Presentation to Joint Oireachtas Committee on
Education and Social Protection on School Leadership
By the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals
Wednesday, 9th April 2014
Introduction
On behalf of our membership and as Director of the NAPD, I would like to take the
opportunity to thank the Committee for the invitation to present and meet with you today
on the issue of leadership in our education system. It is a cause very close to our hearts in
the NAPD.
By way of background, the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) is
the professional association for second level school leaders in Ireland and provides a united
voice for principals and deputy principals on issues of common concern across all three
second level sectors. NAPD represents the views of Principals and Deputy Principals to the
Department of Education and Skills and takes a leadership role in the formulation of
education policy.
One of our key priorities is to enable our members, principals and deputy principals, to be
the leaders of learning in their school. NAPD prides itself on being dynamic, pro-active and
outward looking. Members of NAPD are also members of the European School Heads
Association and the International Confederation of Principals. The Association uses these
international links to explore how we can improve the Irish education system.
One of the stated objectives of the NAPD is to support the professional development of
school leaders. The Association is eager to take a lead role in facilitating such much needed
professional development. Below we have set out our proposals on how meaningful
leadership within our education system can be developed and fostered, using the structure
proposed below.
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Our short presentation will outline the current problems within the school management
system, as well as the challenges that school leaders face, mainly through a lack of
investment and support structures. The impact of the ever evolving school culture will also
be outlined in this submission.
The NAPD will propose a range of carefully thought out recommendations and policy
positions on the issue of school leadership. For many years, the NAPD has sought reform in
this area and the Association believes that its proposed reforms offer credible, practical and
implementable solutions to the problems that have emerged in the current management
and leadership structures within our schools. We urge the Committee to give serious
consideration to these recommendations and would welcome the opportunity to work with
the Committee to advance this issue in the months and years ahead.
The Situation
The success of any organisation depends heavily on the way it is managed, irrespective of
whether it is a sports team, a charity, a corporation, a Government or a small business. The
same applies to our schools. While there are excellent people in management, regrettably
the management structures which currently operate in our schools, are not to the highest
standards and substantially ignore decades of development and research in management
science.
Leadership development and supports within our education system has changed
significantly over the past few years. These changes have been in the main, negative. The
School Development Planning initiative (SDPI) has come to an end and the Leadership
Development for Schools (LDS) has been subsumed into a Leadership and Planning arm of
the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST). No Post-Primary Principal or
Deputy Principal has been seconded to work in the area of leadership since 2007 and there
is currently only one remaining Principal engaged in this work.
In terms, of the current problem of crisis of leadership within our schools, I will briefly
outline the key issues.
Not fit for purpose
Essentially, the middle management system in our schools is not fit-for-purpose and this is
not the fault of principals, deputy principals or post holders. The reason for this is that
there are insufficient middle management resources and structures within our schools to
facilitate the changing nature of school activity and increasing demands on school leaders.
Equally, there is no industry standard for professional development and promotion upon
which to build such structures.
The current post of responsibility system may be characterised as follows:
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Most existing post holders were appointed on the basis of seniority, as opposed to
suitability and merit;
Schools can only advertise posts that all qualified teachers can undertake –
irrespective of their subject or other expertise;
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While there is a list of duties associated with each post there is no clear connection
between those duties and the person who fills the post;
Post holders do not have explicit authority, or feel they do not have such authority,
to carry out the functions associated with their post given the long held perception
that only the principal can have a conversation about professional responsibility or
accountability with another staff member.
Post holders are not held accountable for the performance of those duties in the
way that they could expect to be held accountable in the private sector while many
post holders go well beyond what is required of them in carrying out their duties.
To summarise, our post primary school system of management in our schools is outdated,
under resourced and at breaking point.
Changing school culture
The introduction of legislation affecting education has had an unparalleled impact on the
work of the school principal. Between 1998 and 2004 the principal became one of the most
legislated for individuals in Irish society. Principals now have statutory responsibilities under
education, equality, health and safety as well as employment legislation which has been
enacted with little regard for their implementation implications. In addition the
establishment of statutory bodies (such as the National Council for Special Education,
National Educational Welfare Board, State Examinations Commission & the Teaching
Council) has expanded further the administrative duties of the Principal and Deputy
Principal.
Such developments make the job of principal increasingly complex and challenging. The
overload and bureaucracy is stifling and often too much for one individual to manage. To
effectively resolve this issue the Department of Education and Skills needs to demonstrate a
willingness to address the resourcing issues (time, personnel and finance). In addition, the
pastoral role of the school has also greatly increased in importance because of changes in
society, changes in family structures, changed behaviour and attitudes of young people.
