Leadership+ Issue 119 - October 2021

ISSUE 119 / OCTOBER 2021

+ Leadership THE PROFESSIONAL VOICE OF SCHOOL LEADERS

Smooth Sailing EDUCATIONAL Disadvantage

SPECIAL ISSUE

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Rufus is our handwashing hero! He teaches young children good handwashing habits, helping to keep us all safe from harmful germs We all have our role to play in keeping germs at bay. Use the Rufus handwashing pack with Junior Infant classes daily to help reinforce good handwashing habits. For more information visit:

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Department of Education

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Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD discusses the Department of Education’s vision to support learners at risk of educational disadvantage.

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Educational Disadvantage in Australia

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Rob Nairn gives us the Australian perspective on dealing with educational disadvantage.

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Leading DEIS Action Planning

Brendan Doody on a forthcoming report from the Department of Education’s Inspectorate which will provide an overview of the quality of leadership in the action planning for improvement process in DEIS schools.

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Rural DEIS

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Damian White tells us why restoration of HSCL service is a priority for rural DEIS schools.

Leading an Inner City School

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Niamh Murray shares her experiences of being a principal in an inner-city DEIS school.

The Impact of Childhood Abuse

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THE PROFESSIONAL VOICE OF SCHOOL LEADERS

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+ Leadership

Áine Costello, from Barnardos Ireland, talks about the Impact of Childhood Domestic Violence and Abuse on Social and Educational Wellbeing.

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

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Editor: Geraldine D’Arcy Editorial Team: Geraldine D’Arcy, Páiric Clerkin and Brian O’Doherty Comments to: editor@ippn.ie Advertising: adverts@ippn.ie ISSN: 1649-5888 Design: Brosna Press

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

Signposts ISSUE 119 / OCTOBER 2021

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T N E M E NOUC

N A T N EVE

IPPN Annual Principals’

CONFERENCE

For 2022 only

Will be held on May 19th & 20th in Citywest Hotel & Convention Centre IPPN is planning this event to be face to face pending government recommendations & guidelines www.ippn.ie | info@ippn.ie | @IPPN_Education | @IPPNExpo

DEPUTY PRINCIPALS’ CONFERENCE

Leadership for an Imperfect World November 11, 2021 | Virtual Event Full event info coming soon | www.ippn.ie

Membership Renewal

Reminder

IPPN membership subscription is due for renewal in September. The membership renewal pack arrived in schools after August 25th.

Please update/ complete form and return to the IPPN Support Office to avoid a cease in service.

If you have misplaced your form, please download a new form www.ippn.ie/ about- us/ join- ippn

October 2021

EDITORIAL

Smooth Sailing This time last year, we spoke about ‘sailing safely in choppy waters’. As we start the new school year, it is our very sincere hope that there will be ‘smooth sailing’ ahead, that the impact of the ongoing pandemic on you and your school community is much reduced this year and that the summer brought some respite from the onslaught of the past 18 months.

In IPPN, we have sought to support your needs in every way we could, and we continue to do so. We have worked collaboratively with Department officials and other education partners to ensure that all issues and concerns relating to reopening of schools were raised and the supports and funding provided last year were extended into this year.

This Leadership+ is a special issue on a topic of vital importance in almost every school in the country – educational disadvantage.

BUDGET 2022 Our pre-budget submission highlights three key priorities, and we have engaged with the minister, her senior officials, and key stakeholders to progress these: ■ Funding of supports to make primary school leadership more sustainable, including: ● facilitating supports for the clustering of small schools and implementing the proposals arising from the action research project currently being undertaken around the country ● sanctioning at least one leadership and management day per week for teaching principals ● securing administrative status for principals with two or more special classes & all special schools ● increasing middle leadership capacity in larger schools ● establishing teacher supply panels on a permanent footing and increasing their scope ● ensuring supports for children with additional needs are fully resourced.

■ Retention of pandemic supports for schools ■ Adequate resourcing of supports for vulnerable children adversely impacted by the Covid pandemic.

You can read the submission on www.ippn.ie under Advocacy -> Submissions. LINK EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGE This Leadership+ is a special issue on a topic of vital importance in almost every school in the country – educational disadvantage. School leaders are among the greatest advocates for children who are disadvantaged – and there are numerous forms of it. We have invited

LEADERSHIP+ EDITORIAL TEAM contributors from across the sector to give their perspective on this issue, so as to shape the response of the policy-makers in the coming years. Primary principal Niamh Murray of Rutland St NS outlines the particular challenges of leading an inner city Dublin school. A number of Offaly school leaders contributed to a piece on Rural DEIS. IPPN deputy president, Louise Tobin, tells us what progress, if any, is being made regarding non-DEIS disadvantaged schools.

The minister and her officials tell us about the Department’s strategy for disadvantage. Brendan Doody of the DE Inspectorate writes about leadership and DEIS action planning. Rob Nairn outlines some sobering statistics from Australia. Áine Costello of Barnardos tells us about disadvantage supports and the impact of childhood domestic violence and abuse. The PDST outlines the resources, CPD and supports available for DEIS/ disadvantage.

We also hear from a number of academics and researchers with expertise on the topic. Dr Paul Downes tells us about key research from the Educational Disadvantage Centre at DCU. Dr Selina McCoy of the ESRI writes about the findings of the Growing Up in Ireland research relating to the impact school has over and above that of the home.

Dr Gene Mehigan of Marino Institute of Education tells us about literacy and disadvantage, and Dr Lorraine Gilleece of the Educational Research Centre tells us about the data coming from the National Assessments with regard to DEIS urban schools.

We welcome your feedback to editor@ippn.ie.

Is sinne le meas

Brian O’Doherty Páiric Clerkin President CEO

Geraldine D’Arcy Editor

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Educational Disadvantage

Rural DEIS Restoration of HSCL is a priority DAMIAN WHITE PRINCIPAL OF SCOIL SHINCHILL, KILLEIGH, CO. OFFALY AND IPPN PAST PRESIDENT

The popular perception of DEIS schools is that they are primarily in urban settings, in areas predominantly occupied by large public housing developments in cities and large towns. It may surprise many however, to know that of the 689 schools included in a DEIS programme, 356 or 52%, are classified as being in rural areas. This includes schools in small towns as well as those in country settings. Predominantly rural counties such as Donegal and Mayo have 98 and 67 schools respectively classified as rural DEIS, while Cork, which includes Ireland’s second largest city, has 15 schools in the programme.

Schools in the rural DEIS Programme were dealt a severe blow when access to the Home Community School Liaison (HSCL) service was removed as part of a suite of rationalisation measures taken following the 2009 financial crisis.

As with other schools receiving DEIS support, rural schools on the programme are required to set out a three-year DEIS Action Plan for Improvement, including the establishment of SMART targets to be reviewed annually against key DEIS themes, including literacy and numeracy, attendance, partnership with parents, local community and enterprise and educational progression.

In each of these themes, schools must identify: Schools in the rural DEIS Programme were dealt a severe blow when access to the Home Community School Liaison (HSCL) service was removed 4

as part of a suite of rationalisation measures taken following the 2009 financial crisis. Prior to that, rural DEIS schools had access to a shared HSCL co-ordinator, who played a critical role in supporting the development, implementation, evaluation, and review of the school’s DEIS Action Plan.

The promotion of parental involvement in their children’s learning, and developing their confidence and capabilities in their role as primary educators, had a significant impact on children’s learning outcomes.

HSCL Coordinators visited pupils’ homes, organised courses for parents /guardians and liaised with other agencies providing support for those children targeted for additional support, all to the benefit of those most in need. That this service has not been restored, even partially, is very disappointing, given the partial restoration of many other services that were reduced at the same time.

It should be noted that the large majority of schools in the rural DEIS programme are led by teaching principals. The lack of a HSCL coordinator has meant the bulk of the organisation of supports and services offered under the programme, and the administration to accompany it, falls to a person already dealing with full teaching and school leadership duties.

The school meals programme for example, which has been so important for children in all schools in the DEIS programme, requires considerable administration. In many cases, the HSCL co-ordinator would have been central to supporting the principal in this role. Now the principal may find themselves fulfilling the school mealrelated duties themselves. During the Covid-related closures, school principals played a phenomenal role in ensuring that children received their food.

Principals of rural DEIS schools, given that many are based in remote

areas, are more likely than most to face concerns around adequate broadband, which was a critical issue for so many throughout the COVID closures. They also had concerns for the mental health of their pupils during lockdown due to the isolation suffered by so many.

Principals of rural DEIS schools, given that many are based in remote areas, are more likely than most to face concerns around adequate broadband, which was a critical issue for so many throughout the COVID closures.

On the positive side, when school self-evaluation became a formalised feature of school life everywhere, all DEIS schools, including the rural cohort, were already well versed in how to evaluate school needs, evaluate strengths and plan targeted interventions from their experience with DEIS plans. Also, rural DEIS schools are predominantly in areas where community spirit and support are strong, and families have strong local support from family and longestablished neighbours and friends.

A restoration of the HSCL co-ordinator to clusters of rural DEIS schools would help to pull so many strands together and help to make the job of the principal more sustainable. As things stand, principals are suffering from having far too many plates to keep spinning simultaneously. It is time to act.

Damian.White@ippn.ie

Educational Disadvantage

Department of Education vision to support learners at

risk of educational disadvantage NORMA FOLEY TD MINISTER FOR EDUCATION COVID-19 has highlighted the important role schools play in nurturing and supporting our young people, in particular vulnerable learners or those at risk of educational disadvantage. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the enormous effort and energy you have displayed over the past challenging period. The strong, respectful, professional relationship evident in the partnership between my Department and IPPN has been critical over the past 18 months.

Last June I was pleased to launch my Department’s Statement of Strategy, which sets out the vision and mission of the Department for the next three years. This vision is an educational system where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential. In order to achieve this vision and mission, the strategy sets out three high-level goals.

Goal 2: Ensure equity of opportunity in education and that all students are supported to fulfil their potential recognises that equality of opportunity and inclusivity must be fundamental principles in our education system.

The successful delivery of this goal means that our school system is open and welcoming for all students, regardless of background, and that in particular learners at risk of educational disadvantage will be supported to achieve their full potential.

This goal is underpinned by key strategic actions. These actions include helping students at risk of educational disadvantage to access appropriate education resources which reflect their diverse needs and support improved outcomes. This will be supported by the development and publication of a Traveller Education Strategy and through ensuring early identification of supports for students who are at risk of disengaging from school. My Department will also seek to address the retention and achievement gap between Delivering Equality of

Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) and non-DEIS schools through the DEIS programme.

Schools play an enormous role in nurturing and supporting our children and young people and my Department will continue to support schools’ capacity to do this. This September saw a one-point improvement in the staffing schedule for all schools, including DEIS Band 1 schools, providing for what is now a historically low pupil-teacher ratio. Under Budget 2022 I was glad to announce a €5 million package for measures to tackle educational disadvantage. My Department will spend in the region of €150 million this year on the DEIS programme and we will seek to increase investment in this area and continue exploration of new approaches to support students at risk of educational disadvantage.

I also recognise that school leaders and staff must be able to benefit from regular and fit-for-purpose continuing professional development (CPD), and we will seek to increase

access to support services for schools from the National Council for Special Education and the National Educational Psychological Service.

COVID-19 has thrown up many challenges and continues to do so.

The impact on students, staff, and families cannot be forgotten, and they must be our priorities. Supporting the needs of children at risk of educational disadvantage must be at the heart of what we achieve through education.

The Programme for Government identifies education as a cornerstone of society and a driver of social equality which will play a key role in our recovery after the pandemic. I, and my Department, look forward to continuing to work in partnership with IPPN to ensure that learners at risk of educational disadvantage are supported to play a key role in that recovery.

If you would like to contact the minister in relation to this article, you can email her at Minister@education. gov.ie or via Twitter @NormaFoleyTD1.

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EducAtional Disadvantage

Leading an

Inner City School NIAMH MURRAY PRINCIPAL OF RUTLAND ST NS, DUBLIN 1 What is your understanding or experience of DEIS? is a standard teacher interview question and one which could be posed to a much broader audience as there are some misconceptions. ‘The resources available’ is usually referenced first, but this is the last thing those of us working long term in DEIS schools would mention.

The DEIS scheme serves schools in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities where often generations of educational disadvantage persist. It is a complex and multi-layered issue pertaining to wider social inequality, not easily shoe-horned into an acronym. Relationships are key to making any inroad into eradicating educational disadvantage, yet there is scant reference to these in the DEIS Plan. Relationships are not a ‘measurable’, yet they are what leading an inner-city school is all about.

The DEIS scheme serves schools in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities where often generations of educational disadvantage persist. It is a complex and multi-layered issue pertaining to wider social inequality, not easily shoe-horned into an acronym.

