day management role of principals and the role of the board of management needs clarification.

IPPN is currently working on a description of the principal’s role in key areas of accountability.

In order to benefit from this framework, it is critical that you communicate what it says to each of the key groups you interact with.

In order to benefit from this framework, it is critical that you communicate what it says to each of the key groups you interact with. It is vital that your teaching and non-teaching staff are fully aware of your role boundaries, limitations and priorities. It will also empower you to engage with your staff as part of your school self evaluation to review key priorities for their role as teachers as well. This is very important at a time when teachers are feeling demoralised and frustrated by events outside their control. Open and honest dialogue about the importance of looking at the big picture in school as well as the specific roles people have can only lead to better teamwork, greater understanding and harmonious sharing of the work of the school.

The boundary between the day to day management role of principals and the role of the board of management needs clarification. IPPN is currently working on a description of the principal’s role in key areas of accountability. This description will set out a framework of tasks and responsibilities that every principal will recognise in their daily work. To achieve this, we are examining all the existing research and presenting all of the tasks and responsibilities within a structure that reflects the key groups that principals interact with – children, staff, parents, board of management and external agencies. Within each of these categories, the list of tasks will be divided into three groups - those tasks which principals must do; those they should delegate where possible and those they should proactively avoid at all costs. Inevitably not everything on this ‘must do’ list can be done due to the overload factor and the constant additions to the role.The tasks that fall within this category will be prioritised in terms of their relative importance. The key word here is ‘prioritise’.

So what will this mean for you in your role as principal? The prioritisation of tasks within this framework will empower principals and boost their self confidence in knowing that, while they may not have completed everything that they were expected to have done, they have used their time and the capacity of the school to complete the most important tasks.

Furthermore, they will have the added confidence in knowing that the order of priority is not based solely on their own sense of what is important; that it has been set down by their professional body of principals.

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Editor: Seån Cottrell Deputy Editor: Geraldine D'Arcy Assistant Editor: Brendan McCabe Comments and articles to editor@ippn.ie Advertising: Louise O’Brien louise.obrien@ippn.ie

The opinions expressed in Leadership+ do not necessarily reflect the official policy or views of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network ISSN: 1649 -5888

Irish Primary Principals’ Network Glounthaune, Co Cork 1890 21 22 23 | www.ippn.ie

Design: Brosna Press 090 6454327 • info@brosnapress.ie PAG E 3

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Legal Diary

by David Ruddy BL, Principal of Talbot BNS, Clondalkin, Dublin 22

Cyber-bullying Is your home your castle? Not if you are the victim of cyber bullying The Criminal Law – Defence and Dwelling Act (2011) permits the use of reasonable force to protect people inside the home, the property itself, to prevent the commission of a crime or to make a lawful arrest. A person who uses reasonable force cannot be sued for damages by a burglar and will not be guilty of an offence. There are no such robust remedies in law for people, especially pupils who fall victim to cyber bullying. Cyber-bullying is different as it takes place in unsupervised spaces with social rules being suspended. It can take place in the victim’s own home at any time.The audience can be very large and rapidly reached. Perpetrators are not subject to constraints of time and place and they frequently hide behind the cloak of anonymity. The scale and scope of cyber-bullying can be greater than other forms of bullying. The National Office for Suicide Prevention is conducting research on the prevalence and impact of bullying linked to social media on the mental health and suicidal behaviour among young people within the school setting.

The Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act (1997) deals with the offences of harassment and threats to kill or cause serious harm. This piece of legislation, while useful, is outdated in some respects in relation to the strides and advances of technology.

The Law Reform Commission is currently examining ways to strengthen and update this legislation.

Whilst a bully can leave a digital footprint e.g. email, text message or posting on a social media site, it takes a lot of Garda technical resources to mount a prosecution. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the age of criminal responsibility in all but the most serious of crimes - i.e. murder/ manslaughter - has been increased from 7

to 12 years. The reality is that the law is subordinate to that of education. This does not absolve parents from their responsibility as the primary and natural educators of their children as stated in Article 42 of Bunreacht na hÉireann. It is the task of parents to supervise and teach their children in relation to cyberbullying and its consequences. This is an issue for families, the community, society and schools.

The National Office for Suicide Prevention is conducting research on the prevalence and impact of bullying linked to social media on the mental health and suicidal behaviour among young people within the school setting.

ACTIONS THAT THE SCHOOL CAN TAKE In February 2013, twenty eight pupils in Colaiste Chiarain in Croom Co Limerick, a post-primary school, were suspended for “Liking” a Facebook post that referred to a number of people in the school community. The post, since removed, contained an image and text relating to the personal life of one of the teachers.

The school has been widely acclaimed for its proactive approach in dealing with the incident.

Redraft your Code of Behaviour and Anti Bullying Policy to include Cyber-Bullying Guidelines are currently being prepared by the Department of Education and Skills to reflect the report presented to the

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Minister in January 2013 by the Task Force on Bullying. This report, which includes all types of bullying, recommends 16 immediate actions schools can take and 16 immediate actions parents can take. It is anticipated that guidance would be issued to schools for the new academic year 2013/2014. It is recommended that the definition of bullying as outlined in current DES Guidelines be reviewed to include cyber-bullying. Principals will also be obliged to make periodic summary reports of bullying incidents to their Boards of Management.

Boards of Management will be required to review the policy and its implementation on an annual basis and provide confirmation to the school community, including Parents/the Parent’s Association, that it has done so .

Considerations when redrafting your Anti-bullying Policy a) Staff and pupils may be the victims of cyber-bullying. Measures should be put in place to address both categories of potential victims. b) Keeping good records of all cyberbullying incidents and the corresponding actions by the school is essential. c) A cyber-bullying incident might include features different from other forms of bullying and may necessitate a variety of responses. Key factors for assessment might include: I Motivation - the perpetrator might not realise that his/her actions are bullying I Duration - how long the unacceptable behaviour continued I Evidence - The victim will have evidence of what happened I Coming clean at an early stage and attempting to make good any damage caused.

d) The policy should state that no pupil under 14 years is permitted to register with Facebook; it is against the law.

No pupil should register with the online forum Ask.FM as it operates under a cloak of anonymity and is registered in Latvia. e) The policy should inform parents/ pupils and staff of any monitoring and confiscation measures (email or internet use) and of the circumstances in which confiscation might take place.

Monitoring and confiscation measures must be appropriate and proportionate.

Outcomes of the Anti-bullying Policy 1. Helping the person harmed to feel safe again 2. Holding the perpetrator to account, so as to recognise the harm caused and not to repeat the behaviour 3. Demonstrating that cyber-bullying, as any other form of bullying, is unacceptable and that the school has effective ways of dealing with it.

Awareness programmes/up-skilling 1. Upgrade our own IT skills 2. Make parents/pupils aware of dangers through parent/teacher meetings and communication on the school website or by letter 3. Arrange for a speaker regarding Media Literacy (for staff and parents). The Gardai provide excellent speakers.

4. Digital skills and E safety Programmes for pupils with particular focus on self-protection and self responsibility 5. Redouble efforts with SPHE to include initiatives such as Friendship / Anti-bullying Week and Circle Time.

The school’s Anti-Bullying policy is part of the Code of Behaviour. A school’s Code of Behaviour should explicitly refer to and outline how the school deals with cyber-bullying incidents of both pupils and staff members.

Please note that there is a new cyber-bullying policy on ippn.ie.

NEW HEALTH & SAFETY GUIDELINES TO BE ISSUED FOR ACADEMIC YEAR 2013/2014 Guidelines on Managing Health & Safety in Primary Schools are to be issued for the new academic year. This initiative involves the DES and the Health & Safety Authority, and is facilitated by Kilkenny Education Centre.

In essence the Guidelines, which were published for post-primary schools in 2010, are being modified to take account of the primary school situation. A number of schools have participated in the consultation process along with the Educational Partners.

The school’s Anti-Bullying policy is part of the Code of Behaviour. A school’s Code of Behaviour should explicitly refer to and outline how the school deals with cyber-bullying incidents of both pupils and staff members.

The Guidelines do not impose any extra legal burdens on schools and are in compliance with The Safety, and Health and Welfare at Work Act (2005). Part 1 deals with Policy, Planning, Implementation, Measuring Performance, Audit & Review plus FAOS. Part 2 consists of Tools and Templates. Whilst reading the documents is time-consuming, they give lots of excellent tips on how to improve the quality of a Safety Statement with a big empathise on Risk Assessment and Control Measures.

