Leadership+ Issue 06 May 2001

IRISH PRIMARY PRINCIPALS’ NETWORK, GLOUNTHAUNE, CORK. PHONE: 1890 21 22 23 FAX: 1890 21 22 24 Mr. Jim Hayes, President, IPPN, Scoil Oilibhéir, Ballyvolane, Cork.

Tel: 086 856 1466 email: president@ippn.ie Tomás Ó Slatara, P.R.O./Editor, IPPN, S.N. na Gráinsí, Cluain Meala, Co. Thiobraid Árann. email: pro@ippn.ie Seán Cottrell, National Director IPPN, Glounthaune, Cork.

Phone: 1890 21 22 23 Fax: 1890 21 22 24 email: director@ippn.ie IN THIS ISSUE Reflections on 11th Sept.

Back from Tajikistan Legal Diary Child Protection Guidelines & Procedures Grants for Caretakers & Secretaries Deputy Principals What a Regional Network Can Do for Principals • New Initiative • MENTORING Are you willing to help?

NAHT Conference in Harrogate

Irish Primary Principals’ Network

Líonra Príomhoidí Bunscoile Éireann

October 2001

Issue 7

A Phríomhoide agus a Phríomhoide Tánaisteach, The beginning of every school year brings with it great enthusiasm and hope and this is as it should be. There is also a sense of increasing pressure and overload, lack of resources and additional responsibilities. I am aware, for instance, that this year many principals carry an additional headache due to the phasing out of CE schemes with no satisfactory means of securing secretaries and caretakers in place yet. The need for representation of principals has never been greater. In this, our first Newsletter of the current school year, we outline our key areas of professional concern. IPPN will pursue the:

Issue of benchmarking for principals and deputy principals with the INTO. Design and implementation of the School Leadership Development Programme which the DES has agreed to put in place for principals and deputies.

Professional definition of the role of the primary principal in a management context carried out by Hay Management Consultants.

Appointment of deputy principals to two-teacher schools.

Development of regional networks and support groups to address the practical needs of principals and deputy principals throughout the country.

Provision of adequate secretarial and caretaking services - see letter to DES last August outlining IPPN’s position.

Further improvements to the systematic release time for teaching principals with properly arranged substitute cover.

Appointment of administrative principals, allowances and release days to reflect the total number of staff managed and not just the number of classroom teachers.

Creation of a facility for long-serving principals to ’step down’ from principalship without financial loss.

Development of a suitable financial management system. IPPN has commenced the design of an easy-to-use software package to address the recording, analysing and reporting of all school finances. This will be forwarded to schools in time for the change over to uros.

Further information on the involvement of deputy principals is included in this Newsletter. I am delighted to report that the rate of membership renewal for 2001/2002 reflects a significant increase with many new members coming on board.

On behalf of the Executive and National Committee, I want to thank you sincerely for your continued support, enthusiasm and voluntary effort towards the success of IPPN. Sean Cottrell, Director.

NEW APPOINTMENT We are delighted to announce that Ms. Sue Cowburn has recently joined IPPN to work along with Seán at our office based in Glounthaune, Cork. Sue previously worked in PR, Marketing and Event Management both in England and Ireland. We wish her every success in her future with IPPN.

DEPUTY PRINCIPALS A key development in IPPN has been the recent decision of the Executive and National Committee to offer Deputy Principals membership of IPPN. Some of the factors, which have lead to this decision are listed below.

Ever since the First National Conference for principals in 1994, the Principals’ Network has requested the DES to put in place a comprehensive training programme for principals. The professional development programme recently announced by the DES has been agreed to include Deputy Principals as well as Principals.

Since 1997 the role of Deputy Principal, which replaced the former vice principal, has been significantly enhanced.

The concept of team leadership being undertaken by both Principal and Deputy together is now mainstream thinking.

Recommendation 13 in the report from The Working Group on the Role of the Primary School Principal states that “ . . the role of deputy principal, in particular in larger schools, should be the subject of examination in an appropriate forum with a view to assessing the supports necessary for this role, having regard for the size and circumstances of the school . .”

A pilot study involving deputies undertaken during the past year in one Regional Network and the feedback from both principals and deputies was entirely positive with nothing but mutual gain where a school’s principal and deputy chose to be involved.

When we surveyed DPs last June regarding professional development, 92% of Deputy Principals expressed a desire to join the Irish Primary Principals’ Network.

Currently the DES does not recognise the need for a deputy principal in a two-teacher school. IPPN believes that it is vitally important that we address this anomaly. This can be best achieved through advocating the importance and necessity of the deputy principals’ role in all schools.

It is common international practice to include deputy principals in principals’ associations. This is also the case with our second level colleagues.

Initially, IPPN membership for deputy principals will entail:

Invitation to and involvement in regional in-service.

Receipt of the IPPN newsletter will be sent jointly to both Principal & Deputy Principal.

Access to www.ippn.ie and networking@ippn.ie as a means of communicating professionally with other colleagues.

Publishing the findings of the research carried out with DPs last June Addressing the inequity that our colleagues in two-teacher schools experience where there is currently no deputy principals’ role sanctioned.

Opening appropriate discussions to examine the role of deputy principals in larger schools and making comparisons with our second level counterparts.

Establishing a sub-committee of deputy principals to professionally examine their role and plan for its future development.

This sub committee will also reflect on the pilot study which has involved DPs in one Regional Network and make recommendations to IPPN. Following lengthy consideration about the fee structure for Deputy Principals it was decided that there would be no separate or additional fee for DPs; instead a single fee would apply to each school. The fee for September 2001 to August 2002 is £80 ( 100).