ADVOCACY A considerable amount time is spent advocating for children, many of whom may not have a parent in a position to advocate for them – owing perhaps to a lack of confidence, addiction or mental health issues. Much time is spent liaising with Tusla, which can be exhausting and quite frustrating.

Like most DEIS principals, this work 6

of navigating the social work system is shared with the HSCL, an utterly invaluable role.

Liaising with outside agencies in relation to children is critical, making sure they are accessing the correct services and supports. Working with parents is paramount. It can be difficult to get parents to join a Parents Association as many don’t have the confidence. Smaller, more informal groups led by the HSCL tend to get better engagement.

School attendance is still an enormous issue for a small number of children and time is spent chasing this up. Chronic or erratic attendance correlates strongly with poor academic attainment. Inadequate early intervention from Tusla means it is incumbent on the principal and HSCL to liaise with parents to ensure that children make it into school every morning. This places the principal in a tricky role. However, to disregard it would leave the child missing out on their education.

SUPPORT Providing support to staff working in a challenging environment is crucial. It is important to pop in to teachers to check how a child is doing and how the teacher is faring. Some children experience such a level of emotional trauma that they may not be ready to learn and may be a disruptive influence in a class, which is stressful for a teacher.

We have experienced some situations in recent times, which I find difficult to comprehend and I often wonder how a seven year-old can cope with their situation? When I explain the social work system to younger teachers, they find it extremely demoralising to think that children cannot be helped more than they are.

I am concerned about the toll some of this takes on teachers, who have the child in their care all day and may

worry about them going home in the evening. I am extremely fortunate to have an amazing NEPS psychologist, who I often ask advice of in relation to supporting staff, as much as children, with some of the more complex situations.

The strong sense of community spirit in the inner city, as was demonstrated when our neighbour Kellie Harrington won Olympic gold, is what sets it apart as a fantastic place to work.

TRAINING Working in DEIS throws up constant challenges, which result in schools seeking new ideas and ways of working. Stagnancy or boredom are words that are not in our vocabulary.

Being forced to constantly adapt makes us dynamic as schools. The role of principal is challenging and rewarding but burnout is a real risk.

Leading a school in the inner city comprises the superlatives – you experience the best and worst of times. The gangland feud in Dublin city took an enormous toll on the community. Nothing prepares you to attend the funeral of a parent who has been murdered and see their young children distressed.

The strong sense of community spirit in the inner city, as was demonstrated when our neighbour Kellie Harrington won Olympic gold, is what sets it apart as a fantastic place to work. Put simply, it can be great fun and the laughs help keep us afloat during the difficult times.

If you would like to get in touch with Niamh in relation to this article, you can email her at rutlandnsprincipal@ gmail.com.

EducAtional Disadvantage

A New Post-Pandemic Social Contract between Health and Education in Ireland Key Issues for DEIS Schools

DR. PAUL DOWNES DIRECTOR OF THE EDUCATIONAL DISADVANTAGE CENTRE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY OF EDUCATION, INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION, DCU Our Educational Disadvantage Centre submission and presentation to the Joint Oireachtas Education Committee (December 2020) in response to the Covid pandemic raised key issues regarding the provision of emotional counsellors/therapists and hot meals onsite in schools. It did so against the backdrop of comparison with many European countries that routinely provide both. Several European countries have bridged the education/ health divide by providing key health services onsite in schools, with the aid of multidisciplinary teams. Ireland is playing catch-up in this area.

The Joint Oireachtas Education Committee report in response to Covid (2021) gives these key recommendations: ■ Emotional counselling and therapeutic supports should be provided in all primary and secondary schools as an urgent priority ■ The provision of hot meals to vulnerable students should be expanded to cover periods of school closures and holidays and a Hot Meals Programme should be rolled out nationally to all schools on a phased basis.

These offer key foundations for a new post-pandemic social contract between health and education in Irish schools.

Trauma and adverse childhood experiences take many different forms: domestic violence, substance abuse in the family, emotional neglect, physical neglect, mental illness, loss of parent though divorce, death or abandonment, physical abuse, emotional abuse, incarcerated family member, consistent poverty, experience of suicide, childhood homelessness, bullying in school, and being placed in state care. Trauma and adversity impacting on mental health of pupils is exacerbated in this pandemic, including the additional emotional and financial strain of lockdown on so many families.

A teacher can offer support through mental health promotion and stress prevention, but a teacher is not a therapist. The need to meet the complexity of emotional needs is not addressed by NEPS or fulfilled by the use of generic pre-packaged wellbeing programmes, as neither provide suitable ongoing individual therapeutic supports for trauma and adverse childhood experiences. The National Wellbeing in Schools Policy 2018 of a teacher as ‘One good adult’ is no substitute for qualified emotional counsellors and therapists.

109,401 children between the ages of 6 and 11 years of age experienced poverty calculated at 70% of the national median income, 72,649 at 60% and 28,632 6-11 year olds experienced so-called deep poverty at 50% of the national median income.

A further major concern is the impact on child poverty due to the economic crisis generated by Covid-19, and the series of lockdowns that came with it. 109,401 children between the ages of 6 and 11 years of age experienced poverty calculated at 70% of the national median income, 72,649 at 60% and 28,632 6-11 year olds experienced so-called deep poverty at 50% of the national median income. These official 2020 child poverty figures based on 2018 analysis, massively underestimate needs and are outdated in light of the pandemic impacts affecting Irish children and families.

The explicit commitment in the Programme for Government 2020 is to ‘Continue to review and expand the roll-out of the new Hot School Meals initiative’. This vital initiative received an October 2020 budget commitment

of an additional €5.5 million for hot meals in schools for 35,000 more children nationally. However, there is need for a much more substantial financial commitment to expand this across DEIS and other schools nationally so it is not simply a hit and miss approach depending on which schools can or cannot avail of this national scheme.

There is a clear lesson to be learned from the previous post-Celtic Tiger economic crash after the banking crisis. Child poverty soared in Ireland at the fastest rate in Europe between 2008 and 2011. In other words, uniquely in Europe, Ireland placed the burden of poverty in the last economic crash most substantially onto its children. This was a clear policy choice and far from inevitable consequence of the last recession. Is history going to repeat itself or will the Irish State take proactive efforts to protect its children from the poverty impact of the recession induced by the pandemic?

Other key steps in this proposed post-pandemic social contract between health and education are the successive Programme for Government commitments to the provision of speech and language and occupational therapists onsite in schools (recommended in Educational Disadvantage Centre/CDI Tallaght briefing papers in 2016). This needs to be expanded beyond pilot projects across DEIS schools. Even with this reconfiguration of educationally relevant health services for Irish schools, Ireland still lags far behind the standards of Denmark, for example, which provides a multidisciplinary team for every school.

If you would like to contact Paul in relation to this article, you can email him at paul.downes@dcu.ie.

LINK

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EducAtional Disadvantage

Educational Disadvantage in Australia

ROB NAIRN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY Two major international assessments of student learning, the Programme for International Student Assessment (2018) PISA and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (2020) TIMSS show that educational disadvantage continues to be a problem in Australia and it is not improving.

In Australia, educational disadvantage is a reality faced by many Indigenous students, students who reside outside metropolitan areas, and/or students from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Unfortunately, the gap between those for whom demography determines destiny, and those for whom there is real choice, continues to widen.

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The My School website shows there are 2,578 schools (Government, Catholic and Independent) with 40% or more students in the lowest socio-economic status quartile. Of these 94.8% are public (Government) schools, 3.6% Catholic schools and 1.6% Independent schools. To put it another way, over 80% of disadvantaged students are enrolled in public schools and over 90% of disadvantaged schools are public schools.

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The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) on its National Report on Schooling data portal show that income per student of Catholic and Independent schools is much higher than for public schools and that their income has increased six to eight times that of public schools since 2009. The increasing resource advantage of private schools is mainly due to much larger government funding increases than for public schools.

What is the data telling us?

■ Australia is ninth worst of 77 countries for the equitable allocation of resources between disadvantaged and advantaged schools ■ Australia scores almost five times worse than the OECD average in terms of the unequitable allocation

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of resources to disadvantaged schools Australia was one of only eight countries to record that socioeconomic status has a negative impact on the likelihood of students expecting a high-skill occupation Students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds were more than three times more likely to display lower achievement levels than non-Indigenous students Students at remote schools were up to five times more likely to display lower achievement levels compared to those from metropolitan schools Australia is the only OECD country where disadvantaged schools are worse off than advantaged schools in five out of six measures of teacher quantity in schools 36.5% of students in disadvantaged schools are in schools whose principal reported a shortage of teaching staff compared to only 6.3% of students in the most advantaged schools Teacher absenteeism is significantly higher in disadvantaged schools Teachers in advantaged schools are more experienced than those in disadvantaged schools.

Disadvantaged schools have more teachers with less than five years teaching experience Disadvantaged schools experience higher turnover rates in teachers than advantaged schools Smaller schools and schools outside of metropolitan areas are more likely to have teachers teaching across multiple areas and outside their area of expertise High concentrations of lessexperienced teachers in schools with a high percentage of disadvantaged students may compound the academic difficulties these students face.

What can we do?

Principal quality is most important in

disadvantaged and low performing schools, but quality principals are inequitably distributed across schools.

Whilst it’s easy to blame funding and resourcing for disadvantage, as a profession we must ensure that policies create conditions and target resources that recruit effective leaders and help them succeed in the context of their disadvantaged school.

While programs such as Fogarty EDvance are successful in building the capacity of school leadership teams in Western Australia, ‘as long as we continue to appoint our least experienced leaders in our most isolated / disadvantaged schools with our least experienced teachers and with little support, we will exacerbate disadvantage’.

Rob was previously the President of the Australian Secondary Principal’s Association (ASPA) and is a Life Member of the International Confederation of Principals (ICP).

He has worked in metropolitan and regional Senior High Schools in Western Australia, particularly in low socio-economic areas. He is passionate about shaping the direction of educational reform and ensuring that every school has a quality leader who provides high quality education to every young person regardless of their geographic, social or personal circumstances.

If you would like to contact Rob in relation to this article, you can email him at robnairn13@iinet.net.au. He is on Twitter as RobNairn13 https:// twitter.com/RobNairn13 and on LinkedIn as Robert Nairn - linkedin. com/in/Robert-nairn-0b214217 PISA TIMSS

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My School Website

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Report on Schooling Fogarty EDvance

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EducAtional Disadvantage

Literacy and Disadvantage:

Something in the Water?

DR. GENE MEHIGAN VICE PRESIDENT FOR EDUCATION & STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT, MARINO INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION On July 29th, 2021, Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan, from Skibbereen Rowing Club, won gold medals in rowing for Ireland at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. These same rowers also won medals at the previous Olympics and also in recent World Rowing Championships. Their West Cork club came under close scrutiny.

Was there something in the water down there in Skibbereen? When asked to explain the remarkable achievements, their coach highlighted the importance of having an ideal river close at hand and the high participation by locals in the sport. Put simply, you are unlikely to produce rowers without a river. Success was attributed to the availability of the appropriate resources and the motivation for participation through the activity of enthusiastic role models.

Parallels can be drawn between this story and the challenges in learning to read and write for our primary school children. Language and literacy are the fundamental foundation to our children’s expression of themselves, their ability to communicate and central to building relationships with others. As children grow up, literacy becomes the key to unlocking their potential as learners and is their doorway to active and meaningful contribution to their community. Using the aforementioned rowing analogy, to succeed in reading, children need the ideal conditions from the outset.

You are unlikely to nurture literacy in the absence of reading material.

The home environment provides the foundation for early literacy and plays a prominent role in the development of children’s attitudes towards learning, self-concept, and reading skills. Where books are readily available in the home, where parents read to or with their children from an early age, and where there is a high level of verbal interaction, reading development is more likely to be nourished than a home environment where such features are absent. Conversely, without the proper resources and the motivational

impact of exposure to modelled reading behaviours and participation in early literacy activities, children very often struggle with learning to read and write.

Recent assessment of reading achievement in our primary schools, confirms that disadvantage and poor literacy outcomes are intrinsically linked. The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is a comprehensive assessment of fourth grade students’ reading literacy achievement which provides internationally comparative data on how well children read. Results for Ireland in this assessment in 2016 found that pupils attending primary schools designated as disadvantaged, have significantly lower average reading achievement scores than their counterparts in non-designated schools. Significantly, it found that pupils in urban disadvantaged schools possessed fewer books, spent less time reading outside school, and had engaged less frequently in early literacy activities with adults in their home.

used to conceptualise the influences of families, and the communities in which they are embedded, on children’s academic development. Parental involvement in a child’s literacy education is of paramount importance in terms of reinforcing what is learned in the classroom through assisting with homework, encouraging reading and providing essential encouragement.

Every home needs an ideal river.

Therein you will find something in the water.