Some of the areas highlighted are I Pupils with challenging behaviour I Assaults on staff I Work related stress and I Bullying.

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The Guidelines on Managing Health & Safety will be promoted as an integral part of the school plan. It will draw on many of the same resources and structures as other aspects of the school’s self evaluation and planning process.

Observation Health & Safety policy and the Safety Statement is the responsibility of the Board of Management. Every BoM should appoint a H&S officer to manage this important area. However it should be noted that there is no mandatory legal requirement to do so.

The fact remains that many BoMS do not have a H&S officer and the default position is that Principals invariably are left to manage this area. Principals should if possible persuade their BoM to appoint someone other than the principal to undertake the role of H&S officer.

In my opinion, it should be mandatory for all schools to have at least two qualified First Aiders. The law as it stands is that there should be one qualified First Aider for 100 employees or more. Where there are more than 50 and less than 100 employees the minimum requirement is the appointed person and someone with basic first Aid training.

In a situation where there are 25 employees or less, the minimum recommendation is that there is an appointed person to deal with First Aid. This appointed person does not need to have First Aid training and would be in charge of First Aid requisites and arrangements. For the vast majority of primary schools with employee totals of less than 25, the minimum requirement of an appointed person is sufficient. This takes no account of the situation that the same schools could have a few hundred children. Children don’t count when it comes to First Aid. Let’s hope it does not take a tragedy in some school to highlight this unsatisfactory situation.

An interview with Joan Crowley O’Sullivan National Director, Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) Joan, what is the Professional Development Service for Teachers?

The Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) is a support service established by the Teacher Education Section (TES) of the Department of Education and Skills. In 2010, TES reconceptualised the support services model, combining a range of existing primary and postprimary services, creating the PDST. This process of integrating the support services continues. Bhí an-áthas orainn fáilte a chur roimh an tSeirbhís Tacaíochta Dara Leibhéal don Ghaeilge go dtí an tSeirbhís um Fhorbairt Ghairmiúil do Mhúinteoirí (SFGM) i Meán Fómhair 2012. In addition, the former National Centre for Technology and Education (NCTE), now known as PDST Technology in Education (www.pdsttechnologyineducation.ie), also joined PDST in September 2012.

What services does PDST provide?

Our aim is to provide high-quality continuing professional development (CPD) and support that empowers teachers and schools to provide the best possible education for all pupils/students. PDST supports teachers as reflective practitioners by promoting teacher learning, collaboration and evidence-based practice.

Our aim is to provide high-quality continuing professional development (CPD) and support that empowers teachers and schools.

How does the PDST carry out its work?

The PDST team comprises a team of teachers seconded from their individual schools acting in the capacity of Deputy Directors,Team Leaders and Advisors. The PDST is organised around supporting teachers in the following areas: I Literacy (Béarla & Gaelige) I Numeracy I School Improvement, including Leadership and Planning, Teacher Competency and Child Protection Guidelines I Primary Curriculum I Post-Primary Subjects and Programmes I Curriculum Reform, including Junior Certificate Schools Programme.

The main elements of our work include the provision of seminars on themes identified as national priorities, local/district workshops and in-school supports.

continue to be available. Support around a range of other curricular/subject areas is also provided.

How can Principals and Teachers apply for these CPD events?

Notification of CPD events relating to curriculum support and national seminars is issued to schools and teachers through the Education Centre network. In addition, PDST uses an online application system which can be accessed at www.pdst.ie. A Primary Schedule outlining in detail the range of seminars and workshops provided by PDST is available at www.pdst.ie/primary How can a Principal apply for In-School CPD & Support?

Individual schools or clusters of schools may apply for in-school support around their identified CPD needs. PDST also provides in-school wholestaff workshops across a range of areas including: I Differentiation of Learning and Teaching I Assessment for Learning I Inclusion I Positive Behaviour Support I DEIS Planning I Co-Operative Learning I Active Learning.

Application forms are available at www.pdst.ie/primary.

Can you tell us more about the collaboration with Education Centres?

PDST works in collaboration with the twenty-one full-time Education Centres in the delivery of seminars and workshops, in the development of collaborative projects and in on-going professional dialogue in meeting the continuing professional development needs of teachers at local level. PDST is hosted by Dublin West Education Centre.

Where is the PDST office located?

PDST Head Office is located in 14, Joyce Way, Park West Business Park, Nangor Road Dublin 12. PDS T is also supported through a network of administrative bases provided by the Education Centre network.

Have you a final word for our Principals?

If you or the teachers in the school require CPD and support please do not hesitate to contact PDST.We welcome such requests and will do everything possible to support you and your staff. Contact PDST at 01 4358587 or at info@pdst.ie

Can you outline the range of CPD events provided by the PDST? This year’s national priority areas include school self-evaluation seminars for Principals, seminars for literacy/numeracy link teachers (Béarla agus Gaeilge) as well as the development of local community of practice clusters as additional supports for the identified link teachers. A series of workshops were also held on Comprehension and Early Maths at local/district levels. Leadership programmes such as Misneach,Tóraíocht, and Forbairt continue to be available.

Seminars on Child Protection Guidelines are also provided. DEIS schools are prioritised in terms of PDST support generally and programmes such as Reading Recovery, Maths Recovery, First Steps and Ready Steady Go-Maths PAG E 6

Health & Safety and School Insurance Sponsored by Allianz

The following case studies, which are real cases involving injury to external parties using Irish primary school buildings, illustrate the importance of adequate health and safety procedures and also of clear communication with external parties in relation to working in and using the school premises.

This case involves a slip and fall in a school hall which had been hired out to a group after school hours for the purpose of five a side football.

FALL DURING HIRE OF SCHOOL HALL TO EXTERNAL PARTIES This case involves a slip and fall in a school hall which had been hired out to a group after school hours for the purpose of five a side football. The group had their own insurance but this insurance does not provide cover in situations where a claim is made on the grounds of defective premises (Property Owners’ Liability). In this case the Plaintiff alleged that there was a puddle of water on the floor and in addition alleged that, as he lay on the ground, further drops of water fell on him from a leak in the roof. A claim was pursued in the Circuit Court against the school on the grounds that there was a leak in the roof and the puddle of water was present on the floor as a result of same.The area was inspected immediately post accident by the Caretaker, who confirmed that he saw no water on the floor. In addition, the School were able to confirm that there was no leak in the roof and no work had been carried out on the roof either before or after the incident.

Enquires were made with the team who used the hall before this group.

They confirmed the floor was clean and dry. School staff also confirmed there had been no problems earlier in the day nor for that matter over the following days. A full defence was presented. The Plaintiff walked away having been penalised with a nuisance payment to include costs.

sandwiches were the source of the food poisoning and liability rested with the Caterer. However, it was revealed that the Caterer did not have any insurance and in addition claimed to not have the means to deal with the claim. As a result, the Board of Management were included in the High Court proceedings issued and every effort made to prove that they were to blame, even by a small percentage. In law, if the Plaintiff succeeded in her claim and proved that the Board were just 1% responsible, the Board, on foot of this Joint & Several Judgement, being fully insured would have to pay the entire claim and then be left to recover their outlay from the codefendant being the Caterer in this case. This is known as the 1% rule.

The matter settled eventually with the BOM, through their insurance policy, having to contribute 50% to the settlement. Boards must ensure that any contractor used by them must have their own insurance and it should be checked out fully to ensure that it is appropriate and current.

In the next issue we will provide case studies of claims in relation to maintenance issues in the school building and grounds and preventive measures that could have been taken to avoid them.

The teacher concerned suffered a stroke within a few days and this was linked to the food poisoning event which had left the injured party severely dehydrated.

EXTERNAL CONTRACTORS / FOOD POISONING This case is mentioned to notify schools that they need to ensure that outside contractors are fully insured when engaged by the BOM to do work for the school. This was a simple case in which there was a teachers’ meeting after school hours. Sandwiches had been ordered in as the meeting was late in the day. An outside Caterer was engaged and supplied sandwiches, which were delivered to the school in advance of the meeting.

The sandwiches were eaten and after the meeting, one of the teachers became very ill and was diagnosed with food poisoning. The teacher concerned suffered a stroke within a few days and this was linked to the food poisoning event which had left the injured party severely dehydrated, which is a recognised means of increasing clotting tendencies and can predispose someone towards a stroke. Investigations confirmed the PAG E 7

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Speaking Out Protecting the Litter

By Damian White, Principal of Scoil Shinchill, Killeigh, Co. Offaly When I was very young my father kept a boar.