LEFT: WORKSHOPS IN PROGRESS - 50°C -SEE ARTICLE ON TAJIKISTAN RIGHT

A note for your diary: Annual Conference in Galway 7th-9th February 2002 2

JUST BACK FROM TAJIKISTAN When Seán Cottrell of IPPN rang me asking me if I would be interested in helping him out with a request that he had received from Save The Children I made the usual mistake of saying yes first and finding out about it later. The opportunity to participate in a voluntary teacher training project for six weeks in Tajikistan was viewed as extremely challenging but not to be missed. Unconcerned by tales of temperatures reaching 50C+, Gráinne Duggan and Seán Cottrell (Cork), Máire Fenton and Carol Barrett (Galway), and myself, Noel Brennan (Waterford), set off early in July. After stops in Heathrow, Istanbul and the capital of Kyrgyzstan, (Bishkek) our final flight in a WWII Russian Tupolov aircraft, took us over the spectacular snow-covered Hindu Kush mountains into the capital of Tajikistan, Dushanbe. There we received a great welcome from the local Save the Children team. That same day we set out through 50C heat for Qurghon-Teppa, a town of 50,000 people and an hour’s drive north of the Afghan border.

Tajikistan has a proud past, and its people have experienced mixed fortunes politically for centuries, having been occupied

by Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, the Moguls of India and successive Russian dynasties. Under Stalin and the soviet system they experienced the harsh regime of the centralised soviet economy. However, infrastructure, telecommunications, health and education operated with military efficiency and reasonably high standards. In 1991 Tajikistan received its independence but also a civil war to add to their troubles. However, they are determined to cope with transition despite the collapse of their economy and a return to agricultural self-sufficiency using the technology of the 1920s.

We were warmly welcomed and our counterparts were eager to share our ideas and experiences. ‘A guest is a gift from God’, they say, and we were certainly indebted to their incredible hospitality. There is a very strong sense of family and community. Because of the virtual collapse of their entire economy every family is compelled to growing their own food with one and sometimes more members emigrating to Russia to try and eke out a living. Putting it in perspective - in 1991 a teacher earned the equivalent of US$100, in 2001 the same teacher received US$7 per month. Despite chronic poverty most teachers are proud of their profession and continue to look forward to better days ahead.

The Tajik education system is struggling to recover from the straight jacket of the soviet system. Many of the qualified teachers have fled to Russia for better pay, and those who have stayed are coping with low wages, scant buildings and resources, poor attendance, school culture which is authoritarian, an out of date curriculum and many difficulties. Of those now teaching in Tajik schools many have little more than secondary education. However, the Ministry for Education is becoming aware of the value of a child-centred approach to education, an approach that is promoted extensively by Save the Children (one of the many non-government organisations in the country).

We were recruited by Save the Children (UK) through Séan Cottrell, Director of IPPN, who has previously worked in similar situations in East Africa and Asia. After a week spent on needs identification and analysis, visiting schools and Day Care Centres, our first task was to design and present a course on Facilitation Skills to twenty-five teachers, lecturers and ministry officials. As part of a three-year Save the Children plan these facilitators will work with teachers, parents and other groups towards improving their understanding of education and the message used in their classrooms.

Involving a select few of the newly trained facilitators, we spent the following three weeks training 100, mainly teachers, in methodologies, curricular areas, planning, classroom management, staff relations, creation and use of resources, partnership, self-esteem, child protection and special needs education. We worked very diligently in designing and planning, creation of overheads and handouts and presenting/facilitating for five hours per day (in the heat!). Borrowing hugely from the INTO tutor manuals on Infant Education, Literacy, Maths, School Planning, Classroom Management and Life Skills for Teachers - for which we are very grateful to the Professional Development Unit - our aim was to present stimulating courses which would prompt much discussion among eager participants. Both ‘Stay Safe’ and ‘Walk Tall’ were considered suitable for adaptation to the Tajikistan context. A huge interest was expressed by the Tajiks in our Revised Curriculum, a set of which Seán had been presented with by our own DES and carried personally from Cork to Dushanbe and formally presented to the Education Ministry. Financial support for resources for the hard-pressed Tajik teachers was also supported by Cork builders P.J. Hegarty & Son. The six weeks were a great learning experience for all of us. The excellent translators/interpreters were central to the success of the work and the Irish gang adjusted quickly to the staccato-style presentation mode. Of course jokes were made at our expense, but they were taken in good sport; and we had Gaeilge to get our own back! Attending to every detail, Save the Children’s support for our efforts were co-ordinated by Zainab Boboeva, Education Project Officer.

Comfortable living accommodation with a local family who provided excellent and varied food daily was arranged; transport was provided always, and weekends were spent in the capital (and promises of no tales brought home!) with trips to see the beautiful and unspoilt countryside. The cost of living is low (Vodka £1.08 per half litre - not the best example as we don’t touch the stuff!). Invitations to visit Tajik homes were frequent, and we dined in the traditional style sitting on the floor, always removing shoes beforehand and taking care to give due reverence to the many different breads presented.

Save the Children hopes that the three-year programme will be sustainable in the long-term. Local teachers and communities are open to ideas on improving the quality of teaching and learning, and they are keen on modern methods and the creation of a more stimulating and enjoyable school experience for all.

The trip was unforgettable! We worked hard as a team but we had great fun throughout. Yes, we suffered bouts of sickness, best left to the imagination of those who have travelled to other such places, but nothing could impinge on the truly amazing experience, which we encountered in central Asia.