If you would like to contact Gene in relation to this article, you can email him at gene.mehigan@mie.ie or message him via Twitter @genemehigan.

Recent assessment of reading achievement in our primary schools, confirms that disadvantage and poor literacy outcomes are intrinsically linked.

The solution to this problem frequently and justifiably focuses on the instruction we offer our pupils. Decades of educational research confirm the importance of teacher knowledge to the quality of literacy instruction offered to students. As chairperson of an Urban DEIS Band 1 school, I am acutely aware of the importance of recruiting the best teachers who can offer top quality literacy instruction to our students. However, we cannot address this problem at school alone.

The term ‘cultural capital’ has been 9

EducAtional Disadvantage

The Impact of Childhood Domestic Violence and Abuse

on Social and Educational Wellbeing ÁINE COSTELLO BARNARDOS IRELAND For children living in a home environment where domestic violence and abuse or coercive control is present, school is often regarded as a safe haven, or even an escape, for many. Through Barnardos’ extensive work with children who are victims of domestic violence or abuse, we regularly hear of the significant role school plays in their often unstable lives, and also witness how children impacted by domestic violence can experience educational disadvantage.

CHILDREN’S EXPERIENCE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE When domestic violence and abuse occurs in adult relationships, this is a lived experience for children in the family. It is experienced through all their senses and their lives are dominated by fear, control, isolation and intimidation.

While children are often the unseen victims of domestic abuse, they are not passive bystanders, but are centrally involved and experience the violence and abuse in their own right.

It affects every aspect of a child’s life including their health, wellbeing and development from conception through to adulthood.

Experiencing violence within the family, or living in fear of violence, are causes of toxic stress in a child’s body. This affects how children and young people

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engage with their daily activities social, educational and community and can result in development impairments, patterns of risk-taking behaviour and poor outcomes. A child’s education is often impacted as the toxic stress experienced pushes them to live in a fight of flight mode and hinders their concentration levels and ability to participate.

When domestic violence and abuse occurs in adult relationships, this is a lived experience for children in the family. It is experienced through all their senses and their lives are dominated by fear, control, isolation and intimidation.

IN THEIR WORDS Children have described to us what it feels like for them to live in such a toxic environment.

‘It’s a really bad feeling in our heart, and it feels like it’s broken. We feel very very angry, afraid, frustrated, worried, scared, confused, nervous and sad.

Sometimes we feel it in our bodies too,

we might get weak, our eyes might go black, we get a pain in our belly, our bones start to hurt and sometimes we don’t feel like eating a lot. Sometimes we feel like hurting ourselves to make all our problems go away.’

‘It is shouting, name calling, crying, shattered glass and sometimes punches, bruises and blood. It gets louder and louder, they don’t think we can hear it, but we can hear it in our rooms, when we are in bed even if it is in the last corner of the house. It’s like a fighting match and we are worried that mam might get killed. When he texts and rings he only asks about mam, I feel like he only cares about mam, not us. It is as if we don’t matter.’

HOW SCHOOLS CAN SUPPORT CHILDREN EXPERIENCING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE Schools can potentially play a role as a support system, and not just one of respite for children and young people, by providing a safe place for children to feel heard and supported.

There are key signals to watch out for in the classroom or play yard for children who may be impacted by such circumstances, and be silently seeking your help. In addition to the physical and emotional signs and symptoms of trauma that teachers will be familiar

EducAtional Disadvantage with, signs of a child experiencing coercive control in the home are often quiet and / or withdrawn behaviour.

Coercive control tends to impact on a child’s social world and they may not be involved in afterschool activities, play dates, and may be on their own at lunchtime.

Children have told Barnardos that they would like the adults they meet in their daily lives to notice when they are not ok, and to take the time to show they are concerned. Adults should not be afraid to ask, and to use wording such as fighting and hurting, as children tell us they often do not have the language to talk about what is happening them.

Many children also ask that we allow them space and time to tell us what is happening, as it can be very difficult to share. Children can fear that people they love will get in trouble or that they or someone else will be harmed because they have spoken to someone.

There is also a tendency for children to feel that they are responsible for what is happening at home hence time, space and a gentle approach are very important to reassure them it is safe to share, and it’s not their fault.

To help these children, we suggest that school staff: ■ Create a safe environment for the child – this is somewhere that a child feels safe and comfortable in, with a trusted person they can talk to, and that they are given the time and reassurance that they will be listened to ■ Reassure they are not responsible for fighting/hurting at home ■ Be aware of local services ■ Listen and believe.

Children have told Barnardos that they would like the adults they meet in their daily lives to notice when they are not ok, and to take the time to show they are concerned It is important to understand that a child experiencing domestic violence is a child protection concern and you should inform you school’s designated liaison person for child protection.

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They will provide an informed and considered response that will not compromise the safety of children or young people in the home. There are services in every community that can offer support and help including the Gardai, Tusla, Barnardos or your local specialised domestic abuse service and Family Resource Centre.

In the last year, Barnardos worked with over 17,000 children and families, delivering services in communities and with our partners to transform the lives of vulnerable children who are affected by adverse childhood experiences.

For more information on Barnardos services, or to contact your local Barnardos please see www.barnardos.ie/contact LINK

You can view our recent online seminar on Childhood Domestic Violence and Abuse, and the video, ‘In their Words – Children’s Experience of Domestic Violence and Abuse’ on our website.

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EducAtional Disadvantage

Leading DEIS Action Planning for Improvement BRENDAN DOODY ASSISTANT CHIEF INSPECTOR A forthcoming report from the Department of Education’s Inspectorate will provide a comprehensive overview of the quality of leadership in the action planning for improvement process in DEIS schools. The report is based on the findings and recommendations arising from 78 DEIS evaluations conducted at primary and post-primary levels between 2017 and 2020. Two excerpts from the report are presented below.

The first details what research tells us about effective leadership in schools.

The second outlines some of the very good leadership practices observed during DEIS inspections and noted in published reports.

What the research tells us Leadership for school improvement is shaped by the contexts in which schools and their leaders find themselves. Each school context is unique and includes pupils of all levels of ability and background as well as families, teachers and resources. All of these factors define and shape leadership practice in schools.

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Research on effective school leadership in schools located in areas of social and economic disadvantage indicates that effective school leaders require a range of skills, personal qualities and knowledge.

Successful and strategic leaders of DEIS schools: ■ Ensure that a positive school culture is promoted and that all staff members focus on and commit to achieving the DEIS goals and targets. School leaders influence staff’s motivation, dedication and their working conditions. Successful schools have leaders at all levels in the school that build a nurturing and trusting environment for staff which, in turn, promotes staff and pupil wellbeing and respect.

■ Are guided by a moral and ethical purpose which is to provide the best learning opportunities and hold the highest expectations for 12

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their staff and their pupils. This moral purpose underpins the mission and vision for their school.

Prioritise instructional leadership.

Instructional leadership involves “an influence process through which leaders identify direction for the school, motivate staff and coordinate school and classroom-based strategies aimed at improvements in teaching and learning”.

Build and communicate a compelling vision: developing shared goals; engaging in effective planning and organisation; motivating and inspiring others; and setting high performance expectations for all. Teachers with high expectations of their pupils have the most impact on pupils’ outcomes.

Value networking and collaboration within the school. These leaders capitalise on expertise and knowledge that external agencies can offer and recognise benefits that formal and informal partnership with a wide range of groups and agencies can provide in terms of enhancing their pupils’ experiences of education or in supporting their pupils with specific needs. These leaders value communication and the input of all staff members to the development of the school’s strategic action plan.

Promote distributed and teacher leadership. Effective leaders share and distribute leadership responsibilities regarding DEIS action planning with other staff members.

They build leadership capacity throughout their schools. Senior leaders are aware of the strengths of the school team and create networks or teams of teachers that lead the DEIS action planning process.

Promote pupil performance through providing continuing professional development for their teachers which fosters high-quality teaching and learning, encourages innovation and empowers

teachers. They monitor the impact of the DEIS action plan on their pupils, school climate and the quality of teaching.

Many examples of highly effective leadership practices were identified and reported upon in the Inspectorate’s published DEIS reports.

Where the work of the principal and the leadership team in schools was described as very good or highly effective in terms of leading the DEIS action process, it was characterised by the following: COMMUNICATION Establishing clear and effective communication structures and protocols; principals and other senior leaders foster a shared vision among staff and management to progressing DEIS action planning as a wholeschool process, to improve teaching and learning and to enhance the life chances of pupils so that they reach their potential.

ACTION PLANNING FOR IMPROVEMENT Implementing the six-step approach to action planning for improvement (outlined in the SSE process) as fundamental to the DEIS action planning process.

MANAGING DATA Analysing baseline data and information available to the school, including the views and perspectives of the teachers, parents and pupils and data from formative and summative assessment, so that measurable targets are set in order to identify expected outcomes for pupils.

TARGET SETTING Setting, monitoring and reviewing targets across the DEIS themes which are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound (SMART) in a three-year action plan.

Ensuring that pupils who are most at-risk are identified and specific

EducAtional Disadvantage targets are set for these pupils to ensure that interventions and additional school resources can be used to meet their needs.

WHOLE-SCHOOL IMPLEMENTATION ■ All teachers demonstrating very high levels of awareness of whole-school targets and of their respective roles in contributing to the achievement of these targets ■ Placing teaching and learning as central to the school improvement process and linking targets in each theme to the work in the classroom ■ Identifying effective teaching and learning practices and integrating these purposefully into the strategies to support DEIS action planning for improvement ■ Integrating whole-school DEIS targets into classroom and subject department plans and implementing these targets consistently in lessons in various subject departments (postprimary) ■ Choosing actions or strategies for each of the DEIS themes which are evidence-informed

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and have the greatest impact on pupils’ learning, wellbeing and engagement with school Outlining a wide range of wholeschool actions which are closely linked to the targets set Ensuring that actions are implemented consistently throughout the school.

MONITORING AND REVIEWING ACTIONS ■ Gathering data on the effectiveness of these actions and interventions frequently throughout the school year and analysing these data to measure the effectiveness of how the school is deploying its resources ■ Monitoring the plan to ensure that accurate and useful data is available and enables identification of areas in need of further development ■ Publishing a summary of the improvement plan for parents and other members of the school community in order to fulfil the school’s reporting obligations under Circulars 0039/2016 and 0040/2016

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Monitoring the DEIS action plan for improvement and discussing it at board of management meetings.

The Inspectorate looks forward to engaging with school leaders and teachers in DEIS schools as well as the Department’s support services regarding the findings and recommendations contained in the report.

Brendan leads the Inclusion and Teacher Education Policy Unit in the Department of Education’s Inspectorate.

Bibliography references available on request by email to editor@ippn.ie.

Return to School Forms The HSE Return to Education Facility Parental Declaration Form and the Staff Return to Work Form are both now available on all TextaParent accounts.

The form can be sent to parents and staff via SMS or email. The form is to be completed when pupils or staff return to school after any absence. All form submissions are reported back to your TextaParent account.

If you have any queries, or would like to try TextaParent.ie for yourself, please contact info@textaparent.ie

Irish Primary Principals’ Network Líonra Phríomhoidí Bunscoile Éireann

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EducAtional Disadvantage Using data from national and international large-scale assessments in the

monitoring and evaluation of DEIS LORRAINE GILLEECE & EMER DELANEY EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH CENTRE

Achievement differences between pupils in DEIS and non-DEIS primary schools have been examined in recent cycles of the National Assessments (NA) of Mathematics and English reading, with a focus on Urban DEIS schools where levels of achievement can be of particular concern. Findings from NA 2014 show that, despite improvements between 2009 and 2014, the achievement gap remains between Urban DEIS and non-DEIS schools. In 2014, there was a disproportionately large number of struggling readers in Urban DEIS primary schools. Almost half of sixth class pupils in Urban DEIS Band 1 schools, compared to a quarter of pupils nationally, had very low levels of English reading achievement. In Mathematics, performance in Urban DEIS schools was well below national standards.

The number of DEIS schools in NA 2014 was sufficient to provide broad indicators of achievement. However, larger numbers are required to get more accurate estimates. In spring 2021, the most recent national assessments incorporated an increased sample of Urban DEIS schools to permit more accurate comparisons between pupils in DEIS and non-DEIS schools.

To reduce the burden on schools during the pandemic, English reading only was assessed at second class and Mathematics only at sixth class.

Findings will be published in 2022.

Data from international large-scale assessments of education also permit comparisons between DEIS and non-DEIS schools. Detailed national analyses show that average reading achievement in the OECD’s PISA 2018 was significantly lower in DEIS postprimary schools than in non-DEIS schools, although the gap between the two was smaller in 2018 than in 2009.

In 2018, over one-fifth of students in DEIS post-primary schools had very low reading scores, compared to 9% in non-DEIS schools. In PISA 2018 Mathematics and Science, students in DEIS post-primary schools scored 14

significantly below the OECD average and significantly below students in nonDEIS schools.