His job was simple - the boar that is – grunt appreciatively at every giddy sow catapulting out of a trailer in his direction. None of them complained that he kept the place like a pig sty and all reluctantly re-entered their creeled transport, not to meet again until the next dance. Neighbouring sows loved visiting Whites in the dreary late sixties - at least the pig could recreate Woodstock combo of love and muck. Come to think of it, we also had a bull, gander, drake and several rams. RSE was more fundamental back then. You had questions but at least some of the answers were all around you. Anyway back to the boar. Life was just dandy for him until one day when he got out of his small holding and ventured up the yard. My mother, washing the milk churns ahead of evening’s milking looked out by chance from the dairy and, to her horror, saw the boar looking into the pram she placed, she thought, out of harm’s way. I still believe it was a meeting of minds as the great bovine sire and I looked at each other. Perhaps he thought he was looking in the mirror. My mother, proud of the eldest of her own litter, grabbed a fork and quickly disproved the notion that’s pigs don’t fly.

I have great sympathy for those trying to sell Croke Park 2 as the only option to us. CEC reps around the country are often principals or deputy principals who’ll hardly celebrate raucously should the deal be passed.

That same mother, still hail and very hearty and dangerously close to a pitch fork sprung to action like others in the area when Tullamore Hospital was to be downgraded in the 1970s. Protests outside the DĂĄil and elsewhere were organised and a hospital committee was formed. At the first rally a local TD was giving it welly when he was

interrupted by a young country lady who simply asked him ‘So are you going to support the Government when they vote on this? The TD admitted that he had no choice. ‘Well then, you have a choice here. You can step down off this committee,’ barked the young lady, still looking after her litter, by then expanded. Members of the TD’s local party were astonished some weeks later when the same TD arrived early for their meeting and was enjoying a game of badminton with my mother and her friends.

Separate the messenger from the message. A fabulous new hospital stands in Tullamore today thanks in no small part to those who fought for what was right in 1976.

In speaking out about massive cuts to the wages of principals and teachers at the longer end of service, we are not being shortsighted. We are talking of people at the peak of their spending needs as children go to college and mortgages still need paying.

I have great sympathy for those trying to sell Croke Park 2 as the only option to us. CEC reps around the country are often principals or deputy principals who’ll hardly celebrate raucously should the deal be passed. Going to Fora meetings for them at the moment is akin to being a livestock salesman at a snake charmers’ convention with a length of rope to sell. No matter how hard he blows, the rope will not rise and the punters are getting increasingly vexed at his efforts as they knew their trade. They appreciate the salesman’s predicament but not before sending him back to his headquarters saying that they won’t be fooled. Snake is snake and rope is rope.

Taking a stand may or may not make a difference. Our school caretaker always says ‘A

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quiet priest never got a parish’. With the notable exception of Pope Francis that may contain a grain of truth. In speaking out about massive cuts to the wages of principals and teachers at the longer end of service, we are not being short-sighted. We are talking of people at the peak of their spending needs as children go to college and mortgages still need paying, where huge hits have been taken on board already. When the boxer Roberto Duran famously said ‘No MĂĄs’ - meaning ‘no more’ – he was on the ropes with no more energy left. I’m saying ‘no mĂĄs’ to those who have squeezed us dry and are returning for the pips. Unlike the brave Roberto, principals and deputies are now spoiling for a fight. Our litter is now under threat and messages need to go back that we won’t stand for it. Who knows we might get somewhere. Pigs have flown before.

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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.brannigan@ippn.ie.

The following are the new resources available in the different sections of the website:

RESOURCES Staff Management ● Effective Reprimands ● General Recommendations within the School ● Health & Safety Presentation ● Implementation of sanctions ● Skills for Positive Teaching DES Circulars 2013 ● 0017/2013 - Revised Maternity Protection Entitlements for Special Needs Assistants ● 0016/2013 - Teacher Refund Scheme/ Scéim Aisíoctha Táillí Múinteoirí Do 2012 ● 0014/2013 - Budget 2012 – Public Service-Wide Review of Allowances and Premium Payments for Teachers Supervision allowance in Primary schools Supervision & Substitution allowance in Post-Primary Schools / Buiséad 2012 – Athbhreithniú Leathan ar Liúntais agus ar Phréimh - Íocaíochtaí um Sheirbhís Phoiblí do Mhúinteoirí Liúntas Maoirseachta i mBunscoileanna ● 0013/2013 Staffing arrangements in Primary Schools for the 2013/14 school year ■ Ceanna - Ciorclán 0013/2013 - Ceisteanna a Chuirtear go Minic ■ Aguisín A - Seideal Rollaithe Daltaí don Scoilbhliain 2013/2014 ■ Aguisín B - Rolluithe a theastaíonn do stádas Príomhoide Riaracháin agus do stádas LeasPhríomhoide Riaracháin ■ Aguisín C - Socruithe foirne i mBunscoileanna don scoilbhliain 2013/2014 ■ Aguisín D - Post Roinnte GAM/EAL don scoilbhliain 2013/14 ■ Aguisín E - Foirm Iarratais do MhúinteoiríBuana agus CID ar rochtain ar an bPríomhphainéal Ath-Imlonnaithe ■ Aguisín F - Iarratas chuig an mBord Achomhairc um Sholáthar Foirne ● 0009/2013 - Teidlíochtaí Chosaint Mháithreachais Do Mhúinteoirí Cláraithe ● 0008/2013 - Buiséad 2012 – Athbhreithniú um Sheirbhís Leathan ar na Liúntais agus ar na Préimh-Íocaíochtaí Poiblí Curriculum & School Planning ● Science Catalogue ● School Self-evaluation: Oral Language Questionnaire Maths-Problem Solving Resources Action Planning ■ Action Plan - Sample 1 ■ Action Plan - Sample 2 ■ Action Plan - Sample 4 ■ Action Plan - Sample 5 ■ Action Plan - Sample for Problem Solving ■ SSE Action Plan Framework Additional Resources ■ Problem-solving Strategies & Role Cards ■ Additional Information ■ Assessment Ballard & Westwood Timed Tables test ■ Ballard Westwood Timed Tables Test

■ Ballard & Westwood Timed Arithmetic Test Addition & Subtraction ■ Class Record Booklet - Ballard Westwood Timed Arithmetic Scores ■ Class Year Record of Ballard/Westwood Timed Arithmetic Test Results ■ Norms for Timed Arithmetic Tests ■ Points to Note: Use of Ballard/Westwood Timed Arithmetic Test Games ■ Multiplication card game ■ Balloon Twos ■ Bishop’s Move ■ Calculator Words ■ Christmas Tree ■ Coordinate Bingo ■ Criss Cross Three Addition 1 ■ Criss Cross Three Subtraction 1 ■ Cross the Bridge ■ Deadly Red ■ Dice Bingo ■ Diving Board ■ Dizzy Digits ■ Fifteen Up ■ Four Star ■ Hex ■ Highest Total ■ Lollipop Activities Sheet for paired maths ■ Make 15 ■ Make 42 ■ Math Recovery Games ■ Multiplication Bingo ■ Multiplication card game ■ Never Touch ■ Oral Language and Maths Games ■ Pentominoes ■ Pig ■ Practical Maths Activities ■ Say 21 ■ Seven Line ■ Spirals ■ Square Boxes ■ Tens-Units Dice Game ■ Thirty One ■ Tricky Twenty Triangle PAG E 9

Open-ended Investigations using ICT ■ Data Word Tables & Graphs ■ Data Word Task Card ■ ICT Task Spreadsheet ■ ICT Word Shapes ■ ICT Word Tables ■ Junior Open Ended Investigations ■ Junior Open-ended Investigations - Word Tables ■ Junior Open-ended Investigations Task Card ■ Senior Open-ended Investigations ■ Senior Open–ended Investigations - MSW Logo Maths Trails ■ Argos Catalogue Trail ■ Ideas for Maths Trails ■ Junior Generic Maths Trail ■ Junior Maths Trail Task Card ■ LIDL Brochure ■ Receipt Trail ■ The Grove Menu ■ The Grove Menu Work Card Planning Process ■ Long-term Plan ■ School Plan ■ Term Planner ■ Yearly Planning Diary

PARENTS & PUPILS ● Bill of Rights for Children ● Great Effort Template ● Helping your child to grow (Presentation Slides) ● Letter of commendation to parents re. pupil ● School Rules Poster ● School Rules - Implications

SUPPORTS Leadership+ ● Leadership+ Issue 73 – March 2013.

Reduce your Print and Copy Costs Given the current economic environment we all have to look at how we can do things more efficiently, focusing on cost reduction and with an eye on reducing our carbon footprint.