Noel Brennan, Principal, St. John’s Special School, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford.

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Thoughts on the Galway Conference Submitted by: Damien White, Killeigh N.S., Tullamore Judging by any yardstick, the 7th Primary Principals Conference, and the first organised by IPPN was very successful. The theme - Tacaíocht, Spreagadh agus Misneach - The health and safety of the Primary Principal certainly struck a chord with those present. The city of the Tribes proved to be the perfect location for a mixture of “R” and “R” and ground breaking development in education. In fact the conference proceeded with all the gracefulness of a swan on the nearby Lough Corrib, belying the gargantuan work beneath the surface that ensured progress. The 420 principals and guests present were provided with much affirmation and food for thought from keynote speakers whose contributions are evaluated elsewhere in this newsletter.

Judging by peoples comments on their conference evaluation sheets, many people would like to have attended more seminars. Four of those ran concurrently and were in all cases inspirational. I attended Eileen Flynn’s presentation on school planning and was inspired by her practical approach to dealing with the plethora of matters arising from day to day in every school.

The rest of the conference schedule was made up of workshops around the Health and Safety theme and meetings of the various IPPN county groups. Much of the real benefit to principals was gained from “pressing the flesh” during the intervals, at the bar and during the social events surrounding the conference. Ideas, addresses, advice on contacts in a variety of agencies, e-mails, numbers, useful websites and large quantities of empathy all changed hands. Old college friends were spotted and changes of hairstyles, fashion sense and midriffs were a source of much banter. Each morning of the conference, Principals, unused to “freebies”, dug into the copious supplies of daily newspapers. Reports on conference events of the previous day were sought and digested phrase by phrase with the vigour of a playwright reading a Frank Rich review! Others, more worried about the 11th commandment than the 7th, arrived extra early to extract “Independent” tokens from the inviting piles. For those people, we strongly recommend that they join a support group!

conference 2001 Comment from Evaluation Form “I feel that this was a truly exceptional Conference. A terrific atmosphere, an ideal venue and very worthwhile seminars and workshops. Perhaps the same workshops could be run next year to allow us to experience what others were so enthusiastic about. I hope to be here in 2002. Well done everybody!”

At Conference 2001 Goretti Newell, Eileen Flynn and Áine Lawlor

School Development Planning Seminar by Eileen Flynn - National Co-ordinator School Development Planning Report by Breda Rice, Principal, Loreto Primary School, Gorey, Co. Wexford The role of principal in school development planning is an awesome and challenging one, more so now, since the introduction of the Education Act ‘98. In this context, Eileen Flynn explored the landscape, looked at the implications for the principal, and set out a series of steps to help a school identify and achieve its preferred future. Ms. Flynn, an experienced Primary School Principal, set out the task in a principal-friendly way.

• She demystified the process and gave us tools to proceed with confidence on the journey of school development.

• We were alerted to the pitfalls of attempting too much too quickly.

• She clarified and put shape and structure on the process.

• She provided a systematic approach to the business of planning.

• She didn’t underestimate the mammoth task of moving from a culture of isolation to one of collaboration.

Many were impressed and reassured by her explanation of the Process Folder for the Plean Scoile - a working document enabling the school community to monitor the effectiveness of planned change. The vision put before us by Eileen Flynn is best summed up in the words of Sergiovanni: “Leadership for meaning/Leadership for problem solving/Collegial leadership/Leadership as shared responsibility/ Leadership that serves school purpose/Leadership that is tough enough to demand a great deal from everyone/ Leadership that is tender enough to encourage the heart . . . . these are the images of leadership that we need for school communities”.

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GRANTS FOR CARETAKERS AND SECRETARIES The following letter was sent to Mr. Paul Kennedy, (A.P.O.) Primary Administration, DES, by our National Director Sean Cottrell.

Dear Paul, Thank you for your email two weeks ago concerning the forthcoming increased grant aid for caretaker and secretarial assistants in school. IPPN welcomes this increased assistance and would like to contribute a number of points to the DES with regard to converting this additional budget to give the optimum benefit to schools in terms of support.

This is the first opportunity in over twenty, years for schools to employ people in real jobs doing real work 1 which has hitherto been filled by FAS workers and people employed on an hourly basis with monies fundraised and scraped together by various means. For this reason real full-time contracts must be offered to secretaries and caretakers/cleaners. i) Such contracts should be standardised making reference to methods of payment and incremental nature of salary, etc. ii) Guidance should be offered to schools, in terms of possible job description for secretaries, caretakers/ cleaners. The Irish Primary Principals Network is willing to assist the Department of Education & Science in the dissemination of suggested contracts and job descriptions for secretaries and caretakers/cleaners.

Not all schools will be able to afford to employ a full-time caretaker/cleaner and or full time secretary from the 2 grant, even in its enhanced state. In this case IPPN strongly recommends that where a number of small schools have an existing group relationship e.g. for in-service training, shared resource teachers, shared learning support teachers, etc. such schools should group together to employ one full-time secretary and one full-time caretaker/cleaner. Given the current labour shortage in Ireland, schools find it very difficult to employ people on a part-time basis for such duties. The creation of a real full-time job, which would have a permanency as well as other attractions, offers the best prospect of meeting the needs of schools.

Most school Boards of Management have voluntary treasurers who do not have the necessary skills and 3 knowledge for dealing with PRSI and PAYE deductions. For this reason, it is imperative that salaries for secretaries and caretakers/cleaners would be processed and paid centrally from the DES. as is currently the case for Special Needs Assistants. This will also be a more cost effective approach as it makes no sense for thousands of schools to be employing accountants each processing PAYE/PRSI for one or two people.