Findings from PISA 2018 also showed that about three-quarters of students in DEIS post-primary schools and half in non-DEIS schools, had principals who identified unauthorised student absence as a hindrance to learning. Over one-infive students in DEIS schools (and 7% in non-DEIS schools) had principals who reported that student use of alcohol or drugs hindered learning. Key positive findings were that students in both DEIS and non-DEIS post-primary schools had access to varied extra-curricular activities, and virtually all students were in schools with policies to support student wellbeing. Students in DEIS schools had a significantly higher mean score on the index of school policies for parental involvement.

Almost half of sixth class pupils in Urban DEIS Band 1 schools, compared to a quarter of pupils nationally, had very low levels of English reading achievement.

At primary level, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an international assessment of reading. A forthcoming report on PIRLS 2016 shows that average reading achievement in Urban Band 1 and Band 2 DEIS schools was significantly lower than in non-DEIS schools. The gap was wider for urban Band 1 schools. The difference in average achievement between rural DEIS and non-DEIS schools was not significant. Compared to peers in other schools, on average, students in Urban DEIS schools had engaged less frequently in early literacy activities with parents/guardians, possessed fewer home resources for learning (including books), and spent less time reading outside school. More

positively, there was no significant difference in the average reading confidence of students in Urban DEIS schools versus those in other schools, or their reported liking of reading. Data collection for PIRLS 2021 takes place this autumn with fifth class pupils in 148 primary schools.

These findings show the ongoing achievement gap between students in DEIS and non-DEIS schools at both primary and post-primary levels.

However, such a gap between students from higher and lower socioeconomic backgrounds exists in virtually all countries participating in international studies, and research findings point towards a relatively higher degree of equity in the Irish education system than in many other countries around the world. Some positive findings have been published regarding the achievement of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds in Ireland. For example, national analyses show that the average reading score of students in DEIS postprimary schools in PISA 2018 was at the level of the OECD average. International research shows that post-primary students from low socioeconomic backgrounds in Ireland performed well in PISA 2012 Mathematics relative to their international counterparts from similar backgrounds. Ireland has been recognised by the European Commission as having a strong focus on equity in education. It has also been suggested that Ireland’s longstanding focus on reducing educational disadvantage, may at least partly explain the country’s lower percentages of low achieving students in PISA relative to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

If you would like to contact Lorraine and Emer in relation to this article, you can send them an email at Lorraine.Gilleece@erc.ie.

PISA 2018 PIRLS

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Academic References

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EducAtional Disadvantage

Non-DEIS Disadvantage LOUISE TOBIN PRINCIPAL OF ST. JOSEPH’S PRIMARY, TIPPERARY TOWN, AND IPPN DEPUTY PRESIDENT

No one could have predicted the huge global challenges that have faced us since I last wrote for Leadership+ - in November 2019, also on the topic of the non-DEIS disadvantaged school.

Thanks to the continued efforts of our local TD Deputy Michael Lowry, two years on we continue to benefit from these measures.

My expectation at that time - that additional schools would be added to the DEIS programme - was unfortunately sidelined, as the greater educational issue of reopening schools safely in the midst of a pandemic took over and dominated the daily workings of the DE.

Educational Disadvantage continues to be a huge issue in many schools and towns around the country where impediments to education arising from social or economic disadvantage prevents students from deriving appropriate benefit from education (Education Act 1998). It cannot be addressed without the necessary resources. DEIS is currently the only programme aimed at schools to address these impediments.

As we emerge into a post-pandemic Ireland, outstanding issues such as tackling educational disadvantage must now be addressed as part of the long-awaited and ongoing review of DEIS. St Joseph’s is one among many schools around the country that are awaiting news of inclusion in the next phase of DEIS provision.

In simple terms, a study of POBAL Maps 2016, clearly shows pockets of serious disadvantage in the country such as in Tipperary Town. If the schools in these areas are not in the DEIS programme, they should be added with immediate effect.

In August 2019, the Minister for Education, Joe McHugh, acknowledged the levels of disadvantage in Tipperary Town. As no further schools were being added to the DEIS programme at the time, a unique package of interim measures was agreed, to include: ■ Fast-tracking of EAL teacher applications ■ Inclusion on the School Excellence Fund, which is restricted to DEIS schools ■ Training in the NEPS Literacy Interventions ■ A Family Liaison Teacher to be shared between schools.

In March 2021, Minister for Education Norma Foley reduced the pupil teacher ratio in existing DEIS schools. At this time Minister Foley stated: ‘The Programme for Government contains a commitment to develop an inclusive vision for education. These additional supports will assist students most at risk of educational disadvantage by enhancing oppor-tunities for participation and retention in education thus allowing our young people to fulfil their potential’.

I am confident that additional schools will be included in the DEIS programme this school year in line with the Programme for Government and that the students in our primary schools in Tipperary Town, and in many other non-DEIS disadvantaged schools around the country, will at last have these enhanced opportunities for participation and retention in order to fulfil their potential.

If you would like to contact Louise in relation to this article, you can contact her at louisetobin16@gmail.com

The Deprivation Index of Tipperary Town, showing the colour coding system used in POBAL maps 15

EducAtional Disadvantage

Educational Disadvantage:

Evidence from the two Growing Up in Ireland Cohorts PROFESSOR SELINA MCCOY ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE The Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study has been ground-breaking in the insights provided on the lives of children and their families. With evidence now available for two cohorts, born in 1998 and 2008, we have a unique opportunity to consider the nature of socio-economic disadvantage over time. Given that Cohort ’08 were also surveyed at 3 and 5 years of age, it is possible to assess whether social gradients in cognitive performance widen as children move into the mid-primary years.

Children’s school experience has been found to be associated with what they do outside school. Children from less advantaged families are less likely to engage in the kinds of structured outof-school activities, such as cultural activities like music and drama, which enhance academic performance.

Analysis of GUI data has highlighted that children’s recreation patterns may serve to widen socio-economic gaps in achievement, highlighting the importance of all schools having the resources and infrastructure to offer a range of extracurricular programmes, for example involving drama, arts and crafts, organised sports, debating clubs, and ICT (McCoy et al., 2012).

Children from less advantaged families are less likely to engage in the kinds of structured out-of-school activities, such as cultural activities like music and drama, which enhance academic performance.

One out-of-school activity; reading for pleasure, has long-standing importance in educational research, being repeatedly highlighted as a predictor of academic progress. The social gradient in reading for pleasure has remained prominent over the 10 16

years spanning the two GUI cohorts.

While 24% of children whose mother was in the lowest category of educational attainment reported that s/he reads every day, the comparable figure for children of graduate mothers was 39% (Williams et al., 2009). In 2021 these gaps persist; a third of children whose parents had lower levels of education never read for pleasure at the weekend, compared to 10% of children from more highly educated families (McNamara et al., 2021).

Cognitive scores continue to be closely linked with home learning environments, with children who were read to frequently at 3 and 5 years of age achieving significantly higher reading scores at 9 years (McNamara et al., p.75, 2021). Interestingly, while vocabulary test scores at 9 years were related to earlier scores, the strength of the relationship was moderate, indicating that significant numbers with lower initial scores improve over time. Children from highly educated families, who initially achieved low vocabulary scores at 3 years, subsequently achieve higher scores than high-scoring children from less educated families. Social gradients widen between 3 and 9 years, with the gap in cognitive skills between children from professional and lowerskilled families and those with a history of little or no employment, increasing over time.

Socio-economic gradients were also evident in terms of how far parents expect their children to progress in education. The vast majority of children from professional, highly educated or higher income families are expected to achieve at least degree level education, even where their reading test scores at 9 years were relatively low (McNamara et al., 2021). Earlier research (McCoy et al., 2016) has highlighted the implications of parental expectations for both academic and socio-emotional development as children move into adolescence and beyond.

Cognitive scores continue to be closely linked with home learning environments, with children who were read to frequently at 3 and 5 years of age achieving significantly higher reading scores at 9 years.

Finally, the Cohort ’08 study also gathers evidence on the extent to which families are requested to make financial contributions to the school (McNamara et al., p.70-71, 2021). Over half (59%) of families in the most deprived schools (Urban Band 1 DEIS) were not asked for a contribution compared with half of those in Urban Band 2 DEIS schools, 44 per cent in rural DEIS schools and 30 per cent in non-DEIS schools. Where a contribution was requested, families with lower levels of education and income were less likely to pay it. Overall, families with higher levels of income or education were more likely to be asked to make larger contributions; 23 per cent of the highest income group paid €100 or more per child while this was the case for only 5 per cent of the lowest income group. This evidence suggests that schools are responsive to the ability of families to pay contributions.

However, this likely has implications for schools’ capacity to raise revenue, which may also shape their capacity to provide diverse extracurricular opportunities for their school communities.

References available on request, by email to editor@ippn.ie. If you would like to contact Selina in relation to this article, you can email her at Selina.McCoy@esri.ie.

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LEGAL DIARY

DAVID RUDDY BL

Special School Successful in Challenge of Section 29 Appeals Committee Decision

The High Court recently quashed a decision of a Section 29 appeals committee, which recommended that a student who had been expelled from a special school be readmitted.

The judgment details that there was deterioration in the student’s behaviour from 2019 onwards. For a period over two weeks in 2020, he assaulted members of staff.

WHAT IS SECTION 29?

Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 gives parents the right to appeal certain decisions made by a school’s board of management to the Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills. This includes decisions to exclude, suspend and refuse enrolment.

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BACKGROUND In a recent High Court case, Board of Management of a Special School v Secretary General of the Department of Education and Skills and Others, the school challenged the decision of a Section 29 appeals committee to uphold an appeal by parents on behalf of their son, against a decision to expel him from the school.

The judgment details that there was deterioration in the student’s behaviour from 2019 onwards. For a period over two weeks in 2020, he assaulted members of staff.

During this time, he also engaged in self-harm and caused damage to school property. As a result, the principal of the school wrote a report in which she proposed to the board of management that the student be expelled from the school.

The principal cited the fact that his continued presence constituted a serious risk to the health and safety of other students, to staff, to himself,

and to school property. The board of management made a decision to expel the student for those reasons and the student’s parents appealed that decision under Section 29.

APPEALS COMMITTEE DECISION The appeals committee allowed the appeal against the expulsion on the basis that they had concluded that all reasonable efforts to enable the student, to participate in and benefit from education, had not been fully exhausted. They recommended that the school should re-admit the student and remove the expulsion from his record. However, they further noted that the school could suspend the student, while they made enquiries as to the availability of other supports and interventions that would permit his return to the school. The Minister for Education issued a direction to the school to arrange for the student’s return to the school.

October 2021

DECISION OF THE HIGH COURT The Court was satisfied that the appeals committee acted in excess of its jurisdiction in taking into account irrelevant matters. It was satisfied that as the appeals committee made its findings based on what the Court termed as ‘flimsy evidence’, which included some evidence that is now accepted as being factually incorrect.

The Court decided that the appeals committee acted irrationally in reaching the conclusions that it did.

It was satisfied that as the appeals committee made its findings based on what the Court termed as ‘flimsy evidence’, which included some evidence that is now accepted as being factually incorrect.

INTERVENTIONS The Court held that the appeals committee could not consider ‘vague evidence that there may have been some unspecified supports available from some unspecified entities’. The Court stated that ‘there were no concrete supports or interventions identified at the hearing on 9th December 2020, as actually being available to enable C to return to the school in safety. No agency was identified which could provide any particular concrete support. There were just aspirational statements that possibly there would be something forthcoming if requests were made to various agencies.’

The Court did however have regard to the very large number of interventions that had been trialled by the school with the student, which were set out in the report prepared by the principal, and which included thirty-five interventions in total (not including alterations that had been made to the school premises for the student’s benefit).

RIGHTS OF OTHER STUDENTS AND STAFF The Court acknowledged that the student’s constitutional rights in this regard were not absolute.

The constitutional rights of other students to be provided with an

RIP MICHAEL DALY

education in a safe environment and the rights of staff not to be exposed to an unreasonable risk of injury when carrying out their work need to be also considered.

OBSERVATION This judgment limits the scope of what a Section 29 appeals committee can consider. It is an important one in its consideration of the rights of other students and staff members in an expulsion context. It emphasises the fact that one student’s constitutional right to an education must be balanced against the rights of other students. It is also important in the context of the protection of staff from a health and safety point of view, particularly in a special school setting.

Source : Catherine Kelly MHC If you would like to get in contact with David in relation to this piece, you can email him at druddy@mhc.ie

Colm Lynch

PRINCIPAL OF GLASHEEN BOYS’ SCHOOL, CORK

As principal for over 21 years, aspiring leaders often ask my advice about leadership and principalship. They seek advice on how to do the job well, or how to prepare for the role.