There are some very practical steps you can take to ensure that you are minimising your costs in the area of copying and printing. Some of these steps may require some of your time and a little investment, and many won’t cost a penny to help introduce immediate costsaving measures. Let’s start at the beginning!

DUPLEX The majority of copiers, printers and multifunction printers have the DUPLEX facility available as standard. DUPLEX means that where possible, the device will print on both sides of a sheet of paper. Bear in mind that a sheet of paper costs around half a cent, so if you are going to use it ensure you print on both sides. By doing so you will reduce your paper costs alone by up to 40% - this can be put forward as part of your Green Flag Energy Saving measures and will reduce your paper bill immediately.

The printer industry marketing model was predicated on a low purchase price for a printer – but with a hidden high cost of use.

SMALL PRINTERS You may be using a network of printers around your school that were assembled over time on an ad hoc basis. The printer industry marketing model was predicated on a low purchase price for a printer – but with a hidden high cost of use. Many printers cost an absolute fortune to use – the way to minimise your printer costs is not to use them! The vast majority of what were called copiers are actually MFPs – Multi-Function Printers.

This means that when you link them to a

computer or a computer network they are printers and scanners as well as copiers – and the cost of usage for one of these MFPs is a fraction of what it costs to produce a page on a network printer. Your IT infrastructure will determine whether you can do this immediately or if some groundwork is required – EMS Copiers provide an assessment service that is free of charge and without commitment for IPPN users to assess your infrastructure and make recommendations that suit your existing IT hardware and budgets.

For example if you have a wireless network the MFP can become part of this system quite easily.

Where you have a networked printer as outlined above it is important to ensure that usage by individual is monitored. This is done by asking staff to input a dedicated user code each time they use the equipment…

USER CODES Where you have a networked printer as outlined above it is important to ensure that usage by individual is monitored. This is done by asking staff to input a dedicated user code each time they use the equipment which allocates their usage to the built-in accounting system. This is not in any way to suggest that your staff may abuse the use of the equipment, more to create a sense of awareness on the part of staff that the system has an inherent usage cost that must be kept in mind.

Put simply, where staff are aware that usage is being monitored they become more circumspect in their day to day usage – they will police themselves in their usage.With such

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a system in place you will have an exact picture of what volume of printing copying was done in your school as well as who did what. It is only by implementing straightforward procedures as outlined above that you can even start to apply control to your print and copy costs.

Many Principals choose to have colour access restricted to the school secretary who will process colour printing exclusively on behalf of the staff COLOUR As you will be aware, colour copying and printing is far more expensive then mono or black and white use. Where you have a networked MFP as outlined above it is very important that the printer is set up as a default black and white system – this will eliminate any inadvertent colour printing from the outset. In addition you can limit access to the colour facilities on your equipment or restrict colour access to a chosen few - your approach will dependent on the extent of colour use in your school.

Many Principals choose to have colour access restricted to the school secretary who will process colour printing exclusively on behalf of the staff – it really is up to individual preference.

COLOUR TONER By far the most expensive component of any colour service agreement on an MFP is the toner. EMS have an unique system whereby you can reduce your colour service cost by up to 50% if you use less toner – feel free to contact John O’Brien at EMS on lo call 1890 770 770 or email info@emscopiers.ie to find out more about this or any facet of this article.

Life as a Child in Ireland: A Report for Children

By Gerry Murphy

During 2011, a nationwide consultation was conducted with children and young people through schools. The consultation asked three open-ended questions about the things they like, the things they don’t like and the things they would change for children and young people in Ireland. This consultation was conducted to inform development of the Children and Young People’s Policy Framework by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, which will set out key policy objectives from 2013-2017.

Thanks to your support and that of schools throughout the country, 66,705 children and young people took part in this national consultation.

Ciall Ceannaithe IPPN's online course for Newly Appointed and aspiring principals and experienced principals wishing to refresh their practice.

The findings show how much children and young people value our education system, which emerges prominently in the things they like, the things they dislike and the things they would like to change. Their recommendations are thoughtful and wide-ranging and favour continuous assessment, reform of the points and exam systems; cheaper books and uniforms; and more resources for science teaching. The consultation also highlights a keen awareness by children and young people of the recession and its impact on their families and on their own job prospects. Friends emerge as very important in the lives of children and young people, as do Irish identity, sports, activities and things to do.

Ciall Ceannaithe – IPPN’s online Summer Course – has been developed to provide a greater understanding of the innovative solutions to challenges facing Principals.

This course is a highly practical step-by-step course built on the collective wisdom and experience of seasoned Principals.

Ciall Ceannaithe is designed to professionally support Newly Appointed Principals through the first day, first week, first month and first year of your principalship. It is also a very suitable refresher course for experienced Principals who wish to reflect on current practice.

The findings from the consultation are complex and require consideration by a number of Government Departments, agencies and bodies, as well as by the non-government sector, the media, parents and civil society.

I would be obliged if you could make the findings of the consultation available to the children and teachers in your school. Teachers may find the document useful for a class lesson or discussion. More copies of both the English and Irish versions are available on request (contact details on the last page) and they are also available on www.dcya.gov.ie.

Modules include: ● Accessing professional supports & key resources ● Getting started in your role ● What to do… what not to do! ● Scheduling priorities ● Good practice & timetabling for Teaching Principals

Course includes: ● 10 modules (20 hours of study) ● Fully interactive online lessons with audio/visual ● Discussion forum with expert moderators & facilitators ● Online reflective learning log ● Innovative technology-enhanced Learning

Registration: ● Course registration will be open in June with the course commencing in July ● Full details will be available on www.ippn.ie in the coming weeks ● Access to broadband is a necessity ● EPV Days subject to DES approval

For further information contact Jennifer McCarthy at jennifer.mccarthy@ippn.ie PAG E 1 1

Assessment for Learning (AfL) Bringing AfL to life in your school

By Noel Loftus and Arlene Forster (NCCA) Sometimes I’m able to say what I need to do better next time before the teacher has a chance to tell me at her desk.

WHAT DOES AFL LOOK LIKE IN THE CLASSROOM? The teacher uses the AfL approach to help children become very aware of three things in their work:

This quote from a child in a senior infant class captures the essence of what Assessment for Learning (AfL) is all about. This article gives an overview of AfL, what it can look like in a classroom, and where you can find practical support materials to bring it to life in your school.

WHAT IS ASSESSMENT? Assessment helps the teacher to build a rich picture of each child’s learning and development across the curriculum—what a child is good at, enjoys doing, and finds challenging.The teacher’s use of this picture of each child’s learning is a key in difference between Assessment of Learning (AoL) or Assessment for Learning (AfL).

Assessment of Learning AoL generally involves assessing a child’s learning at the end of a unit of work. The class maths test or the weekly spelling test give useful information to the teacher on a child’s progress and help plan future work.

The teacher may also share this information with parents and others such as the SENO. Assessment for Learning AfL involves the teacher and children using the assessment information on an on-going basis to identify the next steps needed to support and progress learning. The teacher gives clear feedback to a child about the learning.

This feedback helps children to celebrate their progress and achievements, pinpoint challenges and decide on their next steps in learning.

1. What am I learning?

2. How will I know that I have been successful in this learning?

3. What next steps do I have to take to improve?

1. What am I learning?

The teacher shares the learning intention which lets children know exactly what the ‘new’ learning will be and how it fits with the bigger learning picture. So instead of beginning a lesson by saying ‘Today we’re going to write a story about winning the lottery’, the teacher explicitly shares the new piece of learning with the children. For example, ‘This week we are learning to write a story using paragraphs’. This learning intention or WALT = We Are Learning To is displayed in the classroom during the lesson or unit of work.

WALT: We Are Learning To… write a story using paragraphs.

The teacher then introduces the learning task through which the WALT will be developed e.g. Today we’re going to write a story about winning the lottery.

Task: Write a story about winning the lottery

While the same WALT may be used for several lessons, the learning task will usually change. For example, the task might change to ‘We’re going to write about our visit to Athlone’.

2. How will I know that I have been successful?

Having shared the learning intention, the teacher helps children to identify what successful learning will look like. The criteria for success or the WILF - What I’m Looking For act as a reference for the teacher and children when assessing the work – How do I know this is good work? The criteria for success give children a clear understanding of the quality to watch out for as they work. AfL brings children ‘inside’ the learning and assessment process.

The teacher helps children to identify the WILF by giving them an opportunity to look at earlier pieces of work and identify what features of these samples makes them good. Anonymous samples can be sourced from past classes.