In recent years many schools have, in addition to a part time secretary, part-time cleaners as well as a part-time 4 caretaker. Boards of Management should he encouraged to consider employing a person as a Janitor who will fulfil both the function of school cleaning and caretaking. As well as making economic sense, it would also be more effective to have one person responsible for both functions from the point of view of school security and being available at flexible times for school opening and closing etc.

In order to encourage schools to group together for the purpose of employing secretaries and caretakers/ 5 cleaners the concept of a minimum grant for schools with 60 or fewer pupils should remain thus enabling a number of small schools to have sufficient financial resources to employ a full-time person. This would also do away with the necessity to involve travelling expenses between schools, which would create additional difficulties for all concerned.

Notwithstanding arguments for permanent contracts for secretaries/caretakers made in points 1 and 2 some 6 schools will want the option of receiving a cash grant to employ part-time personnel at their own discretion.

Is mise le meas, Sean Cottrell IPPN Executive Members at a Recent Meeting in Portlaoise Front Row: Pat Kavanagh, Tomás Ó Slatara, PRO, Una MacNamara, Membership Secretary, David Ruddy, Legal Advisor, Susan Doody, Treasurer.

Back Row: Damien White, Jim Hayes, President, Sean Hanley, Sean Cottrell, National Director, Moira Lynch, Minutes Secretary, Virginia O’Mahony, Deputy President.

Absent from photo: Colm Cregan, Íta Ní Dhúbháin, Treasurer, Joe Diver.

Right Dublin West Support Group Some of the Group One Members Front Row: Kevin Sweeney, Susan Doody, Tony Motherway, Margaret Condon and Mary McIvor.

Back Row: Seán O’Toole, Iggy Keane, Michael McGlynn and Colm McGlade 5

LEGAL DIARY - DAVID RUDDY B.ED., DIP. LAW, B.L. CHILD PROTECTION Guidelines and Procedures Just before the summer holidays all principals and chairpersons of Boards of Management received a blue folder containing the above. The pack contained the book "Children First" published by the Dept. of Health and Children. This book has the objective of encouraging and helping people to report child abuse concerns. Along with the book is a summarised version of “Children First” which runs to 50 pages as opposed to 165 pages in the main text.

Even if you don't get to read the summary immediately, there is a leaflet which would be a good starting point. The last book contained in your pack is the Dept. of Education and Science publication "Child Protection" guidelines and procedures. This is essential reading for all principals and Boards of Management (chairpersons in particular). You will need to refer to the “Children First” text in order to fully appreciate the basis of the guidelines and procedures.

Existing guidelines on child protection have been reviewed and the fruits of this work are contained in "Child Protection" guidelines and procedures. The old guidelines were first published in 1991 and needed review.

The intention of the Dept. of Education and Science is to assist and give direction and guidance to school personnel in protecting children and dealing with allegations/suspicions of child abuse. The new Dept. guidelines are based on "Children First”, the books which make up the rest of the pack and to which I have referred in my introduction.

What are the different forms of Child Abuse?

11 Physical Abuse: Where a child is assaulted or injured in some way that is deliberate - i.e. bruises, fractures, burns, lacerations, damage to body organs and failure to thrive. This is one of the easier forms of abuse to observe.

22 Sexual Abuse: (A) Non contact (offensive sexual remarks, obscene phone-calls, exposure, vulgarism) (B) Contact (touching/masturbation) (C) Oral-genital sexual abuse (D) Penetrative sexual abuse (E) Sexual exploitation. This is one of the hardest forms of abuse to observe.

33 Neglect: Where a child’s needs for food, warmth, shelter, nurturance and safety are not provided to the extent that the child suffers significant harm, i.e. abandonment or desertion, left alone perslstently, malnourishment, persistent failure to attend school (The Education Welfare Act 2000 addresses this issue also), medical problems not given adequate care (a good example is where a parent does not treat a child for lice infestation over a period of time).

44 Emotional Abuse: where a child’s needs for affection, approval and security are not being met and have not been met for some time by their parent or carer. Children who are sexually, physically abused or neglected are also emotionally abused.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF ALL SCHOOL PERSONNEL - DESIGNATED LIAISON PERSON (D.L.P) All Boards of Management must designate a senior member of staff to have specific responsibility for Child Protection.

This person is the Designated Liaison Person for the school. They deal with Health Boards, Gardai, and other parties in connection with allegations of abuse. It is expected that the Designated Liaison Person will normally be the Principal Teacher. This makes perfect sense in a lot of schools but not always. In our school the Deputy Principal is responsible as he would have worked longer in the area than I and would have more knowledge and experience of families in the area.

If the D.L.P. is unavailable for whatever reason arrangements should be in place for another member of staff to discharge his/her responsibilities.

The D.L.P. should immediately inform the Chairperson of the Board of Management of the school that a report involving a pupil in the school has been submitted to the Health Board.

REPORTING OF CONCERNS AND ROLE OF HEALTH BOARDS

If a school employee has a suspicion/receives an allegation

DESIGNATED LIAISON PERSON

Chairperson of Board of Management

Parents/Guardian unless doing so is likely to endanger the child or place the child at further risk

Health Board (Duty Social Worker)

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Gardai (Physical abuse) (Sexual abuse) (Wilful neglect)

• In the event of an emergency, or the non-availability of Health Board staff, the report should be made to Gardai.