The Principal/Deputy Principal have administrative responsibility in several areas including,
but not exclusively:
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Student welfare and wellbeing;
Staff welfare and wellbeing;
Responding to Parents’ concerns and society’s vision for education;
Managing change in the curriculum;
Increased reporting obligations to external organisations e.g. NEWB,HSE;
Additional external evaluation of DES Inspectorate;
Managing change in staff working conditions through Croke Park & Haddington Rd;
Developing the inclusive school;
Leading school planning and policy formulation;
Implementing DES Initiatives e.g. SSE, Numeracy & Literacy;
Liaising with Trust Bodies;
Leading Learning;
Financial management;
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Administration;
Plant and school facilities management;
Secretary to the Board of Management.
Promotion system for teachers
The present system has very little and seriously restrictive mechanisms for initiative or
involvement to be rewarded for teachers looking to move up the career ladder or indeed
assume roles of responsibility. The current system, or lack thereof, inhibits the ambitions of
teachers and limits the benefits to the school of potential within the teaching profession.
This is exacerbated by the increasing casualisation of the profession and the lack of a clearly
defined promotion pathway. We also believe that a mentor programme for newly qualified
teachers provides a structure for developing this aspect of leadership. We believe that it is
vital to develop tomorrow’s leaders of education, today.
Address workload issues
Today the work load of second level principals is challenging and is growing by the day as
raft after raft of new responsibilities land on his/her desk. The modern day principal is
ultimately responsible for everything that happens in from leading learning to activities such
as caretaking, maintenance, fundraising, cleaning, and security.
Recommendations
It is hardly surprising to note that the number of suitable applicants presenting themselves
for principal roles is dwindling to the point of crisis. If we are to improve our school
management structures, we must first understand the nature of the task.
Essentially the management of schools needs to be supported across three main areas:
Curricular, Pastoral and Administrative. There is a need for strong middle leadership
positions in all three areas with appointment on merit, accountability and authority to
manage staff.
A flat, minimalist management approach, with the Principal as the only member of staff
with the authority to manage others, has become embedded in our schools.
Our current economic situation limits our capacity to implement a whole new school
management structure at this point. It does not, however limit our ability to develop a new
management architecture nor does it prevent us from making a real start to reforming the
way we manage our schools by ensuring that all future post appointments are in accordance
with the new paradigm, once it is in place.
If a new management structure was in place, we should be able to incentivise current post
holders to transfer to the new system. Remember, this was done some dozen years ago
when deputy principals who had been appointed on the basis of seniority agreed to take on
expanded roles in return for increased deputy principal allowances.
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1. Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
There must be on-going professional development support for Principals in order to attract,
develop and sustain leaders. At a time when over two thirds of school leaders have less
than five years’ experience, this is crucial.
If principals are to be genuine ‘leaders of learning’, the principal’s own learning must be
continuous and developmental throughout their career. Formal CPD opportunities are
essential to aspiring, newly-appointed and experienced Principals. NAPD believes that such
programmes should be action-research based to accommodate the busy role of Principal.
NAPD proposes that consideration be given to the allocation of a dedicated professional
development budget to NAPD, from the Department of Education and Skills. Such a budget
would allow the organisation engage with Professional Development Services for Teachers
(PDST) at a strategic level to oversee effective and cost efficient training for school leaders
in this sector. This fully audited and evaluated development budget would enable the NAPD
to deliver such a service to its members on behalf of the Department.
NAPD proposes that a Centre for Leadership and Planning be established which would
involve the principals’ professional associations, the expertise build up over many years by
the Leadership & Planning arm of the PDST and its forerunners LDS and SDPI, other
education partners, third level institutions and the Department of Education & Skills.
2. Implement various report recommendations
NAPD believes that the implementation of the recommendations of The Blackstock Report
(1999), The McGuinness Report (2001), The McIver Report (2003) and the Martin Report
(2006) would help schools put in place an administrative structure to meet the needs of the
21st century. These reports made specific recommendations for funding, staffing,
infrastructure and support structures which have yet to be implemented.
To meet the requirements of recent legislation, to facilitate curriculum development, to
enable the principal/deputy principal to become dedicated leaders of learning, schools now
need:
 A Centre for School Leadership to support school leaders and develop new ones;
 An effective Middle Leadership structure involving major adaptations of the Post of
Responsibility structure;
 An allocation of time for leadership and management tasks;
 Time for self-evaluation and improvement planning both at subject department level
and whole-school level;
 An end to the erosion of class contact time for students;
 Resources required to implement new legislative functions, curriculum change and
continuous professional development.