Here are the criteria for success that one teacher helped her third class identify before writing their stories about winning the lottery.

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WILF: What I’m Looking For 1. Choose a suitable title for your story.

2. Write three well planned paragraphs.

3. Develop one idea in every paragraph.

4. Make good use of your word bank.

The WILF are then displayed in the classroom to help children assess their own work as they complete it. Pictures with key words might be used to share the WILF with younger children. The number of criteria of success will usually be about 2-3 especially for younger children. The same WILF may be used for several lessons while the learning task will usually change.

3. What next steps will help me to improve my progress?

During and after the lesson, the learner receives clear feedback on the work in hand. This feedback is based on the criteria for success and can come from the teacher or from the learner through self-assessment.

Feedback will focus on…

■ what went well ■ what gaps still exist ■ what next steps a child and teacher might now take to close the gap.

Having read about AfL, where can I go to see what it looks like in a real classroom?

Visit www.action.ncca.ie to see teachers and children bring AfL to life in their classrooms.

■ Watch videos of classroom lessons and teachers sharing AfL techniques and tips.

■ Hear teachers share their feedback on samples of children’s work.

■ Listen to podcasts and presentations on AfL.

These support materials complement Assessment in the Primary School – Guidelines for Schools (NCCA, 2007) at www.ncca.ie/primary and also the assessment guidelines in Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework (NCCA, 2009) at www.ncca.ie/earlylearning.

When children are comfortable with the AfL approach, the teacher could help them develop peer-review skills so they could give feedback to one another.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF AfL? The AfL approach fosters an ‘assessment community’ in the classroom by empowering children to become independent learners and take a growing sense of responsibility for their own learning and progress. AfL encourages children to become more focussed and motivated. It helps them to see exactly what successful learning should look like at the end of a piece of work.

I find that AfL is great at encouraging children to become really involved in their learning. AfL certainly improves the quality of their work.

5th Class teacher Is maith liom ceachtanna nuair a bhíonn sé an-sóiléir ceard atá á fhoghlaim agam agus freisin ceard iad na rudai atá le déanamh agam chun ard caighdeán a bhaint amach.

Páiste, Rang 6 HOW CAN AfL SUPPORT CHILDREN TO ASSESS THEIR OWN WORK? AfL encourages children to use the criteria for success or the WILF to think about and assess how successful they have been in a learning task.

Children can use a range of techniques to share the assessment on their own work with one another and with the teacher. For example, the next image shows a child using the ‘traffic lights’ technique to share her judgement on her own work.

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Principal Advice Building and Sustaining Relationships

By Angela Lynch, Principal Advice Manager Strong healthy relationships within the school community are the blocks upon which an effective learning environment is created. As a school leader, the more healthy relationships you build the more effective you will become.This, of course, does not mean that all responsibility lies with you to develop and sustain relationships.We each have rights, but we each also have responsibilities.

As Henry Ford said, ‘You will find men who want to be carried on the shoulders of others and who think that the world owes them a living. They don’t seem to see that we must all lift together and pull together.’

Building and sustaining relationships is hard work and there are no short cuts, but it can be done. Building a relationship is easier when there are no problems to be resolved.Yet when conflict exists, it does not mean that the relationship is at an end. Healthy lines of communication are essential at all times, especially maintaining respectful communication during disagreements. It is important how communications are handled at these times, in order to preserve the relationship. A person without the correct information cannot take responsibility. On the other hand a person with correct information cannot help but take responsibility. It would be helpful to refer to the Communications Resource Bundle on www.ippn.ie.

In practice what can we do?

I Raise the issue of relationships and communication in a suitable forum with each of the stakeholders I Discuss the necessity of describing how this will be implemented in very practical terms in the school community I Each sub group describes and commits to looking at their own rights and responsibilities within a particular relationship I Discussions may then form the basis of a charter for your school with each of the groups I Communicate the outcome of this work to the Board of Management, staff, parents and children.

These questions will hopefully raise awareness of individual rights and responsibilities.They could also lead to a practical application in your school of the Teaching Council’s Code of Professional Conduct as discussed and agreed by the staff.

A similar process could take place with the other sub groups. When people concentrate on their responsibilities, others will then have their rights. The support and input of the Board of Management, through clear communication of the vision and through subscribing to the upholding of the agreed code/charter is essential to the process of building and sustaining relationships in the school.

It may be helpful in doing this work to refer to the following publications: I Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers – Teaching Council I Supporting Each Other – Joint NPC /IPPN publication I Working Together as a Staff – INTO I Constitution and Rules of Procedure for Boards of Management.

At the present time conflict is rife in our communities. Building and sustaining relationships was never more needed. I end with the words of Stephen Covey ‘...you cannot continuously improve interdependent systems and processes until you progressively perfect interdependent, interpersonal relationships.’

This discussion and subsequent outcomes could well take place with the following groups: I Staff as a team I Principal and staff I Children and staff I BoM and staff I Chairperson and Principal I Parents and Teachers.

Let us take the example of how this could work with the school staff.

Begin with a discussion of Professional Codes of Conduct for Teachers – The Teaching Council

IPPN’s Annual Deputy Principals’ Conference

The following questions may then be raised at a staff meeting: 1. What can I, as a staff member expect of my colleagues?

2. What can they expect of me?

CONVENTION CENTRE INEC, KILLARNEY

Brainstorm and formulate a policy/statement to which all staff agrees to uphold. Refer to it often during the year and especially in times of difficulty.

A similar process takes place with regard to principal and staff: 1. What can I, as a staff member expect of the Principal?

2. What can he/she expect of me?

Thursday evening May 16th and Friday May 17th Discounted rates at the Breton Hotel See www.ippn.ie for further details

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New website for parents and guardians www.helpmykidlearn.ie

By Margaret Murray, Literacies Development Worker, National Adult Literacy Agency www.helpmykidlearn.ie was launched in September 2012. It gives many creative ideas for activities that parents can do with their children to improve their child’s speaking, reading, writing, and maths skills. The website highlights the way children learn as part of their everyday lives - especially the things they can learn at home and when they are out and about with their parents. The term ‘parent’ is used on the website to keep it simple. The website is for parents, guardians, family members (grandparents, aunties and uncles) and childminders of children aged 0-12 years.

helpmykidlearn.ie mixes the old with the new - from card games and hopscotch that help practice maths, to e-books that can be read out to the child and ‘Apps’ you can download on a smart phone.

So what’s on the website? helpmykidlearn.ie mixes the old with the new - from card games and hopscotch that help practice maths, to e-books that can be read out to the child and ‘Apps’ you can download on a smart phone. Information is broken down into five age groups: 0-2 years, 3-4 years, 5-7 years, 8-9 years and 10-12 years. Activities are organised into five main areas: Talk, Play, Read, Write and Count. The website includes audio and video content to support parents who have literacy difficulties themselves, and there are links to other websites.

Why was helpmykidlearn.ie developed?

The website was developed as part of the Department of Education and Skills’ (DES) ‘National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020’ (p22). The purpose is to provide parents with information and resources to help them support their child’s literacy and numeracy development. It is part of a wider campaign to raise awareness of the important role parents can play in building their child’s literacy and numeracy skills. The National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) developed the website with forty stakeholders, including IPPN. Other stakeholder organisations include pre-school and primary education, parent-focused organisations, libraries and literacy specialists.

Stakeholders contributed ideas and are now helping to let parents and guardians know about the website.

IPPN members can play a leadership role in encouraging parents to use helpmykidlearn.ie The DES sent a mailing to primary schools in December 2012 that had sample promotional material for helpmykidlearn.ie (poster, flier and sample bookmarks). Schools can get further posters, leaflets and bookmarks by contacting

helpmykidlearn.ie can be viewed from smart phones (for example iPhones and android phones). Some people might have a smart phone but not a computer at home. From the homepage, you enter the child’s age and are then brought directly to the page that contains information and activities for that child’s age group. There is an option to sign up for monthly tips and an icon to easily share the website link on Facebook and Twitter.

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NALA. Principals can play a lead role in encouraging people to use the website. The first step is to become familiar with what is on helpmykidlearn.ie so as to be in a position to recommend it.

Some suggested actions principals could undertake: 1. Encourage teachers to see helpmykidlearn.ie as a key resource for parents and to use opportunities they have to let parents know about the website 2. Ensure that teachers have bookmarks to give to parents at key times: parent teacher meetings, beginning and end of term meetings and school events involving parents 3. Ensure your school website has a link to helpmykidlearn.ie 4. Include information in school newsletters and in correspondence with parents.