There is a standard reporting form for reporting child protection and welfare concerns to a Health Board contained in the appendix of the Child Protection book. A report can also be made by phone.

If the D.L.P. has concerns about a child and is not sure whether to report the matter he/she can seek appropriate advice from the Health Board before deciding whether to make a report or not. It must be remembered that it is the role of the D.L.P. and school staff to report suspicions and not to investigate, the latter role being for the Health Board and/or Gardai. The Health Board is obliged to report physical, sexual and wilful neglect to the Gardai. They are under no such obligation to report emotional or unintentional neglect to the Gardai.

LEGISLATIVE PROTECTION Protection for persons reporting Child Abuse Act, 1998 This act provides immunity from civil liability to designated liaison persons/ principals/ teachers/ or any member of the public who reports child abuse "reasonably and in good faith" to designated officers of Health Boards or any member of the Gardai. There is also the creation of a new offence of false reporting of child abuse where a person makes a report of child abuse - “Knowing that statement to be false". This is designed to protect innocent persons from malicious reports.

Recently a past pupil of a secondary school who falsely reported that he was sexually abused by a former teacher was convicted under the act and sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment.

“ALLEGATIONS OR SUSPICIONS OF CHILD ABUSE BY SCHOOL EMPLOYEES” Boards of Management should have written procedures to deal with allegations against school employees. These procedures, should be in accordance with the rules of natural justice and the employment contract of such an employee.

The Designated Liaison Person (D.L.P.) must inform the chairperson of B.O.M. of the allegation.

No child should be exposed to unnecessary risk Protective measures should be proportionate to the level of risk and not unreasonably penalise an employee unless necessary to protect children.

Consultation with Health Board and Gardai Chairperson informs person accused of the allegation and of procedures to be followed B.O.M. should take care not to frustrate Health Board / Garda investigation The primary aim of B.O.M.s is to protect the children within the school to whom they have a duty of care. However school employees may be subject to erroneous or malicious allegations. Therefore any allegation of abuse should be dealt with sensitively and the employee fairly treated. This includes the right not to be judged in advance of a full and fair enquiry.

INSERVICE In practice many schools will feel more comfortable operating under the 1991 Guidelines pending the provision of in-service. Primary Curriculum Support have appointed trainers to give a one day in-service to school staffs on S.P.H.E. during this academic year. S.P.H.E. is essential for child protection.

Furthermore there will be a one day in-service for the Designated Liaison Person (D.L.P.) delivered by Primary Curriculum Support and the Health Boards. Some Health Boards have, in the last 6 months, held information seminars for principals and other members of staff.

CONCLUSION The publication of the 2001 Child Protection Guidelines is a welcome development. The accompanying in-service for whole school staffs in S.P.H.E. and in Child Protection for the Designated Liaison Person (D.L.P.) is essential for the full implementation of the guidelines. In the majority of schools it will be the principal who will be appointed Designated Liaison Person. However, if another senior member of staff Is suitabIe and willing to undertake this role there is no reason why a Board of Management should not consider such a person for appointment.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL Please note the membership fee set for this year at £80 ( 100) is a standard fee per school to include both principal and deputy principal. There have been some misunderstandings where schools have forwarded separate cheques of £80.00 per member. Please note there is no additional fee where a deputy principal becomes a member. Membership forms with cheque attached to be sent to The Treasurer, IPPN, Glounthaune, Co. Cork.

Membership Application Forms were sent to all schools in early October. Replacement forms are available as a download from the website on http://www.ippn.ie, web site www.ippn.ie

A note for your diary: Annual Conference in Galway 7th-9th February 2002

www.icponline.org

MENTORING PROGRAMME

ICP Online is the official internet website of the international Confederation of Principals. The website aims to be a useful professional resource for school leaders in every country.

The Feature Articles section now has links to two major web sites - each containing a wealth of useful information for school leaders. The first is the website for the recently concluded Online Conference held by the Technology Colleges Trust, in the United Kingdom. This contains nearly seventy papers on schools, education and the impact of the new Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). The second is the website for the Civics and Citizenship Education Online Conference, which was held in May-June, by the APAPDC (NSW), for school principals in New South Wales, Australia. This contains nearly thirty papers on Civics and Citizenship Education, and a useful list of resources and related websites. Both of the linked websites are very comprehensive and well worth a look.

We urgently require new feature articles from school leaders and educationalists from all countries. Please e-mail your article (as plain unformatted text or as an attached word file) to Ms Debra Brydon at brydon@bigpond.net.au Feature articles on any topic relating to school leadership, schools and education are most welcome (word length 500 to 5,000 words maximum). Accompanying photos would be greatly appreciated - post to the address below or e-mail to me as a JPEG file. Please note that all the Feature Articles submitted are carefully edited by me - so please don't worry if the English language in your article isn't perfect when you first submit it to me.

All grammatical and language structure errors will be "repaired” before the paper is published on the website.

Also don't forget that we can also publish articles in some languages other than English, if you would like to do this.

During the summer a Mentoring Programme for newly appointed principals has been initiated. Our National Director, Sean Cottrell, has written to the various management authorities/school patrons requesting the names and school details of principal teachers newly appointed.

Each Principal will receive a letter explaining what IPPN is about, what the mentoring service offers and how to participate, if they so wish. IPPN then assigns a mentor to each principal.

What makes a suitable mentor?

Someone who 1 Has four or more years experience as a principal.