Colm was a gentleman, a scholar, a highly valued INTO member, an author of educational books and a hurling coach.

He was all of these things and much, much more.

Aspiring and newly-appointed leaders embark on all sorts of leadership courses. What can be of significant value also is to reflect on the lives of principals who have gone before them. One such person is Colm Lynch, who sadly passed away earlier this year.

It’s fair to say that Colm changed many lives. He cajoled even the most reluctant pupils with his softly spoken, calm, kind manner and his winning smile. Often, Colm unlocked the interests of the hesitant pupil, whether it was on the sporting field or one of the many other school initiatives.

Colm was born in Co. Limerick where he attended school before heading to St. Patrick’s College in Drumcondra.

Having graduated in 1959, he moved to the heart of Cork city to take up his first teaching position in Sullivan’s Quay School.

Colm was my former teacher, so it was my privilege to succeed him as principal when he retired. Although Colm’s were big shoes to fill, he was a role model and principal from whom I learned so much.

In 1967, he began teaching in Glasheen Boys’ School and became principal in 1980. He remained as principal of the school until his retirement in January 2000.

Sincere sympathy to Colm’s dear wife, Kathleen and extended family. He has left a wonderful legacy, during a life well-lived. May his gentle soul rest in peace.

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LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

IPPN Annual Members’ Report

2020/2021 The following is a synopsis of the key activities carried out for / on behalf of members during the 2020/2021 school year. You will have received the full report as an epublication in your E-scéal.

STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-2025 Over the past 15 months, IPPN undertook a process of engagement in collaboration with Accenture to define our strategic priorities for the fiveyear period 2021-2025. Our approach included consultation with IPPN members through our online survey, IPPN staff and Board members, and external education sector stakeholders.

Five primary strategic priority areas were identified for IPPN for 2021-2025 during this process: 1. Sustainable Leadership 2. Professional Learning for Leadership

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3. Member Engagement 4. Communications 5. Governance.

The Plan will be launched at the National Council meeting in November.

Implementation of IPPN’s strategic priorities will be led by the IPPN Support Office team led by the CEO and overseen by IPPN’s Board of Directors.

ADVOCACY Membership Engagement For obvious reasons, almost all engagement with members has happened remotely over the past school year. The President and members of IPPN’s Leadership Support team have attended Zoom meetings and webinars with school leaders hosted and supported by IPPN (Autumn meetings in each county) and by education centres all across the country, and continue to do so.

Areas of Focus Elsewhere during the 2020/2021 school year, our advocacy work focused on the following aspects of school leadership and management, in line with our strategic priorities: ■ COVID-19 – reopening and keeping schools open ■ Small schools ■ Teaching Principalship ■ Sustainable leadership l Effective school leadership & core purpose l Preparation for Leadership l Recruitment of school leaders l Time and space to lead l Sharing and supporting leadership l Governance.

■ Special Education ■ Other Issues A number of other key matters were discussed with key stakeholders, including:

October 2021

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Appointment of Administrative Principals in schools with 2 or more special classes - with the DE School placement / teacher supply - with the Teaching Council Leadership in education, and the new draft primary curriculum framework - with the NCCA CSL middle leadership and ‘stages of leadership’ projects, and all of its other initiatives, as IPPN is a partner in CSL along with the DE and NAPD Gaeltacht education - with the DE Digital strategy – with the DE Development education.

SUBMISSIONS IPPN’s submissions are generally prepared in response to an invitation to contribute a viewpoint or suggestion.

During the 2020/21 school year, IPPN prepared formal submissions on the following topics: Department of Education Digital Strategy for Schools ■ Guidelines re. supporting students with Autism ■ Evaluation of remote teaching and learning ■ Supporting the Safe Provision of Schooling ■ Statement of Strategy 2021-23 ■ Pre-Budget Submissions for 2021.

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Joint Oireachtas Education Committee Bullying in Schools ■ Reopening schools safely.

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Other Bullying in Schools ■ Reopening schools safely.

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SUPPORTS & SERVICES Leadership Support Service This one-to-one confidential advisory service, provided by a team of skilled serving and retired principals, offers collegial support and guidance of a non-directive and non-legal nature.

The team also provides a Professional Guidance service, answering queries of a factual nature. From September 2020 to August 2021, the Leadership Support team responded to 4,082 queries from 1,630 principals and deputy principals. Among the topics dealt with, the following were the most common: ■ School policies linked to COVID-19 ■ HR administration – particularly absences/leave

Posts of Responsibility Recruitment Parents & pupils – parental complaints, custody & access Relationship management interpersonal/conflict management

the needs within their own area and seek to establish new Local Support Groups where they are required. The facilitators assist the new group and will chair the meetings until it becomes established.

The team closely monitors the issues and queries raised by members and this information is factored into the plans for the development of resources and CPD.

E-Scéal This weekly electronic bulletin is the crucial ‘one-stop-shop’ providing all the key information school leaders need to know - current issues within the education sector, professional guidance, FAQs, circular releases, as well as topical issues relating to leadership and management. Our links with education stakeholders ensure that IPPN is kept informed at the earliest opportunity of key developments, enabling us to pass that information to our members. Members who read their E-scéal every week can be assured that they won’t miss any key information.

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Supports for NAPs IPPN offered support to over 270 new school leaders in the 2020/2021 school year.

Group Mentoring Group Mentor Training has been provided by the IPPN Leadership Support Team to over 100 Principals since the introduction of the project.

In the school year 2020/21, 38 of these Group Mentors supported 226 School Leaders in their second year of principalship.

Local Support Group Facilitation In early 2021 IPPN, working closely with ESCI, developed a project which has the ultimate aim of providing a facilitated support group for every school leader who wishes to join one. While there are existing local support groups (LSGs), they do not exist in every area. To date, 60 school leaders (principals and deputy principals) have been trained as facilitators. The facilitators are then assigned to Education Centres. The project has identified over 120 existing Support Groups. The Education Centre Directors and the local IPPN County Committees together assess

During the 2020/2021 school year, 40 E-scéalta were issued.

Resource Bundles IPPN Resources Bundles are a onestop-shop where school leaders will find the answers, supporting documentation and reading materials relating to the most common queries school leaders encounter in the dayto-day management of their schools.

During the 2020/21 school year, two Live Resource Bundles were published: ■ Returning to School in the aftermath of COVID-19 (Mar20– Sep 20) ■ Keeping the School safely open during COVID-19 (Sep20 – Jun21). continued on next page 21

LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

IPPN Annual Members’ Report 2020/2021 continued from page 21

These were replaced in late August 2021 with a new Live Resource Bundle entitled ‘COVID ar Scoil 21/22’.

In 2020/2021, the following Resource Bundles were developed: ■ Admissions Issues ■ Communications – The Lifeblood of Leadership ■ Sharing the Leadership – DP (Open Competition) ■ Pupils with Behaviours of Concern – Challenging ■ Relationships in the School Community ■ Dignity at Work The following were reviewed and updated: ■ Absences and Leave ■ Distributing the Leadership - Appointing API, APII and DP(Internal) ■ Child Protection.

Continuous Professional Development Dignity and Respect at Work Project

The Dignity and Respect at Work (DRaW) project aims to provide a comprehensive Resource Bundle on Dignity at Work promote the development of a Dignity at Work Charter and Policy in all schools work with other organisations to develop a common Dignity at Work Charter for all school workers – teachers, SNAs, ancillary staff, school leaders etc. develop and provide CPD and resources, as required, to meet the aims of the project. A Toolkit has been developed, entitled Dignity and Respect in the School Workplace – a Handbook for School Leaders, consisting of: ■ An overview presentation with voiceover ■ Resource Bundles ■ PowerPoint Presentations to enable school leaders to facilitate the development of a DRaW Policy and Charter for their own School Workplace ■ Templates Other supports and services provided include: ■ Headstart Programme ■ Mailing Lists ■ Leadership+

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School Supplier Guide - provides a comprehensive list of quality school suppliers for the start of the school year to aid in their planning for the year ahead TextaParent.ie - over 6 million text messages, and over 1 million ‘push notifications’ in 2020/21 EducationPosts.ie - 13,500 vacancies advertised Noticeboards - Summer Provision Noticeboard for Teachers/SNAs and Supplementary Programme Noticeboard added this year# Sub Seeker - the online service within EducationPosts.ie that enables primary and postprimary schools to find qualified teachers for substitute teaching in selected counties. It helped substitute teachers find almost 3,000 temporary positions since launch. The number of registered substitute teachers has increased by 60% since the last report. At the time of writing, almost 8,000 substitute teachers are registered on the service. Significant updates were made to the service during the year, based on feedback from schools and teachers using the service.

Ireland’s most widely used website dedicated to EDUCATION RECRUITMENT Visit EducationPosts.ie for all your education-related advertising requirements: l Approved by the DES – Circular 0062/2008 (Primary) and Circular 0020/2012 (Post Primary), compliant with DES circular 44/2019 l 17,000 education related job posts advertised annually l Over 3,000 registered Job Advertisers l Up to 120,000 email alerts issued daily to Job Seekers l Save a copy of your adverts Visit www.educationposts.ie now Contact us on info@educationposts.ie Follow us on social media for regular updates

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l All Education related job posts - teacher, SNA, school leader, secretary, caretaker, chaplain, guidance counsellor, learning support / resource teacher, substitute / panel of substitute teachers and tutor posts l Adverts across all levels - Pre-school, primary, postprimary, higher & further education, other education and international job posts

October 2021

An Exploration of the Perceptions of the Role and the Career Trajectory of the Deputy Principal in the Irish Primary School Context through a Distributed Leadership Lens CIARA McNAMARA MASTERS OF EDUCATION IN SCHOOL LEADERSHIP, UNIVERSITY

OF LIMERICK, AND RECENTLY APPOINTED PRINCIPAL OF KILDIMO NS, KILDIMO, CO. LIMERICK

Introduction Ruwoldt, (2006) observed the role of Deputy Principal as the person in charge when the principal is absent and considers whether this understanding reflects a concept of leadership relevant to the current complicated reality. The purpose of this research was to explore perceptions of the role and the career trajectory of the Deputy Principal, in an Irish Primary school context through a distributed lens. This research explored the role and lived daily experiences of Deputy Principals in their role as leader and manager while gaining a clearer understanding of the challenges, successes and opportunities encountered by Deputy Principals.

The research study took a qualitative approach. A sample of nine primary school Deputy Principals, two Primary School Principals and three Primary School classroom teachers were interviewed. The researcher worked as a Deputy Principal in primary education, therefore all outcomes from the study were of significant personal importance to their role. A reflective approach facilitated engagement at a deeper level, enabling the study to produce rich data to inform her own practice.

FINDINGS ■ Further develop leadership capacity in primary schools and move away from the assumption that a good teacher will automatically be a good school leader ■ A top-down approach to leadership was less favourable to the new collegial models exhibited in the Quality Framework document for schools ■ Deputy Principals to take on fuller leadership roles, seeking opportunities for professional development, enhancing capacities as educational leaders ■ School leadership has evolved, with distributed leadership embedded in school culture and school improvement ■ Key skills necessary for successful leadership identified, pinpointing the successes and challenges associated with the Deputy Principal role.

RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendations are suggested, for the benefit of policy, practitioners and for further research.

Recommendations for Policy This study acknowledges the Deputy Principal as a key figure on the school management team.

Little has changed in terms of clarifying the role which needs to be addressed by policy makers at

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Department of Education and Skills level Monetary allowances are one of the factors inhibiting upward mobility among educators. This needs to be addressed as a matter of concern The leadership gap between the role of Deputy Principal and Principal in terms of levels of responsibility in primary schools Wellbeing for educators and lack of work-life balance must be addressed by the Department of Education and Skills as a matter of key importance.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE The willingness of Principals and Deputy Principals to share leadership in their schools was evident. Assigning more accountability to Deputy Principals; sharing responsibility ‘with’ rather than ‘instead’ of the Principal must be addressed ■ Time remains one of the main factors inhibiting Deputy Principals from engaging in leadership tasks.

It is essential that primary school leaders build more flexibility into daily routines, creating time and opportunities for Deputy Principals to lead more in education.

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RESULTS Three overarching themes were identified; Distributed Leadership; Leadership Challenges and Leadership Succession and are summarised below.

Themes

Sub Themes

The Role of Deputy Principal

Perceptions of the Role Distributed Leadership Shared Leadership Practices Relationships

Leadership Challenges Role Clarity Time

Leadership Style

Responsibility Leadership Succession

Career Trajectories Preparation for Principalship Leadership Development

Future Research A dearth of research exists.

Empirical evidence is required on the leadership role of Deputy Principal to develop the role further ■ Conduct an investigative study on how leadership was shared throughout the period of school closures (Covid-19) ■ The quality of candidates applying for Principal roles in Irish primary schools and the lack of motivation among Deputy Principals to apply, prompts further research into leadership development and training in the Irish context.