NALA hopes you will make time to visit helpmykidlearn.ie and recommend it to others.

You can contact Margaret Murray by email to mmurray@nala.ie or by telephone to (01) 4127928 if you would like to order promotional material or if you would like to give feedback on the website.

Amalgamation One school’s story

By Philip Ward, Principal, St. Mary’s Parish Primary School, Bryanstown, Drogheda, Co. Louth On September 3rd 2012 St. Mary’s Parish Primary School opened our doors to 972 pupils and 65 staff, including 49 teachers, 5 SNAs, caretakers, secretaries and cleaners.We were in a brand new purpose-built school containing 36 mainstream classrooms and 12 SET rooms. A much anticipated day had come to pass.

We were an amalgamation, the coming together of the girls of Scoil Mhuire Fatima, Dublin Road and the boys of St. Mary’s, Congress Avenue. Amalgamation of small rural schools where schools with falling numbers come together to survive is not uncommon. Indeed it may become a necessity for many schools in the years ahead when DES policy on small schools may force many schools to consider their best options for the future. Yet here we were, two large urban schools, where the large numbers involved meant significant planning was necessary.

Significant challenges lay ahead. We as teachers were only getting to know each other. Only half the pupils would be familiar to any staff member.

Similarly, parents would not know or recognise many staff members. 150 junior infants and their parents were about to embark on their journey through primary school. Many parents, particularly parents of 6th class girls, wondered how pupils would cope with the gender mix.

timetable for their implementation.This list was then discussed and agreed with staff. Many of the items on this list would be standard fare in most schools during the Spring and early Summer but as we were both separate schools with our own ways of doing things, every procedure needed a fresh look as we responded to our new situation. This list contained the following items amongst many more too numerous to mention: January - Staff seniority list, enrolment policy for new school, source samples from book companies and review content February - Junior Infant enrolment applications, furniture stock-take, begin work on booklists March - Code of behaviour, agree a procedure for mixing classes, teacher class allocation April - ICT committee to look at needs, junior infant enrolment finalised, new furniture order May - New junior infants visit to new school, order ICT equipment, appointment of principal, finalise booklists, finalise class lists, joint staff night out

How would it all work? Would the traffic on the south side of Drogheda come to a standstill?

Would all our planning and preparation for this day be sufficient to help us navigate our way through our opening months?

The journey to this point had begun many years earlier but had really begun in earnest when the sod was turned for our new school in December 2010. Planning took place at two different levels.

John Weir was principal of St Mary’s and John and I would have a large part to play together to make this union a success. A good working relationship was essential and it was important to set plenty of time aside to plan together.

Indeed many a ‘short meeting’ ran to many times its anticipated length and for a period of time I spent more time in conversation with John than with anyone else in my life! This positive working relationship was key to ensuring an open and transparent process. John and I drew up a list of essential issues to be tackled and a

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June - Post holders’ meeting, class visits to new school, practice morning drop off, practice evening collection, whole school visits, playground plan, lining up plan, rota for supervision, pupil records, meet with teacher of previous year, morning supervision plan, class lists and booklists distributed, book rental scheme launched.

July August - Ensure school ready for September, delivery of rental scheme books and distribution, move furniture from old schools, installation of IT equipment, building snags etc.

Many joint staff meetings took place from February on. Many of these meetings took place in smaller groups where teachers planned for aspects of the curriculum or at class levels.When the school building was completed in mid-April these meetings took place in the new school, thus teachers were familiar with the building by the time the summer holidays arrived.

However we were not alone. Whereas John and I took responsibility for the in school educational and staff issues, a steering committee was set up to make decisions to plan for the integration of our school communities. This steering committee, chaired by Fr Denis Nulty comprised members of both boards of

we had come. We had arrived. It was the end of the beginning. A lot done; a lot more to do!

We are still getting to know each other, but we are moving forward together. The longest journey begins with the first step.We have taken that step and I look forward to the journey we will take together in the years ahead.

management, extra teacher representatives and parents from both Parents Associations. Issues debated at this level included decisions related to the actual building itself, extras not covered in DES budget and broader issues such as opening and closing times, uniforms, school crest, fundraising and communication with the parent body.

A further sub-committee looked after the Percent for Art grant. It was decided at the outset to get an experienced person to guide us through this process. This whole process, which involves a considerable amount of money and time, was led by Vincent O Shea who was recommended to us by the Louth County Arts

Officer. This was a most rewarding process and ceramic artist Michelle Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donnell worked with the pupils of both schools. Her art work (pictured) was installed during the Summer holidays and was in place when the school opened.

However, we were not just opening a new school; we were also closing two schools. Both schools held their own separate events to acknowledge their own histories. With those closing events over, the movement of furniture and equipment began.

Our official opening took place on the 12th of the 12th 2012 at 12 minutes past 12. It was a time to pause, draw breath and acknowledge how far

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Professional Conversations

By Seán Cottrell Every manager or leader of an organisation will agree that addressing inappropriate or underperforming behaviour by a colleague is extremely challenging and fraught with opportunities to make a bad situation worse. In many cases the person who should address the problem postpones it again and again, hoping it will go away.They know deep down that it won’t go away but may not have the courage or the skill to tackle the issue. Ultimately the challenge is not the issue itself but choosing the right time and place and, in particular, the right words.

Let’s take a practical example.You have a teacher who is an experienced member of staff, respected by colleagues and someone you value. However, this person has a habit of always being a few minutes late, not just in the morning but also leaving the children out at break, bringing them back to classroom after break etc. Parents are complaining about children being left out late in the afternoon. Other teachers have been complaining about the impact of this lateness on practical matters such as supervising children entering and leaving the school.

You will need to be very careful not to rush to act on the word of a third party who may not be willing to stand over their complaint. It is a fundamental right of anyone who is the subject of a complaint to know the basis for the complaint and who has made it. Unless there is some pressing urgency, it’s best to proceed slowly and gather evidence yourself so your reliance on third party information is minimised.

How do you go about dealing with the issue?

Firstly, ask the teacher to set aside twenty minutes on a day of their choosing over the coming week, either before or after school. Ensure that there will be no distractions or interruptions. The teacher

may want to know what the meeting is about. It is best that you do not reveal the nature of the issue; to do so will lead to you having the conversation there and then when it is best to conduct the meeting in a secure environment.

When you do meet, affirm the person as a teacher, as a colleague as well as the value of their work. It is almost inevitable that the teacher will interrupt you very early on once they discover what the meeting is about. To avoid this, simply ask the teacher to listen and wait until you are finished and that you will then listen to their point of view.

Guarantee the teacher total confidentiality and request the same. Then go straight to the issue, choosing your words carefully.The following may be a helpful example: ‘Mary, I need to speak to you about your time-keeping. I have noticed in recent months that you have been late for school virtually every morning by a few minutes and also late leaving the children out from class and collecting them from the yard.

Anyone can be late due to unforeseen circumstances. However, when it is persistent, it tends not to be due to unexpected events but because of the way you do things. Your lateness in turn has been causing difficulties for your colleagues, your pupils and also their parents. I am asking you to reflect on this and to consider what you can do to ensure that you arrive a few minutes earlier so that the odd unforeseen situation doesn’t prevent you from being on time. I will review your time-keeping by the end of the month and hopefully the matter will be put to bed by then. If it remains an issue then I will have to consider taking the matter further.’

Other factors that you may need to deal with include the teacher taking the issue personally to the point where you are accused of picking on them; wanting to know who complained; pointing out the habits of other colleagues and providing a list of excuses – the childminder, spouse, car, traffic etc. It may be worthwhile to remind the teacher of the school’s mission and vision statements. These were likely to have been drawn up by the staff, parents and board with a clear sense of purpose and how everything relates back to what is good for children. These are the yardsticks by which we measure our behaviour and it is your job as principal to make sure that what the staff do individually and collectively is aligned with these statements.

It is vital to remain calm at all times, no matter how agitated the teacher may become. If you feel matters are getting out of hand, offer to meet again within a few days to allow a period of reflection.

Schedule the follow-up discussion and ensure it happens. If the teacher requests that a friend or colleague attends, agree to the request and state that you will invite the deputy principal or the chairperson of the board to sit in on the meeting also. However, make sure it’s clear that these parties are there to observe and not to contribute.

The hardest part is the first thirty seconds of conversation in the meeting. Plan your words carefully and make sure that you can back up everything that you say. Make sure you keep a record of every encounter that you have with the teacher in relation to the matter. When you have had this type of conversation once, you will find that it gets easier the next time. It is an aspect of school leadership that is commonly neglected yet is critically important. If done properly, it will not damage your relationship with teachers; in fact you will find that their respect for and trust in you will increase.