2 Is someone who "networks" with other principals in the normal course of his or her work.

3 Has professional credibility amongst principals in his or her region.

4 Is someone with a common sense approach and a practical nature.

5 Would be willing to give a little time on the telephone and visit the school of a new colleague.

6 Professionally approachable person who is also discreet and confidential.

Is agreeable to act as a voluntary mentor.

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PRIMARY CURRICULUM SUPPORT PROGRAMME Áine Lawlor, National Director P.C.S.P.

SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING SUPPORT Eileen Flynn, National Director S.D.P.S.

Full details of the primary Curriculum Support Programme 2001-2002, together with the overall plan for the coming years, are available in the Newsletter issued to all schools in June. Principals were sent a copy for every member of the teaching staff. Trainers began delivering seminars for Gaeilge, Social, Personal and Health Education and Mathematics on October 1st. Curriculum Cuiditheoirí are providing a regional support service to a limited number of schools for Gaeilge, English and Visual Arts, operating under the direction of the P.C.S.P. through the Education Centre network. The Developmental Project in Science continues in those schools selected last year with the addition of a small number of newly involved schools.

Seminars will also be held on the Learning Support Guidelines and on the Children First Guidelines. Guimíd gach rath ar obair na scoileanna.

During the current school year planning support from SDPS (Primary) will be available to 80% of schools (2,610).

Schools who are to be offered development planning services have already been contacted. It is hoped that assistance will be provided to the remaining 640 schools from 1 September 2002. Participating schools are currently being invited to information seminars nationwide. Grant assistance and the provision of a facilitator will enable these schools to hold a development planning day in 2001/02. Schools will be assisted in addressing their prioritised needs, both curricular and organisational.

Consultation prior to the planning day, as well as follow-up support, planning materials and other resources will also be made available.

The SDPS team (19 facilitators and 5 co-ordinators) look forward to working with school communities to enhance pupil and teacher learning during the coming year.

Some new appointees may not wish to have a mentor who is principal of a nearby school. Ideally a mentor from a similar type school will be of best practical use.

However, the professional and personal generosity of the mentor is what matters most.

Contact Sean, or Sue, at head office if you would consider volunteering for this new initiative in providing Professional Development for Principals or if you know of retired principals who may consider becoming mentors.

Annual Conference in Galway 7th-9th February 2002 8

Further information and assistance is available from www.sdsp.ie or from the SDPS Office at Drumcondra Education Centre, 01 8576427.

WHAT A REGIONAL NETWORK CAN DO FOR PRINCIPALS - AR SCÁTH A CHÉILE A MHAIRIMID Submitted by: Patricia O’Hare, Principal, Christ King Girls' Primary School, Turners Cross, Cork.

October 1994 saw the inauguration of the first National Principals Conference in Cork. This event was funded by the ICDU and organised by a group of principals who were part of the Principals Professional Support Groups originally set up by the Cork Education Centre in 1991. Following two further successful conferences the "ad hoc" committee passed on the torch of conference responsibility to the Dublin/Eastern Region, and focussed on the challenge of co-ordinating and providing for the professional development needs of the existing support groups in the Cork Primary Principals Network.

In order to become proactive rather than reactive, the committee meets monthly and strives to plan in-service that is relevant to our members. Funding is provided

by ICDU. Up to 100 principals/ deputy principals have gathered to hear speakers on such diverse topics as: • • • • • • • •

Eileen FIynn - School Development Planning Gearóid Ó Conluain/ Tadhg Ó Glaimhín - Whole School Evaluation Sr. Eileen Randles, CPSMA - The Education Act Clare O'Leary, Cork and Ross Office - New Boards of Management Dr. Finbarr O'Leary - A Psychiatrist's View on Child Development Colum O'Connor - Conflict Resolution Declan O'Connell/ Eamonn Cotter - Managing School Finances David Ruddy - The Law and The Teacher

Many principals have actively participated in the above as well as organising workshops on School Planning, the Teaching Principal and the role of the Deputy Principal.

Regional Seminars have been held for a day on "A Head for the Millennium" and "Special Needs Children". CPPN became IPPN-Cork following the launch of IPPN nationally and has been to the fore in inviting Deputy Principals to these talks and encouraging participation in our workshops.

Some of our members are on sub-committees working on The Teaching Principal, Transition from Primary to Post Primary, IPPN Website and Deputy Principals. All our support groups, which are the nerve centre of Regional Network, are organised through the Cork Education Centre.

Some of our IPPN-Cork members are also actively involved in the shaping of national education policy with the Education Partners. Two of our committee members were on the working group which produced a report on the Role of the Principal.

Being active in IPPN Cork helps combat the isolation and increasing uncertainty surrounding our own role as Principal and the ever changing nature of schooling and school leadership.

IPPN NETWORKING: PETER LONG (webeditor@ippn.ie) The IPPN website is dedicated to professional development issues for Primary Principals in Ireland. The site is very user friendly and contains many useful resources for Principals.

The Online Resource Page is a great attraction and

contains many draft policies in easy to use Microsoft Word format. Samples of these include draft Enrolment Policies, Building and Planning Guidelines from the Department of Education and Science, a sample safety statement and many others. This page is constantly under review and is added to regularly. The News Page helps keep you up to date with IPPN affairs and will shortly have an e-version of the IPPN Newsletter. The Links Page gives easy access to many sites such as the Department of Education and Science and through that to NEPS, Another site worth visiting is that of the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) from the USA. The Legal Archive Page is still under construction but it is hoped to have advice pertaining to Education Law here presently.

Join the IPPN e-mailing list on networking@ippn.ie for topical discussion or raise your own concerns and see who shares them. Put www.ippn.ie in your favourites page next time you visit.