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3. Restructure present system
The Department of Education and Skills must implement the current circular for Assistant
Principals: 1 per 100 or part thereof at a rate of 0.2WTE per 100 students returned to the
school to provide time for the Pastoral role of the Assistant Principal. This is crucial to
address the increased pastoral responsibilities of the school as mentioned earlier.
As each school has different needs, additional funds should be provided for administration
posts which will be defined by the Board of Management. The Board will also select suitable
candidates to fill these posts on a fixed purpose arrangement. The size, location, status and
particular needs of the school will determine the level of support provided. An agreed
review system should also be established.
NAPD recommends that the following positions should be filled by interview. In all cases,
successful applicants must have a reduced teaching load to compensate for the
administration involved in the new role. As well as that, the teaching hours surrendered
must be returned to the school:
 Special Needs Co-ordinator
 Programme Co-ordinator
 Year Heads
 ICT Co-ordinator
 Curriculum change co-ordinator
Individual schools should have the flexibility to adapt the above to suit particular needs.
These positions carry a salary allowance increase and should be filled on a permanent basis.
4. Establish a Steering Committee under the direction of NAPD
A steering committee with a link to PDST should be formed by Teacher Education Section
(TES) at the Department comprising representatives from TES, the Inspectorate, NAPD,
Education Centre representative, NCCA representatives, Management Bodies’
representative on a rotation basis, a PDST Leadership & Planning coordinator and a
representative from the Teaching Council. The NAPD leadership coordinator would report
at all meetings of the steering committee.
The brief of this steering committee would be to:
 Be accountable to DES for the administration and management of the Post Primary
Leadership training budget;
 Meet on a regular basis – similar to a Board of Management schedule of meetings;
 Provide vision and direction on Leadership Training for Post Primary school leaders;
 Set down guidelines for personnel employed as associates and facilitators working in
this service e.g. mix of retired/ current leaders;
 Form interview panels whose function would be to interview possible associate
members for this team;
 Ensure that there is regular communication between the Leadership delivery team
and personnel from the Inspectorate etc.;
 Encourage members of the Leadership delivery team to keep abreast of up to date
national and international research;
 Report directly to TES on plans’ progress;
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Have a link to PDST who would administer payments, contracts etc.;
Resource NAPD to facilitate specific leadership initiatives outside of the regular
programmes.
Explore how middle-leadership operates in other systems
The school management system in New South Wales is one of the world’s best examples of
how post primary schools should be managed. In the majority of schools, each principal has
at least two assistant principals working under him or her. One is responsible for students’
welfare and the other for the school curriculum. All appointments to middle management
posts are made on the basis of capacity to undertake all duties associated with a specific
post to a high standard.
Recent research by the Joint Managerial Body (JMB) and the Association of Community and
Comprehensive Schools (ACCS) has explored the systems that operate in Scotland, Northern
Ireland, Finland and New Zealand. The report is expected to be published in the weeks
ahead. The NAPD have not had sight of it, but we understand it will compare Ireland to the
aforementioned systems and on this basis it could provide a useful contribution to the
debate on school leadership.
Obviously such additional staff requires substantial funding at a time when budgets have
limited scope to facilitate those functions. However best practice currently in use in other
educational systems should be what Ireland’s post primary education management system
aspires to. We would urge the Committee to explore such possible innovations further.
Conclusion
It is clear to NAPD that our current post-primary school management system is in clear need
of the three Rs. - reform, resources and restructuring. School leaders today cannot cope
with the every evolving demands of the 21st Century post primary school environment. We
owe it to our students to have properly qualified principals in our schools that are not
overburdened due to an onerous workload. What started as a problem over a decade ago
has developed into a full blown crisis today.
School leaders can have a significant direct impact on student outcomes as they progress
through second level education. School leaders can provide the leadership of learning to
our students and act as the school system’s primary change agents. School leaders can
ensure a supportive and orderly environment for students to learn and thrive.
The NAPD has proposed solid and well researched recommendations in order to tackle the
school leadership crisis that has befallen our schools. The management system needs
restructuring, assistant principals are a must and the school leadership profession has to be
managed and professionalised to the highest standard. Failure to act on this does a disservice to principals, teachers, parents and ultimately our students.
Our schools must be managed to the highest professional standards in order to facilitate the
quality education that our children are entitled to. I urge the Committee to give serious
consideration to our proposals.
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Thank you.
Clive Byrne
Director
National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD)
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