On your behalf Since the last issue of Leadership+, IPPN has continued our advocacy role on behalf of principals, through meetings, events and submissions in relation to the following: MARCH ● Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) Seminar re. School SelfEvaluation ● IPPN Executive Committee meetings - 1st March and 25th March ● IPPN National Committee meeting – 2nd March ● INTO equality conference

● Archways Symposium ‘Making it Work for Children’ - A multi-agency approach to supporting children with emotional and behavioural difficulties and their families ● NUIM Leadership Symposium ‘Leading Change as a Professional’ ● NAPD National Symposium ‘Vision and Values in 21st Century Ireland’ ● Sean Ó Foghlú, Secretary General, DES ● Tallaght Childhood Development Initiative Seminar on ‘The Interface Between Primary Care and Children’s Services’ ● Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) re. Health Behaviour in PAG E 1 8

School-aged Children (HBSC) research ● Teaching Council – Consultation meeting ● Meeting of the Consultative Forum on Teacher Continuing Professional Education

APRIL ● IPPN Presentation to final year student teachers in Froebel College and St. Patrick's Drumcondra ● CPSMA Annual Conference ● Digital Education Summit - Advancing the role of ICT in preparing the workforce of tomorrow ● INTO Congress

The Association for Creativity and Arts in Education

By Ger Ó Sé, ACAE Committee Member and Principal of St. Catherine’s NS, Kenure, Rush, Co. Dublin ACAE is a national network of educators, artists and others concerned with the promotion of creativity and the development of the imagination through the arts. The association was launched in IMMA in May 2010 with Mark Patrick Hederman giving the keynote speech. The seeds of the organization were sown in the dialogues and practices of primary school teachers involved in teacher professional development for the arts.

ACAE’s principal aims are I Advocacy - to be a voice for creative thinking and imaginative expression through arts education.

I Professional Development - to provide high quality training for teachers through the promotion and provision of regional and local Teacher Professional Communities.

I Partnership - to engage in dialogue as partners with arts bodies, particularly those associated with education, such as the Arts Council, Pushkin Trust, Encountering the Arts.

I Research and Development - to foster and engage in research and development in arts education.

The Creative Schools Award celebrates the journey of discovery that participants embark upon. We are focused on the process of creativity and not on an end product.

CREATIVE SCHOOLS AWARD Our opening engagement with schools and their communities is in the form of the Creative Schools Award, which was formally launched in November last at the Ark Children’s Cultural Centre. The Creative Schools Award is an evidence-based award that celebrates creative teaching and learning in schools.

Participating schools are required to develop a creative project. This may be an arts-based project, incorporating other subject areas, or may be a project that centres on innovative approaches in one or a number of curriculum areas.

Teachers and children submit, via a dedicated blog, documentation of evidence of the creative process in which they engage.This may be in visual (film, photo, digital diaries), written (teacher and students diaries, scrapbooks, samples of children’s work) or oral (recordings) formats. The core requirement to achieve the award is: I Evidence of the children’s voice being central to the process.

I Evidence of links to the objectives of the Primary School Curriculum.

I Reflection and evaluation on the project by teachers and children.

The Creative Schools Award celebrates the journey of discovery that participants embark upon. We are focused on the process of creativity and not on an end product.

PHILOSOPHY UNDERPINNING THE WORK OF ACAE ACAE, the Association for Creativity and Arts in Education, sees the arts and creativity as the means by which we investigate ourselves. Through drama, music and visual arts, we explore ourselves as individuals and then

as individuals in community, examining in detail how we interact with the world around us and the people we encounter. Arts and creativity are, we believe, the core subjects, in that they incorporate all that we know of ourselves physically, spiritually and intellectually. We see the purpose of the arts as elucidation of truth and creation of meaning.Thoughts and ideas are clarified, concepts developed, understanding formed and then communicated to others through the sharing of work.

Creativity is an exciting way of deepening children’s understanding of how art works. ACAE aims to give opportunity to further develop children’s ‘voices’ by showing new possibilities. This is done through supporting and developing teacher’s capacity and bringing out the artist in the teacher as well as the child.

ACAE works closely with artists, teachers and interested organisations. We believe education is about enabling children to develop new ways of seeing, being, understanding, communicating, hearing, etc. We believe that education is the exploration of the possible and we look to expand children’s horizons in the areas of cretaivity and the imagination.

ACAE encourages teachers to give children opportunity to explore their own ideas through different media and to recognise that it is appropriate, indeed necessary, to explore, to find their own ‘voice’.

A central aim of the association is to strenghten collaboration between educators, artists and children to in a celebration of the imagination and creativity. We desire that it be truly educational in that it will be a transformative experience for all concerned.

Literacy and Numeracy are the buzzwords of the moment. But we see the need to develop other literacies.

The arts begin where words end. Drama, Music, Dance and Visual Arts enable us to furnish the child with a new and different imaginative vocabulary that enables the child to speak through various art forms.We can and need to be literate in ways other than that conceived by the literacy and numeracy strategy. We need to provide authentic opportunities in all art forms in order that children may discover where their voice for imaginative expression lies.

If we believe in the arts, if we believe that there is a place for creativity in our educational system, we cannot allow ourselves to be so shortsighted as to deny our children the opportunity to engage meaningfully and authentically with the arts. To engage in a dialogue with themselves and others that has the power to cast light on how we think and behave, that has the power to shape our selves and our world.

As Leigh Hunt said ‘There are two worlds, the world that we can measure with line and rule, and the world that we feel with our hearts and imaginations’. ACAE, through what we hope will be a genuinely collaborative partnership; will open up new worlds of possibility to our children.

For further information, contact Ger Ó Sé of the ACAE Committee by email to admin@acae.ie or via the ACAE website www.acae.ie

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Stress Management for Principals and Deputy Principals

By Karen Belshaw, Stress Management Ireland ‘There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so...’

(Hamlet, William Shakespeare) As a principal or deputy principal, you deal with stress and stressors everyday. Do you ever critically think how you manage this? Do you ever wonder how you survive the constant demands and lack of resources? Why do some appear to manage it better than others? Is stress detrimental or can we utilise it?

Stress is a natural alarm state that you mentally and physically experience, commonly known as the ‘Fight or Flight’ response. As it is part of our biological make-up, it has many positive uses and not just the negative attention it gets.

It can be a warning system that we are pushing ourselves beyond our limits or simply a reminder to take a break.

Stress is a natural alarm state that you mentally and physically experience, commonly known as the ‘Fight or Flight’ response.

Those who manage stressors best are those who recognise the signs of stress - be it physical, emotional, mental or spiritual symptoms - and intervene at the early stages.

These resilient type individuals know their boundaries and know just how much stress is good for them. They use the extra adrenaline and cortisol that is produced in the stress response to fuel their energies during the stressful period but then balance the process with ‘time out’ relaxation in the form of walks, exercise, cognitive relaxation techniques, laughter or simply chatting with a trusted confidente.

As Principal or Deputy Principal, you are constantly managing, mending, counselling, liaising and leading. From the moment you wake to the moment you sleep, in the holidays and at the weekends, it’s not a position that is easy to switch off from. Therefore, your stress management techniques need to be an integral part of your daily life. Your coping skills need

to be practiced regularly and mindfully. To be a good leader you need to have a clear understanding of self. When you can admit that you are truly self-aware you can then manage your stress with ease. How you think is how you feel.

Your ability to deal with stress and level of resilience depends on your perception, personality type and coping skills. How you perceive a situation has a direct effect on your body’s response. If you perceive a situation as difficult, threatening, and beyond your ability to cope, then you trigger the stress response.

Yet interestingly, if you perceive a situation as difficult but manageable or at least confident that you can give it your best shot, then the stress response is not triggered. This is a clear example of the brain not distinguishing between real or imagined situations when it comes to the fight or flight response; if you think it, you react to it.

Those who manage stressors best are those who recognise the signs of stress - be it physical, emotional, mental or spiritual symptoms - and intervene at the early stages.

Your personality type will also influence the way you respond to a potential stressful situation. The classic Type A personality is a champion at leaping to conclusion and premature cognitive commitment, thus causing themselves stress before any event occurs. Do you have constant conversations in your head?

Do you feel guilty if you take time out for a cup of tea? If so, you could be a classic Type A and physical exercise followed by cognitive relaxation techniques are perfect coping strategies for you.

