IPPN

As we progress through the second year of the CSL pilot phase, I would like to provide you with an update of the work achieved and the current focus areas, alongside the learning for the CSL team and the programme participants.

Coaching

The CSL Coaching Service will be available shortly for principals who have completed year one in their role. There will be 400 places available on a pro rata basis for the primary and post primary sectors. Each person who accesses the service will be entitled to 4-6 sessions free of charge with the guarantee of complete confidentiality. Information about the coaching programme and biopics of participating professional coaches will be provided by the coaching company and made available on the CSL website. Bookings will be made directly with the individual coach. The CSL team will be provided with anonymised quantitative data regarding sector, school context, age profile etc. The service will be officially launched this month and will be advertised on the website and through direct communication with schools. This initiative is aimed directly at the wellbeing of school leaders, is fully funded by the DES and is very worth accessing as early as possible due to predicted demand.

It is aimed at competent and successful principals who wish to improve their practice in specific areas, those who are facing a particular challenge or those who feel they are challenged by the role. The coaches may or may not be in the education field. Due to the nature of the coaching relationship, being outside of the sector provides an advantage for the coaching relationship and steers coaches away from their own work contexts and their assumptions about those of others.

Aspiring Leaders’ Programme

The CSL Aspiring Leaders’ Post Graduate level 9 course will begin in September 2017.  The tendering process was completed in October and the successful tenderer is a consortium led by UL in association with UCD and NUIG. The course will be widely advertised in the spring. Places will be limited to 200 in the first year, be available regionally, and the course will be run over 18 months until December 2018. This new course will be subsidised by the DES and will involve a short period of work placement in a school other than the participant’s own, and in a sector outside of the education field.

Mentoring

Last year, 124 primary principals and 61 post primary principals completed the Mentor Training Programme in Athlone. This has resulted in 93 primary mentoring relationships in Leinster and 43 post primary relationships countrywide. The CSL pilot was confined to the Leinster area last year and is presently extended countrywide.

There remains a dearth of Teaching Principals involving themselves in the training. This is very understandable considering their workload and time management issues. Sub cover is provided for them to attend on both days if necessary but many fear the commitment of time to the mentoring relationship itself rather than to the training and shared learning days. It is hoped that over time, the training will be seen as essential CPD for Teaching Principals, an opportunity to reflect on the demands of their position in their schools and to use this reflection to assist them in the hectic and ever increasing demands of their day to day work in the classroom and in the running of their schools. In the meanwhile, administrative principals with experience as Teaching Principals will continue to assist our teaching colleagues in mentoring relationships alongside the 27 Teaching Principals who trained last year and the 56 who are currently involved in training.

Early feedback from the current mentoring relationships indicates that Mentors are very much enjoying the process. They speak about the relationship being mutually beneficial, about how much they appreciate the opportunity of a glimpse into another school and the enjoyment of sharing acquired knowledge while helping newly appointed colleagues. Early feedback also highlights an appreciation of the formality of the relationship, the structure involved and the resource documents which support it. Of course, no pilot is without challenges and again from feedback, they include the time demands on both the Mentor and the Mentee, the tension between empowering rather than taking on responsibility and dealing with the myriad of issues which arise. The 12 school leaders who are currently working as CSL Cairde are in close contact with their Mentors, feedback on a regular basis to the CSL team and are currently in preparation for reflective workshops with their Mentors during Shared Learning Days in Athlone. 

Currently, a further 176 primary principals are participating in training in Monaghan, Portlaoise, Kilkenny and Ennis, while there are 43 post primary colleagues involved.  Whilst presenting on the programme, the generosity of the participants, their genuine concern for colleagues beginning in the role, and their responsibility for system leadership very much impressed me. The opportunity for participants to reflect on their practice and to take well-earned time to network with others while enhancing their own practice through professional dialogue and collaborative learning was a pleasure to facilitate. These experienced principals very much valued the Skills presentation on the second day of training and reported the Triads exercise as being especially significant in their learning:

“I need to become a better listener in my professional life”

“I have learned to listen and to hold back on the ‘fix it’ mode”

“I am most impressed by my fellow principals and their willingness to share experiences”

“Following the triads exercise, I have a plan of action to tackle an issue I’ve been worrying about”

“I need to extricate myself from the business of school more often and reflect”

CPD QA Process

The team is also working on the development of a formal Quality Assurance Process for professional development in leadership and we look forward to the publication of our first Annual Report in early February.

Anna Mai Rooney, Deputy Director Primary, Centre for School Leadership