School Codes of Behaviour
Every school is required by law to have a code of behaviour, and to provide parents with a copy of the code. The National Educational Welfare Board have issued Guidelines to schools to assist them in drawing up the Code of Behaviour for the school. All schools must review their Cod of Behaviour in line with these guidelines.
NPC, together with all the Partners in Education, have been consulted about the Guidelines prior to their issue.
Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998
NPC is concerned at the proposed weakening of the appeals procedure, for children who are being suspended, expelled or refused admission by schools. We are concerned about the implications of this for equality issues covered in equality legislation. We are deeply uneasy about what this could mean for children with special educational needs and especially for children whose special needs include behavioural disabilities. What does this mean for Traveller children who are being excluded from schools? The appeals procedure should be open and fair. The purpose should be to ensure that fair procedures and due process are followed in the school and that a just decision is made. NPC made a submission to the Department regarding the proposed amendments to Section 29 of the Act.
School board of managements
The term of office of the current school boards of management came into being on the 1 December 2007. Each school board has two parent representatives, a mother and a father. Being a school board member is a valuable service to the school and the community. NPC will provide training for parents’ representatives on the boards in October 2008, click here for further information.
Supervision
During the past year we received many calls from parents of children who are concerned about the supervision of their children, before and after official school class time. Parents are being asked to sign indemnity forms, which seek to release the school from responsibility for children before and after school. Children arriving by school transport are, in some schools, being left unsupervised until the official school start time. NPC is seeking clarification from the Department of Education and Science on this issue.
Class size
The issue of class size has always been of concern to parents. National Parents Council Primary wants to see all class sizes down to 20. Under the programme for Government a promise was made to reduce class sizes for children aged under nine to 20. We continue to press for smaller class sizes, especially for the junior classes. NPC has proposed that schools with large classes be given an extra teacher/s so that the principal can use the extra teachers to suit the needs in the school.
Internet Safety
Parents often admire how easily their children can use the Internet – but aren’t quite sure of what they are doing or seeing. National Parents Council Primary working with the National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE) has developed a seminar to take the mystery out of the Internet for parents and to give them the skills to engage with their children’s online lives. Click here for further information
New models of school patronage
The Minister for Education and Science has proposed an additional patronage model for primary schools.
In general, the patron of a school is a representative of the owners. In practice, the Catholic and Church of Ireland bishops are the patrons of the schools within the diocese, with the parish priest usually carrying out the functions on behalf of the bishop. The multi-denominational schools' patron is usually the board of trustees or the limited company - 'Educate Together'. Gaelscoileanna may be under the patronage of the church authorities but may opt to be under the patronage of Foras Pátrúnachta na Scoileanna Lán Ghaeilge, which is a limited company set up for the purpose. The patron appoints the Board of Management and has the power to remove it.
The existing models of patronage have served the education sector well over many decades and will continue to do so. However, in a small number of rapidly developing areas a traditional patron is not always available. The Minister has intended that a school in Diswellstown, Dublin 15 would be community based and that the administrative framework of the County Dublin Vocational Education Committee would be used for the new model.
Parent participation in Whole School Evaluation (WSE) / School planning
All schools are visited and evaluated by the Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Science; this is referred to as WSE. Following a WSE, an Inspector writes an evaluation report on the work of the school. This report informs parents, boards of management, teachers and the Department of Education and Science about what the school is doing well. It also makes recommendations on how the quality of education provided could be improved. If your parent association is affiliated to NPC, then it is the members of the parent association the Inspectors will consult with.
Development / restructuring of NPC under the Strategic Plan
Much has changed in the 21 years since NPC was established. Over a period of several years there has been very wide consultation with parents on how the organisation could best meet their needs in today’s Ireland and in the future. The board, chief executive and staff have worked intensively to try to accommodate the wishes of parents, and to date some structural changes to the organisation have been agreed. The outcome of the whole consultative process is the NPC Strategic Plan 2007. This is a working document, which will hopefully allow NPC to achieve the goals highlighted by parents.
Strategic Plan>>
Children’s right to the full curriculum
At our Annual Delegate Conference 2007 – the following motion was passed, that the Minister for Education and Science would ensure that all children receive their entitlement to the full primary curriculum, with particular reference to R.S.E. and P.E. in all schools and English in Irish medium schools.
If there are any other issues you think should be important to NPC, please contact us