In contrast, the Type B personality procrastinates to the point of frustration and drives all Type A crazy! The Type B has the

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benefit of being more mindful by nature and can study the situation for what it is rather than committing to a singular rigid expectation of things past.

How do you get the balance right? The answer is a regular routine and practiced coping strategies.

Your ability to deal with stress and level of resilience depends on your perception, personality type and coping skills.

Popular coping strategies include ‘Positive Commands’ which involves repeating a simple mantra or positive statement to yourself to bring you strength in the moment of self doubt. ‘Distraction Techniques’ involve visualising in great detail a simple scene that you can replay in your mind as many times as you need; then you return to the situation that was causing you stress. At this stage you will notice that your response is now very different to the way you felt initially. You are more mindful of the actual facts and not so swept away in the hypothetical fiction of ‘what if ’ scenarios. As an example, close your eyes and imagine yourself standing in front of a blackboard with a piece of chalk. Write the numbers 1 to 10 slowly and mindfully; when you reach 10 you then pick up an eraser and erase 10 to 1; put down the chalk and walk away from the blackboard. Open your eyes and carry on with your day.

Other coping strategies to try are any form of physical exercise, three minutes deep abdominal breathing and ‘progressive muscular relaxation’.

Karen Belshaw is available to give workshops on Stress Management to staff.You can contact her by phone on (087) 6779883 or by email to karen@stresstraining.ie.

See also www.stresstraining.ie.

School Tours A Principal’s Journey School tours are an intrinsic part of the primary school year and form key memories that children take from their school days. I have gone through the full spectrum of school tour experiences. When I was in fifth class, our school tour involved going to Kilmichael in West Cork, the site of the famous ambush of the Black & Tans by Tom Barry’s Flying Column where, armed with hurleys, we reenacted the ambush. We absolutely loved it and I’ve never forgotten it. The following year we went by train to Galway and I have two key memories of that day – the length of the train journey and having to run as fast as we could to escape the security guards in an amusement arcade in Salthill, where two of us were attempting to lift the machine to encourage the coins to fall into the winner’s chute. Hardly an educational tour, at least not in the traditional sense! I’m not sure if political correctness would permit such school tours today.

As a young teacher in a school where there was very little restriction on any teacher’s creativity, a colleague and I both took our fifth classes to the hydro-electric dam in Inniscarra and afterwards to Blarney Castle – alright so far you may think. Except for one minor detail which

questioned my ability to forward plan. I had a child in my class who was wheelchairdependent owing to cystic fibrosis. Confronted with the dilemma of what to do with Stuart, my colleague reckoned there was only one thing for it. He carried Stuart’s wheelchair while I carried Stuart ‘piggyback’ to the top of the castle. Those of you who have made it to the top will appreciate the risk involved, not to mention the effort! Stuart did kiss the Blarney Stone, not that he needed it. On our return to the school I was half dodging Stuart’s mother for fear of what she might say when I saw her making a beeline for me. She was over the moon at the idea of Stuart not being left out and how much he had enjoyed the trip.

Those were the days when 28 kids squeezed into a borrowed 15-seater mini bus with no seatbelts was the norm.

Overall the best school tour I recall as a teacher was taking children to Cappanalea in the foothills of Carrauntuohill for a weekend of

kayaking, rock climbing, abseiling and orienteering. Led by highly-skilled guides and in a rustic self-catering lodge, I saw children grow and develop in ways that cannot happen in the classroom.

Those were the days when 28 kids squeezed into a borrowed 15-seater mini bus with no seatbelts was the norm. Later on as principal, I sometimes felt I was like a poacher turned gamekeeper trying to ensure that if 28 children went on tour, the same 28 came back. I have probably broken the rules of common sense in my own exploits as a teacher, along the lines of ‘don’t try this at home’. Nevertheless, the school tour, when properly planned, can continue to be a formative part of children’s education.

For practical guidance on planning and managing school tours – including supervision, transport, kit, costs, venues and a checklist for organising the event - please refer to the School Tours, Excursions & Field Trips Policy under Resources – School Policies on www.ippn.ie.

OUT NOW!

See www.gordondarcy.ie For details and to order your copy

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English Third to Sixth Classes The Wonderland English Literacy Programme for Stages Three and Four comprises of four books:

The My Read at Home Book series develops reading fluency and comprehension skills by encouraging daily and independent reading at home.

The series currently consists of four books: My Read at Home Book 3, 4, 5 and 6.

+ Get Set! (Stage Three, Book 1) + Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Go! (Stage Three, Book 2) + Up and Running! (Stage Four, Book 1) + Racing Ahead! (Stage Four, Book 2) Each reader contains 20 extracts from published childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s literature, 10 fact units and 10 poems.

The extracts have been carefully chosen by peer reviewers and cover a wide range of reading genres. Each extract is followed by a series of activities.

The Teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Notes that accompany each book include a comprehensive week-by-week, month-by-month scheme.

ICT is fully integrated throughout the programme.

As this is an independent series, it can be used in conjunction with any reading programme.

Each book consists of 120 single-page units, arranged into 30 sections (one per week of the school year). Each page is a vibrant stand-alone piece, with a variety of styles and themes to appeal to all tastes and interests.

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And Finally…

QUOTATIONS ing ol I have never let my scho ion. interfere with my educat Mark Twain

The Majoritus Benignus Embrace the status quo.

They appreciate our efforts Because they know we know.

AN ADMIRATION

OF CROWS

The Parentus Supportus And the Parentus Supportus, That faithful, trusting crew, Trans-parent-ise the nonsense, Ignore, dismiss, eschew.

I have been in the teaching profession for almost thirty years and during that time have seen huge changes and developments in school life. One thing that remains constant for me amid all the change is the fascination I have with the schoolyard crows. Over the years I have taken delight in and developed a fondness for these raucous rabble rousers, probably the most unwelcome visitor to any garden.

The Vociferous Minoritus The Vociferous Minoritus Detest the status quo.

Have agenda-driven egos.

Our Nemesis, the Foe.

I love their beady, intelligent eyes, their quizzical expressions and their defiant swagger.

I love the way they appear to understand that they are not beautiful like finches, appealing like the robin or sweet-throated like the blackbird but just don’t care. I love that their name in Irish – préachán – describes so well their harsh, strident call. I love the way in summertime they are blacker than their shadows.

The Parentus Upsetus Yes, the Parentus Upsetus, While small in sense and size Bring grief, distress, anxiety Disturb, antagonise.

I wonder at their haphazard, slapdash, carelessly constructed nests perched precariously on the highest, most windblown branches which weather the severest storms and never fall down.This pleases me, because it confirms my belief that things don’t have to look perfect to be perfectly serviceable. We can all learn from this.

The Parentus Extremus Then the Parentus Extremus, A rare and prickly type, Most irrational, impulsive, Comes with issues, comes to fight.

I admire their gusty, full-on approach to life and their dogged determination and perseverance. They are opportunists of the highest order and completely shameless.

Anyone who has ever watched a crow struggle to get the last crisp or kernel of popcorn out of the scrunched-up bag will know what I mean.

I feel a sense of kinship with these birds as, like myself, they are enslaved by the bell.

Every morning they are summoned for ‘little-lunch’ and again in the afternoon for dinner.Years of observation have led me to conclude that this is not a purely pavlovian response to the sound, I am convinced they can tell the time – they don’t appear when we ring the bell at 9.20am as they have worked out that there are no goodies available.

They also have the 5-day week sussed and won’t come at any time on a Saturday. I’ve checked.

Involvement/Interference There’s involvement/interference And a fine-line which divides, It needs vigilance, takes watching, Keeps the nuisances outside!

Crows have worked their way into our everyday language, to ‘eat crow’ means to be humbled and Shakespeare refers to them in many of his plays. He does not appear to have been enamoured of them and calls them ‘night’s black agents.’ I remember once being approached on my way into school by a very irate granny announcing ‘I have a crow to pluck with you.’The conversation went rapidly downhill after that opening!

The collective term for a group of these unpopular birds is a ‘murder of crows’; this makes it very clear what most people think of them. Henry Ward Beecher (an American Clergyman) thought differently, he said: ‘If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows.’ I second that!

Mary O’Connell is teaching principal at Kilcleagh N.S., Castledaly, Moate, Co. Westmeath. She strives not to become too bogged down in policies and procedures thus leaving her free to ponder matters such as the above.

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The Majoritus Benignus & Co.

Brendan Smyth, Principal of Bennettsbridge MNS, Kilkenny

QUOTATIONS d or esse You can never be overdr

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overeducated.

Oscar Wilde

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