IPPN Submission re. Budget 2020
There are many significant issues to be addressed in the primary education sector. IPPN presents two priorities for Budget 2020 - one leadership and management day per week for teaching principals; and a restoration of promoted posts in schools with more than four teachers. IPPN and other stakeholders have been calling for these improvements for many years. Parliamentary questions in April and July 2019 indicated that the costs of implementing one leadership and management day a week would be €7.5m to €8m. At this stage, we believe that the Department needs to push these changes forward in one step/budget. Simply put, the small incremental changes introduced in recent years are not having a sufficient impact to alleviate the situation in our schools.
Ireland’s 134 Special Schools need Sustainable Action
There are 134 Special Schools, including 10 hospital schools, located across all 26 counties, educating 8,241 pupils (2,666 females and 5,575 males). Special School principals will be gathering together at the upcoming Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) Annual Principals’ Conference, titled ‘Sustainable Leadership’, taking place this Thursday and Friday, 24th and 25th January in Citywest Convention Centre in Dublin.
IPPN recently surveyed all principals of Special Schools as part of an ongoing IPPN Membership Engagement project. The survey findings will be presented to the group at a dedicated meeting of special school principals on Thursday, 24th January. This meeting will also be attended by a representative of the Department of Education & Skills and the Ombudsman for Children, Niall Muldoon.
While all Special Schools are aligned with the primary level sector, this survey has told us that 79% of special schools cater for both primary and post-primary pupils. An additional 5% cater for early years right through to post-primary level.
Schools becoming a safe haven for Ireland’s 4,000 homeless children
Schools are often a safe haven for Ireland’s homeless children – the one positive place where they can be kids. IPPN CEO, Pairic Clerkin acknowledged and commended the many school leaders and teachers who are quietly supporting these children and their families on a daily basis as he addressed the sold out Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) Annual Principals’ Conference. This event, the largest gathering of primary school leaders in Europe, is taking place on Thursday and Friday, 24th and 25th January in Citywest Convention Centre in Dublin.
IPPN CEO, Pairic Clerkin said: ‘4000 children in Ireland are currently homeless and the problem is spreading from cities to provincial towns as demand within the housing rental market exacerbates’. He continued to state the stark reality that due to ‘the sheer scale of the current housing crisis, we are a number of years away from making significant inroads on effectively addressing the homeless issue’ in Ireland.
Nearly 70% of primary schools encountering problems as a result of smartphone / social media use outside of school
A recent survey of primary school leaders has highlighted the dramatic impact smartphones and social media usage can have on and in our primary schools. This survey was carried out ahead of the largest gathering of primary school principals in Europe, at the upcoming IPPN Annual Principals’ Conference taking place this Thursday and Friday, 24th and 25th January in Citywest Convention Centre in Dublin.
An ESRI report, published on 15th January 2019, has stated that 40 per cent of children own a mobile phone by the age of 9. This has resulted in primary schools having to define a strategy on the use of mobile phones in their schools. The recent survey carried out by the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) has determined that 84% of primary schools currently have a smartphone policy in place.