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If you would like to contact with Ciara in relation to this piece, you can email her at mcnamarac11@gmail.com

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LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

Incredible Years,

Incredibly Relevant

THERESA NEWMAN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST, NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICE In the May/June issue of Leadership, several articles highlighted the importance of pupil-teacher relationships, while another focused on transformational change. In the context of the current issue’s focus on social disadvantage, talking about the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (IY TCM) programme is a natural follow-on and highly relevant. The importance of establishing good relationships with pupils is central to the IY philosophy.

When used systemically in schools, the IY framework can indeed lead to transformational change.

interval between each training day.

Two facilitators run the sessions using a variety of teaching methodologies, i.e., videotape modelling, role play and discussion. These sessions focus on: developing positive relationships and proactive behaviour management strategies; positive attention, encouragement and coaching; incentives; proactive discipline approaches; Time Out to Calm Down; and teaching social and emotional skills. Teachers work on IY behaviour plans that align well with the student support plans currently in use in Irish schools.

As school leaders, you have first-hand knowledge of how challenging behaviour represents a significant stressor for school staff.

ROLE OF NEPS For many years, the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) has shown its confidence in the effectiveness of the IY TCM programme by facilitating training for primary teachers nationally. Prior to 2016, approximately 3,000 teachers completed training with NEPS. In 2016, the DES Action Plan for Education committed NEPS to the three-year rollout of the programme in DEIS primary schools. NEPS psychologists have trained over 2,300 teachers from DEIS schools over this three-year period.

WHAT IT IS Many of you will be familiar with the IY TCM programme (or may have encountered the IY puppets in school!)

Dr. Carolyn Webster-Stratton’s training course for primary teachers is designed to help prevent, reduce and manage emotional and behavioural difficulties in children and strengthen their emotional, social and academic competence. As school leaders, you have first-hand knowledge of how challenging behaviour represents a significant stressor for school staff. While effective classroom management increases social, emotional and academic outcomes for pupils, it also enhances teacher wellbeing. IY TCM is therefore good for pupils, and for the staff you lead.

HOW THE IY TCM PROGRAMME IS DELIVERED For those unfamiliar with the programme, it is delivered over six full days, typically with a one-month

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Our confidence in this programme is well-placed, as it has been extensively field-tested and researched. Overall, results are consistently positive and findings document increases in teacher use of effective, proactive strategies and decreases in pupil problem behaviours. As already pointed out, it is not only pupils who benefit.

Recent NEPS/NUIG research suggests that participating in a classroom management training course, such as IY TCM, has psychological benefits for teachers themselves. Also, year on year, teachers who have completed IY TCM training with NEPS have rated it highly, with 97% strongly recommending the programme.

IY TCM AND COVID-19 In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, IY TCM is particularly relevant as teachers re-connect and rebuild relationships, re-establish classroom management practices, and incorporate new routines and structures to buffer against the current uncertainties. IY TCM aligns well with the key principles advocated for responding to the current upheaval, namely: fostering a sense of safety, calmness, connectedness, self-efficacy and hope.

Year on year, teachers who have completed IY TCM training with NEPS have rated it highly, with 97% strongly recommending the programme.

FUTURE TRAINING WITH NEPS Unfortunately, due to public health guidelines, it has not been possible to run face-to-face training since March 2020. We will resume in-person group training as soon as permissible.

Meanwhile, NEPS has developed and piloted a four-session online refresher training for teachers who have completed initial IY TCM training. In collaboration with education centres nationwide, NEPS is planning to run these online refresher courses in the current term. Please check with your local education centre or NEPS office for further details.

For further information on NEPS training, the dedicated email is iytcm_neps@education.gov.ie.

For more information on the Incredible Years programmes, see www.incredibleyears.com LINK

THE PRESIDENT’S PEN

The

President’s Pen

BRIAN O’DOHERTY IPPN PRESIDENT It is an indisputable fact, and a scientifically measurable phenomenon, that the polar icecaps are melting and reducing in size year on year. A less well-known phenomenon, outside of school leadership circles, is that the summer is also shrinking. This shrinkage may, in part, be offset by the fact that May and June seemed to have become longer, but there is little doubt in my mind that July and August are not as long as they used to be.

That uncomfortable feeling that the summer is slipping away, as soon as the school closes, is exacerbated by the fact that the ads championing ‘Back to School’ bargains are unleashed on the radio on the 1st July.

Perhaps this perceived phenomenon is engendered by a combination of nostalgia and paranoia. It’s a combination that allows us to believe that the summers in the 70s were scorchingly hot and that 99s, Mars bars and bags of crisps used to be bigger!

That uncomfortable feeling that the summer is slipping away, as soon as the school closes, is exacerbated by the fact that the ads championing ‘Back to School’ bargains are unleashed on the radio on the 1st July.

Maybe it’s because we know how important rest, relaxation and headspace are that we worry about getting the opportunity to avail of them. We have definitely internalised the message that you need to recharge your batteries, as well as topping up the oil in your lamp, while not forgetting to attend to your own oxygen mask first.

We accept that all of these aphorisms are true because we know that school leadership is not passive. It requires dynamism, charisma and proactivity.

Without a meaningful break in the summer, we compromise our capacity to be that dynamic, proactive and charismatic school leader.

In the context of the year that was, and, mindful of the fact that it’s still necessary to keep some of the plates spinning at various points throughout July and August, I sincerely hope that you managed to carve out some time for yourselves and your families and to do whatever it is that you enjoy – when being mindless is as valuable as being mindful.

As we start the new school year, I want to do two things. Firstly, I want to thank our outgoing President, Damian White, for his selfless leadership of IPPN. It is impossible to do justice to the unbelievable commitment Damian has given to support school leaders, particularly since we entered this new Covid reality of ours. Taking and returning calls late into the night and all through weekends, he was determined that no school leader would be left to navigate these uncertain waters alone.

I hope and trust he knows how deeply that support and reassurance were appreciated by the countless school leaders with whom he engaged. We are indebted to you for your service, Damian, and I hope to live up to the standards you have set and the example you have given. I also wish Damian well as he returns to his school in Killeigh.

Secondly, I want to assure you of IPPN’s ongoing and sustained commitment to supporting you in your role. As the professional body for school leaders, we endeavour to provide you with supports and services that empower you to be the most effective school leader that you can be, as we know the transformational effect and impact that effective school leadership has on each of your schools. Similarly, our advocacy role is to ensure that the optimum environment is created within the system that will allow you to maintain

your focus on your core purpose of leading teaching and learning in the particular context of your school.

As the professional body for school leaders, we endeavour to provide you with supports and services that empower you to be the most effective school leader that you can be, as we know the transformational effect and impact that effective school leadership has on each of your schools.

With that in mind, one of our strategic priorities, and a central focus of our advocacy work, is the Sustainable Leadership project. We are enthused by the positive reaction and affirmation we have received from the other education stakeholders and we look forward to working with you and them to bring about impactful systemic change that will lead to school leadership being more sustainable into the future. We will be reaching out to you in the aftermath of the county network meetings so that we can harness your wisdom, experience and ideas in this regard.

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the Autumn county meetings and hope that the coming school year will be professionally enriching and fulfilling for you all.

Brian.ODoherty@ippn.ie

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LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

IPPN Submissions

GERALDINE D’ARCY ADVOCACY & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

As well as the Budget 2022 priorities mentioned in the Editorial, IPPN has made two submissions since the last issue of Leadership+, the key points of which are outlined here.

NCSE STRATEGY 2022-2026 Our submission was structured in relation to key challenges relating to SEN, the goals to be included in the NCSE strategy, and the actions required to achieve them, and grouped into the following three categories: Funding and Resourcing IPPN members tell us that they feel that children are not placed at the heart of decisions, that funding drives all decisions made, and that not enough is being done to match the needs in schools with appropriate staffing levels, equipment, learning resources, and professional development for teachers and SNAs. Very high expectations are placed on schools to provide the very best possible education and environment for children with additional needs, yet the resourcing required to deliver this is often not provided to schools.

The allocation of SEN resources based on the school profile is considered to be inadequate by many school leaders. The pilot of the new SNA allocation model was very small in surfacing all of the key issues schools of varying types and sizes will face when it is implemented.

It remains to be seen whether it will be any better in meeting the needs of children and in reducing the challenges experienced by schools.

Professional development of teachers and SNAs is inadequate. The PDST programmes that supported school leaders in dealing with disadvantage and special needs were disbanded, indicating a lack of awareness of the critical importance of all school staff are fully aware of best practice in supporting children with additional needs.

Too much emphasis is placed on primary care needs, and not enough on complex behavioural care needs, 26

which are a clear barrier to achieving potential, and disruptive to everyone in the class.

Children with mild and moderate learning difficulties would potentially benefit from enrolment in a special class. Many do not cope very well in larger classes as they don’t have adequate access to an SNA. Acquiring specialist therapeutic supports is very onerous and timeconsuming, often requiring liaison with several service providers to meet the needs of an individual child. Having speech and language, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and other such therapies administered centrally by one organisation – ideally the NCSE - would doubtless be more effective, efficient and cost-effective.

The resources, CPD and supports that schools need to establish special classes often come far too late and are inadequate e.g. no extra ancillary grant funding is provided. The remaining barriers to providing the capacity needed to meet children’s needs must be removed.

Assistive technologies require review.

There are lower cost options now available than those recommended, for example, low-cost apps versus devices and technologies that cost more to provide and maintain.

Processes and Procedures Overwhelming amounts of paperwork, repeated requests for the same information and cumbersome application processes were mentioned by many. This is especially challenging for the 55% of school leaders who teach full-time. They simply don’t have the time to deal with inefficient processes.

The NCSE itself stated that some of the processes are onerous to manage.

A simpler process is needed, with very clear criteria and guidance about what schools need to do to show they meet these criteria.

Schools need clear timeframes regarding applications to NCSE for

equipment, SNA supports, exceptional reviews etc. and a clear outline of what families and schools can reasonably expect, and when they can expect them. July and August should not be considered part of the school year for these purposes as school staff are not available.

The allocation/review of supports is not conducted in a timely fashion - delays of several months in getting a decision, then cumbersome appeals processes are common.

The professional voice of the school leader and teacher who work most closely with the children and know what support they need to achieve their full potential is not taken into account - more weight is given to clinicians’ reports and evaluations.

Communication & Decision-making It is not unusual for it to take a year or more for a decision to be made, often with the school not being given any additional supports or resources despite provision of supporting documentation and protracted engagement.

Many SENOs are very conscientious and do their best to help children and to support schools with often challenging communication with parents.

However, there is inconsistency across geographical areas in terms of how resources are allocated, what parents are told to expect vs what schools are provided with, and the timeliness of decisions. Additional guidance, support, professional development and supervision is required to ensure there is a level playing field for all schools.

Schools report that parents are told by the NCSE/SENO that the school has sufficient resourcing to meet the needs of their child, yet the school may have had several applications for resourcing/ equipment refused for that child. This is disingenuous and causes significant problems for schools and could easily be avoided if the NCSE/SENO could be clear and honest about the capacity of the system to meet the needs of every child.

October 2021

SENOs often push for ‘inclusion’ for every child, to mean full integration within a mainstream class setting, even where it is clear to teachers and school leaders that the child is not thriving in that environment and would benefit from being placed in a special class, or a special school where the needs are very complex. Special schools are rightly aggrieved at the perception that their schools are not considered by the system to be inclusive environments.

Inclusion should mean being placed in a setting that can fully meet the child’s needs and enable them to reach their full potential, which is the objective in each of the 135 special schools in Ireland.

Goals IPPN sets out here the key goals that school leaders would like to see reflected in the NCSE Strategy for 2022-2026: ■ In conjunction with the DE, to provide funding support and guidance to schools to ensure that every child in the school has equal chance of achieving his/her/their potential 1. To put the child at the heart of every decision made 2. To change the narrative around special education – as positive, inclusive places in which to educate children, to reduce resistance and stigma 3. To simplify and clarify all procedures - to remove duplication, centralise documentation and significantly reduce timescales for decisionmaking 4. To increase the capacity of NCSE to provide support and guidance to schools as needed 5. To provide CPD for NCSE staff who engage with schools – to raise awareness of how schools operate and what they deal with day to day 6. To centralise specialist therapeutic services to more effectively meet the needs of children in schools, remove barriers to access, reduce cost and greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to provide services 7. To provide CPD for all school staff who engage with children with SEN 8. To build inclusion best practice in ITE programmes in all teacher training colleges.

The full submission also set out the key actions required to achieve these goals.

EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY TO 2030

IPPN has identified three key areas are fundamental to achieving the 2030 targets: 1. Integration into and across curricula from early education to further education 2. Building capacity to scale up – teacher CPD, and centralised, simplified, age-referenced teaching resources, as well as capacity for school leaders to embed good practice 3. Research-informed practice, both in relation to formal education and lifelong learning.