PRINCIPALS PURSUING BUILDING PROJECTS, PLEASE NOTE Larry Fleming, Ballinamere NS,Tullamore Countless primary building projects already approved are set to be axed or delayed indefinitely due to the tax revenue target falling by more than half in the current financial year. Already some primary principals have been informed that their building projects are at a standstill and will remain so until the Education Estimates are presented.

A 7% reduction in the hard pressed budget for capital expenditure is being envisaged by some high ranking personnel in the Building Section of the Dept. With close to 580 building projects of varying sizes on hand, clearly some of these will be deferred and others of low priority are in danger of being scrapped altogether. Already, staff in the Building Section of the Dept. are busy categorising building projects on the basis of priority.

Only high priority projects are likely to be given the go ahead, as a considerable chunk of the £92 million budget has already been earmarked. At present, Special Needs is being given a priority 1 rating but principals can advance their building project claims if they are pursuing a replacement school which has a priority 2 rating or if they have asbestos problems. Contact should be made with the Dept. immediately to ascertain a school’s priority rating.

MINISTER ANNOUNCES INCREASES IN GRANTS FOR SECRETARIAL/CARETAKING IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS A Letter voicing concern from Margaret Condon. St. Michael's School Ballyfermot, D 10.

As principal of a Primary School in an area designated as "Disadvantaged" who has "inadequate" arrangements for secretarial support, e.g. diminishing pupil population related capitation grant, I was delighted when Minister Woods made his above earIy July announcement. “At last”, I thought, "In September I'll have the funds to expend that might attract someone to the position of school secretary, even on a part time basis!”

Maybe other school principals have received cheques? If they haven't why aren't they saying something about it?

Personally, I find it extremely difficult to administer my school. I wonder how many other principals around the country are in this position?

If as principals "nationally” we could unite in approaching the Department of Education & Science and request that this situation be regularised once and for all, maybe we would be more successful.

REPORT ON NAHT ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2001 IN HARROGATE BY NOREEN CARROLL It was my privilege to be invited to represent IPPN at the National Association of Headteachers Annual Conference in Harrogate, U.K., this year. The Conference was held in the magnificent Harrogate International Centre from Tuesday 29th May until Friday 1st June. NAHT represents Heads, Principals, Deputy Heads, Vice-Principals and Assistant Heads in all types of schools and colleges in the maintained, non-maintained and independent sector of education in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The theme of the Conference was "Making a Difference" with the emphasis on participation and networking by those attending, during the course of the Conference's various activities. Included in the Conference agenda were sessions for debate and policy making, where motions on topics ranging from funding, school inspection, curriculum overload, teacher recruitment and retention, teacher professionalism, time management, the role of parents, performance and league tables were discussed and voted on.

We were also introduced to guest speakers such as Lou Tice, Founder of the Pacific Institute and author of the Investment in Excellence Programme, who spoke on the themes "Personal and Professional Vision" and "A Vision for the Profession". He emphasises that human beings can equip themselves to succeed by having a positive vision, good self-esteem and positive affirmation. This works for both adults and pupils in the context of the school community. Another keynote address was made

by Estelle Morris MP, who has since then been appointed Minister for Education in the newly elected Labour Government. She spoke about the tensions between Local Education Authorities and the Department in the provision of resources and delivery of services to schools in the UK. She showed a thorough understanding of the problems experienced by schools (being a former teacher in an inner city comprehensive school) and was both realistic and challenging in her proposals and plans for the future of education. The final guest speaker on the Friday morning was Mick Waters, Head of Birmingham Advisory and Support Service (i.e. inspectorate). His presentation was an enlightened and amusing insight into his experiences as a schools inspector. Being able to see the child/pupil at the centre of the education system in the midst of the bureaucracy of targets, performance tests, league tables, etc., was something he achieved with great love, sensitivity and professionalism.

Alongside the debate and policy-making sessions and guest speakers there was also a very extensive exhibition by various educational suppliers, largely dominated by, I noticed, the IT sector. On the social side, I experienced a true Yorkshire Supper and very enjoyable Reception and Gala Dinner Dance. I was particularly pleased to meet with the NAHT delegates from Northern Ireland, including Arthur Greenwood and Mary Devine, both of whom attended our IPPN Conference in Galway. They were all happy to include me in their sampling of the wonderful restaurants of Harrogate.

Throughout the conference, I met with many Head Teachers and shared and exchanged ideas and problems in relation to school management and school leadership. I was particularly interested in the professional development aspect of principalship and leadership training. This is now being done on an organised basis in the UK, and I think we could learn from the work that has been done in this area.

UNIQUE OVERSEAS OPPORTUNITY FOR EXPERIENCED, SKILLED TEACHERS & PRINCIPALS

SAFETY National Safety Council

WITH

ARE YOU? FLEXIBLE A GOOD COMMUNICATOR WILLING TO TRAVEL IN GOOD HEALTH

EXPERIENCED IN OTHER CULTURES TEACHER IN-SERVICE ADULT OR ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION TEAM WORK

CONSULTANCIES REQUIRED BY

SAVE THE CHILDREN FUND

Centra and the National Safety Council want children to think about keeping safe on the roads. Is there a road safety issue in your community that you want your class to talk about? Here’s their chance! They could be attending the premiere of their very own road safety movie in December - and win a £5000 grant for your school.

