ARE WE REALLY IN THIS TOGETHER?

‘The truth hurts’ is a quote attributable to Mark Twain – the full quote being ‘The truth hurts but silence kills’. While the frequency with which it is used has rendered it something of a cliché, it strikes me that it is a phrase that has a particular resonance when it comes to school reports – the kind of report we all would have received as secondary school students.

Knowing the quality of our primary school leaders, I am fairly sure that the only comments that any of you ever received on a school report were glowing and fulsome in their praise for your general wonderfulness. I, on the other hand, still remember the less than enthusiastic comments of one of my history teachers who suggested that maybe my heart wasn’t in it, or words to that effect. The reason I remember his comments is because he was right. The comments were fair. The truth hurt!

So, what does this have to do with you, or indeed, IPPN? My contention is this, if IPPN were to receive a report card on how it has facilitated the engagement and involvement of Deputy Principals in our work, and in the various structures of the organisation, then I think it is likely that we would get an authoritative – could do better. The truth would indeed hurt, but mostly because the determination or the comment would be fair. There is plainly significant room for improvement.

At our autumn meetings last September and October, we sought nominations for an expanded National Council and the three committees that are set to contribute to and shape the work of IPPN. Out of the 93 school leaders elected onto the National Council, 10 are Deputy Principals despite DPs making up nearly 50% of our membership. This is not unexpected as, traditionally, DPs have not attended those autumn meetings in large numbers.

Again, this is not surprising given that I have been asked in the last 12 months whether DPs are allowed to attend autumn meetings, to nominate National Council reps or to be nominated to be a National Council rep. Lest there be any confusion, the answer to all of these questions is a resounding yes, but the questions serve to highlight just how much work IPPN needs to do to ensure that our Deputies feel equally engaged and supported. We are totally committed to that work, to better ensure that this year’s autumn meetings will have larger numbers of Deputies in attendance who may seek nominations to serve on the National Council. Let’s hope IPPN’s report card this time next year will say Much Improved in this regard.

Remember – IPPN’s remit is to provide you with supports and services that empower you to provide effective leadership in your schools, because we know that effective school leadership is second only to effective classroom teaching as a positive influence on, and determinant of pupil learning. We also know that leadership is more effective when it is shared, and central to that vision of effective, shared leadership is the coleadership or partnership of principal and deputy. How much more achievable will that shared leadership reality be if the principal and deputy are modelling effective partnership and embedding that culture of co-leadership?

Our recent Deputy Principals’ conference explored the theme of ‘Leading effectively together’, what the elements of effective partnership are, and what they look like in practice. There was a particularly inspiring input from Ann Lynskey and Aoife O’Connor (principal and deputy principal in Tierneevin NS in Galway) in which they shared how they make partnership work, and how partnership works for them in their school context.

So, if we accept the premise that a coleadership or partnership approach will enhance the leadership of the school, then it would be reasonable to assume that affording principals and deputies the time and space to cultivate and embed such a co-leadership approach, should be a priority. Experience has taught us that such assumptions are misguided.

The Sustainable Leadership report highlighted, among other things, the barriers that exist to the development of that co-leadership approach, and the effective sharing of leadership in our primary schools. Sharing leadership cannot just be a policy imperative –it requires support, investment and, above all, time. How can we seek to develop and embed a culture of coleadership or shared leadership, if the two senior leaders in the school are never in the same place at the same?

Accordingly, enhancing leadership capacity, effectiveness and sustainability will remain the priority for our advocacy work and the focus of our engagement with the DE and the education stakeholders. Progress in this regard will lead to enhanced school effectiveness and, ultimately, better outcomes for children. As I said in Killarney in November, it’s one of those rare opportunities where everyone can be a winner.

Brian.ODoherty@ippn.ie