IPPN supports the continued focus on integration in the strategy across the education sectors. Adequate capacity and CPD will be needed to empower primary teachers and school leaders to effectively embed Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in pupils’ learning.

Curriculum integration across education sectors is vital – the primary curriculum is already overloaded, thus simplification and integration are key, as are CPD and easily accessible, ageappropriate resources for teachers.

Agreement is needed among all the stakeholders about what should be included in the curriculum around ESD. Bringing a coherent and agreed approach to the NCCA for consideration would help to progress this. There are many (optional) ESD-related programmes, initiatives and strategies in the primary sector, including the Green Schools initiative, the Blue Star programme, the Yellow Flag award.

While these are laudable and further the aims of the ESD strategy, they are not part of a coherent framework, they are not embedded within the curriculum and they require significant additional preparatory work and documentation over and above delivery of the standard curriculum. Embedding some of the key aspects of ESD learning into the curriculum, together with the requisite teacher training would be more effective in achieving targets.

Resources to support ESD education need to be centralised and improved to ensure ease of access/searching by teachers and others by theme/topic to age-appropriate materials. Irishlanguage materials for each theme/ topic are also required.

The efforts to consult with children and young people are laudable. It is equally important, if not more so, to consult with teachers and school leaders to ensure that the implementation of the strategy aligns with how schools operate. This is particularly important in relation

to smaller schools led by ‘teaching’ principals, which constitute 55% of all primary schools. Their opportunities to examine, train, encourage and support other teachers in relation to ESD, or any other strategy or initiative, are severely limited.

Evidence-based research of what has worked to date is required. This should include highlighting and showcasing the impact of good work already done, for example via social media platforms.

Clear, concise communication is crucial, using strong graphics and simple messaging.

Challenges and Concerns Two other key challenges relate to funding/resources and cohesion/ prioritisation. Under-funding and principals’ workload must be addressed. IPPN is disappointed to note that the strategy again fails to mention leadership in schools as a crucial factor in the successful implementation of ESD by 2030, despite our 2018 feedback.

This oversight needs to be corrected.

Leadership and management capacity in schools, especially to review, implement and embed any system change is particularly challenging for ‘teaching principals’. The discrepancies in the funding and resourcing of primary versus post-primary schools are anomalous and a cause of concern and frustration.

Another challenge to be addressed relates to energy use data gathering.

Schools are obliged to report in detail to the SEAI on energy use annually. Noone in the school community is trained to do this, nor has the time. Small schools in particular have inadequate administrative support. A centrallyresourced ‘Energy Audit Team’ should be set up to gather the data, identify the improvements needed to create more sustainable schools, so they can be funded.

Regarding sustainable school buildings, work is underway to retrofit schools and new schools are being built according to the latest standards, but progress is very slow. Schools are left to apply for ‘summer works’ or ‘emergency works’ grants or to await minor works grants to undertake works for sustainability and energy reduction.

A centralised, fully-funded approach would ensure this aspect of the strategy would be implemented well ahead of the 2030 target.

All submissions are available to view on www.ippn.ie under Advocacy -> Submissions.

LINK 27

LEADERSHIP SUPPORT

‘Catching Up’

after Covid?

JACK DURKAN IPPN LEADERSHIP SUPPORT MANAGER The full return of children and pupils to their classrooms is a much-awaited and welcome development. Welcomed by weary parents, compassionate teachers, and in many cases, lonely children who couldn’t wait to meet up with their friends, their teacher and their SNA.

The impact of lockdown on child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing is clear from educational and health research and in the experience of parents. Social isolation has exacerbated disadvantage and preexisting vulnerability.

Even before the return, concerns have been expressed about the effect that protracted school closures have had on children and young people. Much of the debate has focused on how to help pupils catch up on their lost learning.

The impact of lockdown on child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing is clear from educational and health research and in the experience of parents. Social isolation has exacerbated disadvantage and pre-existing vulnerability. Isolation and separation from friends, lack of access to education, as well as stunted social interaction, means that lockdown has certainly brought significant challenges, many of which will need a response. However, the notion that children need to ‘catch up’ or are ‘behind’ at school due to the pandemic, reinforces the idea that children have one shot at their education and puts them under even more pressure to perform academically after what has been a challenging and unprecedented time for everyone.

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There is little evidence internationally of a positive impact on attainment of measures taken to help make up for lost time, including extended school days, tutoring and summer schools.

This ‘catch up’ narrative is profoundly unhelpful and potentially damaging, due to the psychological pressure it places on children, on young people, and on families. Is it possibly a fixation on summative assessment that makes us think children have somehow ‘fallen behind’ if they haven’t learned certain things at certain times?

Is it not the case that in every year group, pupils are at various stages of cognitive, physical and emotional development? Where did the idea of being ‘left behind’ come from? Is there even such a thing as ‘behind’? There is only where children are at. Besides, if we truly believe that everyone can be a lifelong learner, then a few months of parents struggling to support their children with school work is a brief bump on their educational journey!

While there is clearly cause for concern, a fatalistic discourse can be counter-productive, and prevent schools and governments from fully committing to supporting young people. Our children are so much more than the pandemic they have lived through. They shouldn’t and mustn’t be pathologised for displaying normal reactions to abnormal events.

It’s important to remain hopeful for our young people and to help them to hope. We need to reassure them that it’s been really hard, but it will pass!

The majority of pupils won’t need counselling post-lockdown. They will however benefit from getting back to the structure, stability, predictable routine and clear expectations of school. And then they will need space and time to play. Lots of it!

The psychiatrist Bruce Perry writes that, ‘because humans are inescapably social beings, the worst catastrophes that we can experience

are those that involve relational loss.

Therefore, recovery must involve reestablishing human connections’.

Perry suggests that the most important healing experiences often occur outside therapy and inside homes, communities and schools. A ‘recovery curriculum’ may help in this regard by supporting a relationshipsbased approach to teaching and learning post-lockdown.

The majority of pupils won’t need counselling post-lockdown. They will however benefit from getting back to the structure, stability, predictable routine and clear expectations of school.

Ultimately, we need to trust and respect school leaders and staff to support children as they return to class, as well as provide adequate resources. They are best placed to identify and close any gaps in knowledge. But before ‘catching up’ on learning, let’s allow pupils to catch up with each other and with staff.

Jack.Durkan@ippn.ie

October 2021

Leadership Support Service RACHEL HALLAHAN IPPN PRINCIPAL INFORMATION OFFICER One of the core services provided by IPPN to members is the Leadership Support Call-back service. This is a one-to-one confidential advisory service, providing collegial support and guidance of a non-directive or legal nature by a team of skilled serving and retired principals. The team also provides a Professional Guidance Service; answering queries of a factual nature. This was the initial service established for members of the network responding to the isolation and lack of support often experienced by school leaders in the day-to-day leadership and management of their schools.

From September 2020 to August 2021, the Leadership Support team responded to 4,082 queries from 1,630 principals and deputy principals. It is no surprise that the statistical data available to the Leadership Support Service has recorded queries relating to Covid-19 as the number one trending topic. School leaders were faced with a number of obstacles.

Initially it was the transition from faceto-face teaching methods to online learning. Adaptation of online learning was short-lived, as schools prepared for re-opening in March 2020 and thereafter keeping their schools open until the end of term three, was a significant challenge.

In response, the Leadership Support Team published a live resource bundle.

This was a one-stop shop for information in relation to keeping schools open. It contained Departmental documents, templates and guidance. For the 2021/2022 school year, the team have published the third in a series of live resource bundles. ‘Covid ar Scoil 2021/2022’ is available on the homepage of www. ippn.ie. It will be updated as required and as indicated by expert advice on an on-going basis. All updates to the resource bundle will be included in the weekly E-scéal.

The subsequent trending topics mirror those of previous school years. While their hierarchy may vary from school year to school year, their presence in the trending topic list remains constant. These include:

From September 2020 to August 2021, the Leadership Support team responded to 4,082 queries from 1,630 principals and deputy principals.

1. HR Administration – guidance on teacher absences & leave, appointment procedures and middle leadership posts is provided in IPPN’s dedicated resource bundles on these topics.

2. Parents & Pupils – Parental Complaints, Custody & Access – A resource bundle ‘Parental Separation – Implications for the school’ provides guidance on

some of the most frequentlyasked questions that the Leadership Support Team answers on this topic 3. Recruitment – A dedicated resource bundle on teacher recruitment provides step-by-step guidance through the recruitment and appointment process as well as providing supporting documents and templates.

All resource bundles are accessed via the ‘Resources, Resource Bundles’ menu via the home page of www.ippn.ie.

If you have a factual query or professional guidance query that you would like to discuss with a member a member of the team, phone 1890 21 22 23 or email advice@ippn.ie.

The service is provided during office hours, Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.00pm. A response to your query will be provided within 24 hours.

There no question too small to discuss with the team.

Development Education in the Infant Classroom A FREE CPD Workshop for Teachers (Online) This Continuous Professional Development workshop will introduce teachers of Junior and Senior Infants to play-based, age-appropriate methodologies, resources and activities which bring development education and global citizenship into the classroom, linking to the primary curriculum and Aistear.

Time/Date: Wednesday, 6 October 2021, 7 p.m.

Register: tinyurl.com/TrocaireInfants

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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 latest resources uploaded to the different sections of the website since the last issue of Leadership+:

SCHOOL REOPENING

New materials are uploaded to this section regularly.

REOPENING SCHOOLS RESOURCES ■ Updated - Good Ventilation Practices in Schools (May 2021) ■ Covid-19 Capitation Funding Supports (Term 3) ■ Summer 2021 - Primary & Special School Programmes ● 2021 Summer Programme For Primary Schools ● Guidance on the 2021 Summer Programme For Mainstream Primary and Special Schools ● Summer Camp Programme 2021 Teachers’ Handbook ● Summer Provision Primary 2021 – Information for Parents Checklist September 2021 - Checklist for Return to School

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Letter templates Letter to Parents - Operation of Primary and Special Educational Needs School Transport Scheme Services for the 2021/2022 School Year ■ Letter to Principals from Deirdre Shanley (12 August 2021) ■ Letter to Principals from Minister Norma Foley, TD (English) ■ Letter to Principals from Minister Norma Foley, TD (17 June 2021) ■

DES Posters for Parents - September 2021 ■ COVID-19 response plan for the safe and sustainable operation of primary and special schools (August 2021) ■ HSE - Education Sector Guidance on Employees in the Covid-19 Higher Risk Categories including Pregnant Employees (7 July 2021) ■ School Bandings For Monitors (May 2021) ■ Good Ventilation Practices in Schools (May 2021) ■

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Covid-19 Capitation Funding Supports (Term 3)

RESOURCES

CURRICULUM & SCHOOL PLANNING PLAYS, PRAYERS, SONGS, HYMNS ETC ■ Graduation Ceremony Ideas II DES CIRCULARS Information Notes ■ Information Note - Temporary Teacher Allocations (COVID-19 Support Measures) For Primary Schools During the 2021/22 School Year ■ Information Note: Arrangements for certain employees (i.e. School Secretaries, Caretakers, Cleaners, Bus Escorts) of recognised Primary and Post Primary schools in the Free Education Scheme and of ETBs ■ Information Note 0025/2021 COVID-19: Working Arrangements for Very High Risk Teachers and Special Needs Assistants and Pregnant Teachers and Special Needs Assistants employed in recognised Primary and Post Primary Schools - 2021/22 School Year ■ Information Note 0024/2021 Amendment to the Maternity Leave Scheme for Special Needs Assistants employed in Recognised Primary and Post Primary Schools ■ Information Note 0023/2021 Amendment to the Maternity Leave Scheme for Registered Teachers employed in Recognised Primary and Post Primary Schools ■ Information Note 0021/2021 - Information Note for the Recruitment and Appointment Procedures for Teacher, Deputy Principal and Principal posts in Primary Schools during the school year 2021/2022 ■ Information Note 0020/2021 Information Note for the filling of Special Need Assistant vacancies during the school year 2021/2022 ■ Information Note 0019/2021 - Coronavirus (COVID-19): Temporary Substitution arrangements for Special Needs Assistants employed in recognised Primary and Post Primary Schools - 2021/22 School Year ■ Information Note 0018/2021 COVID-19 Temporary Substitution

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Arrangements and Extra Personal Vacation (EPV) Leave for Registered Teachers employed in recognised Primary Schools 2021/22 School Year Information Note 0017/2021 Temporary Changes to the Job Sharing Scheme for Special Needs Assistants employed in Recognised Primary and Post Primary Schools - 2021/22 School Year Information Note 0016/2021 Temporary changes to the Job Sharing Scheme for Registered Teachers employed in Recognised Primary and Post Primary Schools - 2021/22 School Year Information Note 0015/2021 Temporary changes to the Career Break Scheme for Registered Teachers employed in Recognised Primary and Post Primary Schools - 2021/22 School Year Information Note 0014/2021 - Extension of the Employee Assistance Service (EAS) – 2021/22 school year Information Note 0013/2021 COVID-19: Working Arrangements for Very High Risk Teachers and Special Needs Assistants and Pregnant Teachers and Special Needs Assistants employed in recognised Primary and Post Primary Schools Information Note 0012/2021 Temporary Changes to the Job Sharing Scheme for Special Needs Assistants employed in Recognised Primary and Post Primary Schools - 2020/21 School Year

Covid ar Scoil 2021 -2022 Covid ar Scoil 2021 -2022 video

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Planning Prompts A new prompt is uploaded each week to this section, and each one is relevant to the time of year.