CENTRAL ASIA - TAJIKISTAN: ONE YEAR CONTRACT, PRIMARY EDUCATION ADVISOR FOR IN-SERVICE TEACHER TRAINING PROJECT CENTRAL ASIA - TIBET: THREE WEEK CONSULTANCY TO ASSESS AND RECOMMEND VOCATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR EARLY SCHOOL LEAVERS IN RURAL DISTRICT

• £500 holiday voucher for winning teacher!

• Ask Principals for details

WEST AFRICA - LIBERIA: THREE WEEK CONSULTANCY TO DESIGN APPROPRIATE EDUCATION PROGRAMME FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN

IF YOU MATCH ALL OR MOST OF THE ABOVE CRITERIA PLEASE CONTACT SEAN COTTRELL, DIRECTOR IRISH PRIMARY PRINCIPALS’ NETWORK

For the way we live today.

FOR AN APPLICATION FORM AND FURTHER INFORMATION.

TEL: 1890 21 22 23

10

DIRECTOR@IPPN.IE

A CHANGING WORLD - REFLECTIONS ON THE TRAGIC EVENTS OF SEPTEMBER 11th Damien White, Scoil Shinchill, Killeigh, Co Offaly September 11th 2001 - a day when life catastrophically imitated the act of the blockbuster movie, as we witnessed in horror, the brutal manifestation of the end result of fundamentalism.

Through television we have become accustomed to the images of mass destruction following disasters worldwide.

Rarely does an evening pass without the news bulletins carrying upsetting pictures of people in distress and buildings in ruins from the latest calamity. While in the short term we empathize with the victims, perhaps even contribute to emergency funds set up by relief agencies, we soon move on to the next troubled spot with our concern. Earthquakes in Turkey, mudslides in Honduras and floods in Mozambique have all impacted upon our psyche before going into storage in a rarely visited cabinet of our memory. September 11th was different though.

This wasn't an act of God or the forces of nature overwhelming people in vulnerable corners of the planet. This was a vile and brutal attack on the citizens of the United States of America and the western world. History has taught us of the capacity of humans to inflict unimaginable horror on each other; Hiroshima, Rwanda, Tienaman Square and the Holocaust are words which create their own images in terms of destruction and evil. People who have lived through and read about these and other such events know that on the morning of September 12th they had woken up to a different and more frightening world.

So how do we as principal teachers respond when facing children just hours after we've all seen real life and senseless horror on our television screens?

Just as people worldwide sought to hear every utterance from Msrs Bush, Blair, Arafat and other central players, children were anxious to make sense of it all with the help of their teachers. We respond as best we know how, praying, singing hymns, listening to news broadcasts and encouraging the children to reflect and write on what has happened.

Most importantly though we listen and in listening, I found myself heartened by the children's spoken thoughts and observations. While the drama of the plane crashes and the crumbling buildings were important to the discussion, the human stories were the central, stories where the spirit, bravery and dignity of people shone through.

The last anguished phone messages from soon to be victims to their loved ones, which spoke of love and family rather than hatred and revenge, the courage of police and fire fighters and the honour of those passengers whose struggle with the hijackers brought their aeroplane down in an empty field, preventing certain carnage elsewhere.

Children pulled hope from the debris of the world's most vivid and shocking terrorist attack and from the heroism of ordinary people. Let us all hope in the coming weeks and months that their hope is not misplaced. Let us hope too that the television images of frightened and poverty stricken Afghani people moving towards the Pakistani border will convince those involved in the war on terrorism that a massive humanitarian response might prove to be their greatest weapon.

REFLECTIONS AFTER FOUR WEEKS AS PRINCIPAL Esther Lambe Has it really been only four weeks since I became a Primary School Principal. Assuming the mantle of care of a substandard 2 teacher school with a population of 42 pupils from 22 families, a caretaker cum cleaner, a conscripted school parent/ secretary (no pay yet) has resulted in a merry go round of non stop duties. Did I have any idea what I was doing when I took this momentous step. After 26 years in a 27 teacher school, 13 years of which were in special ed, I admit it wasn’t the most carefully thought out decision I have ever made. A chance phone call, an ad in the paper and the conviction that it was now or never means that on this Sat night at 1.30, I am writing these few words.

After 3 weeks of opening the door of this “university of the young” and closing it at various times in the evening, weekends included, I am certain of one thing, this is a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week job. Am I feeling the strain, the pressure?

To be honest I haven’t the time. Teaching 24 lively children, organising books, preparing work, corrections, negotiating the maze of schoolbags and desks etc. 11.00 o’clock no water. Switch on pump, squeeze teabag. Oh Lord forgot the milk! A few words with my colleague, children to supervise. 10 minutes gone. Back to work, 4 Busy at Maths books and the answer books gone AWOL. The way time is flying I’ll be due for retirement soon.

12.30. Lunch, black tea, more supervision, must remind the DES to install a hatch in the new school. Ideal for a take-away sandwich. Child admonished, child comforted, tree prevented from being uprooted and I promise myself I will do something about the litter. Break over, back in and away we go again.

3 o’clock!! Duties of a Principal…Oh yes. The paperwork. 22 letters the first day, 14 the 2nd day and only 4 the 3rd day.

Felt a little deprived then but the balance was restored by 4 phone calls. Last Friday’s post back to normal which prompted visiting Inspector to comment,“Is that one day’s post?” I’m worried now that the DES is aware of the potential of 2 teacher schools to generate advertising revenue.

BOM Meeting. Confidential… Fund Raising meeting. Forthcoming Auction. Did I say previously a 24 hour a day job? Yes, my dreams tell me so.

A note for your diary: Annual Conference in Galway 7th-9th February 2002 11