7 March 2017 - Irish schools face shortage of principals as role’s managerial and administrative duties deter teachers from stepping up to leadership role—education report
• Increasing burden of administrative work, like procurement and school maintenance, stops primary and secondary principals from taking a more active role in promoting teaching and learning;
• The independent report, published jointly by IPPN and NAPD, suggests creation of regional management boards to take on these managerial duties on behalf of individual schools;
• Government must spend more on education, in line with increased social welfare and healthcare budgets, to meet increasing demand for school places and implement crucial reforms;
• Overall, successive Irish governments have remained strong on education, and Irish pupils rank highly in literacy, numeracy and science by international standards.
26th January 2017 - ‘Schools provide a constant safe haven for Homeless and Immigrant Children’ states IPPN President
Homelessness is a legacy of a cruel and unforgiving recession that has consumed us for almost 10 years and which continues to bring hardship and discontent. Over 3,000 families have children in this situation attending primary schools. You principals continue to provide the only normality in many of these children’s lives - a safe and familiar space. I am proud of the fact that you manage this task with sensitivity and compassion despite the lack of basic resources.
26th January 2017 - Bullying levels down but children’s emotional wellbeing is still under threat
The Annual Conference of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) will this week hear that children’s emotional wellbeing is a continuing cause of concern for primary school principals.
Over 1,100 primary school leaders will be in attendance at Citywest Convention Centre on Thursday, January 26th to hear IPPN President, Maria Doyle unveil the findings of a recent IPPN survey on children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing.
26th January 2017 - Bring ‘good old fashioned common sense back into our overwhelmed education system’ pleads education leader
President of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) Maria Doyle, will this week make an impassioned plea to the Department of Education and Skills to eliminate the raft of ‘unnecessary rules and regulations’ that are making it impossible for school principals to achieve their vision for schools.