STAFF RELATIONS

DIGNITY AND RESPECT IN THE WORKPLACE DRAW Power Point Presentations & Notes ■ Session 6 - Harvest Time ■ Session 6 Notes ■ Session 5 - Challenging Issues ■ Session 5 Notes ■ Session 4 - Values & Vision ■ Session 4 Notes ■ Session 3 - Getting Real

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

October 2021

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Session Session Session Session Session

3 Notes 2 - Preparing the Ground 2 Notes 1 - The Why 1 Notes

DRAW Templates DRAW Policy ■ DRAW Charter ■

SUPPORTS

Leadership+ 2020/21 ■ Issue 118 – May / June 2021

E-scéals A new E-scéal is uploaded each week to this section. In recent weeks, E-scéals have been issued more often than once a week to ensure that key information is shared quickly.

ADVOCACY

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NCSE Strategy 2022-2026 (National Council for Special Education, May 2021) Education for Sustainable Development Strategy to 2030 (Department of Education, June 2021).

PUBLICATIONS ■ Wall Calendar 2020/2021

ABOUT US

SUBMISSIONS Budget 2022 (Ministers for Education, Finance, Public Sector & Reform, DE, August 2021)

Meeting Updates -> 2020/2021 Meeting Reports ■ June 10th Meeting Report

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NATIONAL COUNCIL REPORTS

OnYourBehalf

Listed below are some of the projects and advocacy-related engagements that were progressed since the previous report in the February issue of Leadership+. Almost all of this work was done virtually.

On Your Behalf Listed below are some of the projects and advocacy-related engagements that were progressed since the previous report in the February issue of Leadership+. Almost all of this work was done virtually.

FEBRUARY TO JUNE – KEY MEETINGS AND EVENTS HOSTED/ ATTENDED: ■ IPPN Board of Directors meetings took place virtually on 4th March, 22nd April and 9th June ■ IPPN National Council meetings took place virtually on 4th March and 10th June ■ Department of Education COVID-19 Briefings, including discussions around summer provision for pupils with SEN and educational disadvantage - IPPN continued to engage with the stakeholders at these briefings to ensure that the issues and challenges that presented in schools were dealt with as efficiently and as effectively as possible, taking into account the views of school leaders ■ Various meetings and events relating to the Centre for School Leadership (CSL), including the Tri-nations Blether and the Comhrá events.

IPPN works in partnership with the Department and the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals to support and guide the work of CSL ■ Consultation with the Inspectorate on the Evaluation of Remote Teaching and Learning (ERTAL) model and with the primary partners re. the Inspectorate and DE work to

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ensure the provision of in-school and online learning experiences for pupils DE Consultative Forum on Digital Strategy DE re. New Global Citizenship and Development Education Strategy 2021-2024 DE and Education Partners re. Small Schools Clustering Action Research Project Teaching Council School Placement Guidance consultation.

IPPN also participated in meetings relating to the following: ■ DEIS Adapting and Managing Successful Transitions ■ Education Matters Primary Editorial Panel ■ Mary Immaculate College Summer School - Discussion Panel ■ PDST Tánaiste programme ■ BEACONS: Building a Community of Belonging ■ Presentation to Final Year B.Ed. students at Maynooth University and Marino Institute of Education ■ Irish Forum for Global Education ■ INTO Virtual Annual Conference 2021 ■ NAPD Online Conference ■ National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy meetings ■ Physical Literacy Forum ■ NCCA Leading Out Seminars ■ Energy in Education ■ Hub na nÓg Network.

BUDGET 2022 SUBMISSION Over the summer, IPPN developed the key priorities to be included in our formal submission to the Ministers for

Finance and Education, and set about advocating with key stakeholders to progress them, including the Secretary General of the Department of Education, opposition education spokespersons and members of the Joint Oireachtas Committee. The top priority for IPPN is securing the permanent allocation of a minimum of one leadership and management day per week for teaching principals. See your E-scéal and ippn.ie for details.

JOINT STATEMENT BY IPPN AND PRIMARY MANAGEMENT BODIES RE. SET ALLOCATIONS FOR DEVELOPING SCHOOLS Primary school management bodies Educate Together, An Foras Pátrúnachta, the National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education (NABMSE) and the Muslim Primary Education Board, supported

by IPPN, issued a joint statement regarding teaching supports for children with additional needs in developing schools.

PUBLIC RELATIONS IPPN president Damian White conducted various interviews on RTÉ Radio 1, Today FM and local radio in relation to issues in schools around COVID-19 as well as staff shortages, the school placement programme for student teachers, the IPPN Principals’ Conference, and a tribute to John Curran (RIP).

Brian O’Doherty, Louise Tobin and Bryan Collins were also interviewed

by RTÉ in relation to the reopening of schools.

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LEADERSHIP+ The Professional Voice of Principals

IPPN Presidents and Deputy President

Farewell and Welcome!

We bid a very warm adieu to outgoing IPPN President, Damian White, and an equally warm welcome to incoming President Brian O’Doherty, and Deputy President Louise Tobin.

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 his presidency, between 2019 and 2021, Damian White, who is principal of Scoil Shinchill, Killeigh Co. Offaly, and was a founding member of IPPN, oversaw a number of key pieces of work. This included establishing a major project on sustainable school leadership, with an initial emphasis on smaller schools; building strong, collaborative relationships with education centres to develop support groups for principals and deputy principals around the country and identifying and training facilitators to support them; engaging directly with members in every county at virtual meetings and working tirelessly to advocate among stakeholders for progress on IPPN’s stated priorities for school leaders. And all of this during a global pandemic when the way we all work had to change literally overnight.

We are very grateful to Damian for his incredible support to members, and particularly for making himself available at evenings and weekends throughout the year to respond to hundreds of urgent COVID-related member queries. Going above and beyond is a hallmark of Damian’s ‘pandemic presidency’. In recent weeks, Damian has taken a lead role in consulting and advocating for school leaders in relation to Budget 2022. He will continue to support our work in his capacity as Past President over the next two years.

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These are just a few of the many significant and challenging projects Damian led or contributed to. We thank Damian sincerely for so ably steering the IPPN ship over the past two challenging years and wish him the very best as he returns to leading the school community at Scoil Shinchill.

Brian O’Doherty, principal of St Patrick’s BNS, Bray, Co. Wicklow, has been a member of IPPN since 2001 and is a former member of the National Council. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 2016 and served as Treasurer from 2017 to 2019, and as Deputy President from 2019 until 2021.

He has been heavily involved in the development of the new IPPN strategic plan 2021-2025 (see page 20) and has played a leading role in the development of the Sustainable Leadership project, so it is fair to say that he has had a head-start to his presidency.

As IPPN president, Brian will continue the work with stakeholders to make sure the voice of school leaders is heard in all our advocacy work on behalf of members. He looks forward to working closely with Páiric, Louise, Damian and the Support Office team in progressing IPPN’s key priorities in the coming two years.

Louise Tobin has been principal of St. Joseph’s Primary School in Tipperary Town since 2009. She previously worked with School Development Planning as a facilitator, and with the Primary Development Service for Teachers as an advisor. She completed post-graduate studies in School Planning. Louise worked in Grange NS, Clonmel, for twenty years, and was Acting Principal there for two years.

She has experience in both teaching and administrative principalship.

Prior to her election to the Board of Directors, Louise was a Tipperary representative on the IPPN National Council and is an active member of the local principals’ support group in Tipperary Town. She has a strong interest in school planning as a powerful means of promoting school effectiveness and development, and has advocated on behalf of pupils living in areas of disadvantage, seeking extra resources under the DEIS scheme. Louise is also a member of the Principals of ASD Classes Network Group in Tipperary, is a trained and active CSL mentor and chairperson of the Cahir branch of the INTO. We wish Brian and Louise every success in their roles as IPPN President and Deputy President for the next two years.

And Finally…

A Day in the Life of Principal McDuff – Part 1

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Maria O’Rourke is a retired Principal, now working as a School Placement Tutor with DCU. She holds a Masters in creative writing.

She can be contacted by email to mariaorourke38@gmail.com.

As soon as Mrs. McDuff opened the front door, she knew it was going to be a bad day. Punching in the alarm code, she put one hand on the radiator to confirm what the arctic air already told her. The heating hadn’t come on, for the second time this week. Sighing heavily, she reached for the boilerroom key while clicking on the Burco with her elbow. At least they’d have tea.

She had become a dab-hand at kick-starting the boiler over the years and was pretty sure there was oil in the tank. So, in the eerie darkness, she pushed the red button and waited, clapping her hands in case of visiting vermin. No sound. She pushed the red button again and counted to five. Nothing! On the third attempt she counted and prayed at the same time, and at last there was a roar from the huge, rattling machine.

Lift off!

Now for a cup of tea, and a glance at the morning post before the first bus spilled its chattering contents. Rifling through the usual selection of junk-mail and flyers, she slam-dunked most of them straight into the recycling bin. The ones adorned with harps could be examined later. But what were these? Three identical letters with harps. That could only mean one thing - a WSE - and Ballyhill National School hadn’t had one for ten years. Poised to open the one addressed to her, she heard the first knock on the door. It was the knock of a tiny hand. ‘Mrs. McDuff, there’s a dog in the yard.’ ‘Ok, I’m coming.’ ‘And Mrs. McDuff, it’s a brown one!’

Sadly, the dog wasn’t the only problem in the yard. As she emerged through the back door, the angry face of Mr. Corrigan could be seen approaching with the intent of a raging bull. His voice was raised and his finger pointing in her direction. ‘What kind of school is this? He indicated the dog and then repeated: ‘What kind of school is this?’ She briefly thought of telling him it was a co-educational, vertical, Catholic school, but thought better of it. ‘What are you going to do if that dog bites my child?’ Thankfully, a hypothetical question. ‘Give me a moment, Mr. Corrigan, and we’ll have the matter under control.’ She scooped the ragged mutt under one arm, making for the PE shed like Robbie Henshaw heading for the try-line, touching him down and closing the door in one swift movement.

Then, casting an eye to her Fitbit, she saw that it was 9.15am, the bell hadn’t even rung, but she had five thousand steps and counting!

To be continued…

NS

QUOTATIO

ntrol o c t o n n a You c o you, t s n e p p a what h ntrol o c n a c u but yo ward o t e d u t i t t your a o you, t s n e p p a what h will be u o y , t a h t and in ther a r e g n a h c mastering ing it than allow you. to macys, Atmeerircan author

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Brian Tra

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QUOTATIONS

Success is gettin g what you want.

Happiness is wan ting what you get.

Dale Ca

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rnegie

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NS

QUOTATIO

y in o j s i e r e h T is no e r e h T . k r wo cept in x e s s e n i p hap t we a h t n o i t a the realiz plished m o c c a e hav . sometFhording Henry

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QUOTATIONS

By swallowing hurtful words unsaid, no one has ever yet harmed his/her stomach Anonymous

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We have a local and personal service for all schools directly insured with Allianz. Your Local Allianz Representative is always available and ready to help you. Here are just a few of the areas we can assist your School:

FIND YOUR LOCAL ALLIANZ REPRESENTATIVE CONTACT DETAILS HERE If your school is insured through an insurance intermediary, please contact them for assistance.

Mairead.Mullins@allianz.ie 087 2485065 NORTH WEST Shane.Mooney@allianz.ie 087 9190428 WEST

Noel.O’Loughlin@allianz.ie 087 2588943 MID WEST Martin.McKeogh@allianz.ie 087 9203992 SOUTH WEST

Martin.Sinnott@allianz.ie 087 6862329 SOUTH EAST Alan.Carroll@allianz.ie 0879566721 NORTH EAST

ALLIANZ PUPIL PERSONAL ACCIDENT Protection for the pupils of your school WHY SHOULD I CHOOSE ALLIANZ FOR MY SCHOOL? Allianz proven and trusted track record in schools insurance 20% online saving for your school No excess No Time Limit* – We continue to pay insured expenses until the need for care has ceased ✔ Reduces the possibility of legal action being taken against your school ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

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Information correct at July 2021.