3. www.pdst.ie
• Outline the key requirements on school
administration
• Invite reflection on the administration/
leadership balance
• Outline a typical year in the course of
school administration
• Point new principals towards possible
supports
Key Messages
4. www.pdst.ie
Liostaí Oibre
Based on your
previous experience
make a list of the
admin (paperwork)
tasks which had to
be completed:
a. By the principal
b. By the school
secretary
Share with your
table
5. www.pdst.ie
Through the empowerment of others
MORAL PURPOSE
SITUATIONAL
AWARENESS
COURAGE TO ACT
Sustainability
MODELLING
“Walk the talk!”
Improving Learning
Core Principles of Leadership
9. www.pdst.ie
Tosaíochtaí/Priorities!
• Are they all mandatory?
• What supports are
available in your context?
• Prioritise based on your
own school context!
• One week ahead of the
game…one week at a time
Editor's Notes
Allow participants 5 minutes to create lists and discuss. Invite feedback to main group to form an overall list
Advisors bring participants through the calendar
Next slide has the key resources and links that relate to all the admin outlined:
Draw attention to padlet now
See advisors notes as you guide participants through the calendar in booklet.
August: Appointments and review system to record and input into Esinet - teachers pay! Are appointments made? Who is responsible for inputting and authorising data on the Online Claims System? Make sure that all staff – teaching and ancillary are set up to be paid asap. This will start the year on a positive note. There is a change this year that all part-time hours etc need to be entered every Friday. There is a Esinet ‘Help’ page on website…link on padlet…
Rules 96/98 note that seniority of teaching staff should be recorded by school management and posted in the staff room each September. There is a variety of practice on this. Make sure you have a record of it and if teachers are appointed on the same day that their scores/ranking in the interview are recorded, as this is the basis for their seniority. This may impact on panel and CIDs.
SENO – make contact if there are children who need extra support/ transferring where previous school had supports.
Up-to-date class lists (TUSLA, HSE): ensure that there is a list of children that should be starting on Day 1 for each teacher and keep this up to date. A simple excel document should suffice. If this is kept up to date it might be useful throughout the year for HSE health visits, sports events etc. If there is a software package for attendance this may be useful but don’t input into it yet.
As children are coming back to school it is suggested that details regarding chronic illnesses in the school are updated…see guidelines on padlet… Are there any applications which should be sent to the SENO for children new to the school?
Staff Meeting Minutes: Are there staff meeting minutes from the previous year. What was practice for staff meeting records prior to your appointment. If a staff meeting is scheduled for the first day back and there are no minutes it might be better to give first staff meeting to establishing norms for meetings and introductions/ housekeeping.
Clárleabhar/ Leabhair Tinrimh agus Rolla/ Attendance Software / POD progressions and newbies: Follow the instructions on Department website for progression of classes on POD. Have a clear picture of the school’s system of attendance recording. Improve, if necessary, one step at a time. Make sure that circular is being followed. See padlet.
Board Meeting Minutes, agenda agreed with Chair and circulated: Prior to the preparatory meeting/ discussion with Chairperson locate the minutes of the Board from the previous year. Have the last minutes been prepared for circulation? Agree agenda with the Chairperson and circulate to all members. At the first meeting. Sign Membership Declaration as new member: if possible do this prior to accessing minutes and agreeing agenda. See governance manual on padlet.
Student Attendance Form to SENO (Resource teaching): Prior to the end of September ensure that this form is returned to the Special Educational Needs Officer. If possible make contact by email with the SENO, let him/her know that form is returned and introduce yourself. See NCSE links on padlet
School Census Returns – POD – Enrollments on the 30th of September are key figures for the Department of Education and Skills. They determine staffing and grants. Make sure that you have accurate figures. These will now be recorded and sent through the POD/ Esinet system. Class should be progressed, newbies entered and other information inputed during September. (Deadline is still October , but better to be ahead) Keep an eye for up-to-date info on this on the right hand side of the Esinet home page.
Collect Cuntais Mhíosúla/ Records of Work: Under Rule 126 for National Schools all teachers must prepare a schemes of work (weekly timetable and yearly) and cuntais mhíosúla. It it the responsibility of the school to agree a template for this progress record. Have a look to see if there are cuntais mhíosúla held in school for the previous school year. How do teachers in learning support/ resources teaching present their progress record/ cuntas míosúil? Agree dates when you expect teachers to complete and return their cuntas míosúil to you. Sign and keep as a school record. See NIPT guidelines on cuntas míosúil on padlet, as well as the Rules for National Schools.
Plean Scoile agus Polasaithe – see mandatory policies – in an earlier module you have looked at the mandatory policies for primary schools. This might be a good time by which to have gathered copies of all the policies that are in place in together. (Could they be shared on the school website? Shared with staff/ board on Google Drive?) If there are policies not in place and/or other policies to be created/ reviewed bring a plan to undertake this work on a incremental monthly basis to the Board of Management and get them to sign off on it. If mandatory policies are not in place where to start? Safety Statement? Templates for policies are available. Advice might be available from your Management Body for the board on this matter.
Student Absence Report 1 - TUSLA (Optional) While this is optional it is a good idea to complete as it will give you a good picture of student attendance/ absences. See TUSLA info on padlet. IF you have concerns re attendance get advice from TUSLA attendance officer.
2nd round Resource allocations for late applicants: Keep an eye out for these if your school is awaiting the result of applications from the previous school year or if applications were made for new entrants/ transfers.
Speech and Language, NEPS, HSE referrals etc…. New SEN applications in February. During this month meet again with your SEN teachers and review whether there are indications that an application may be made for additional resource hour supports. A new model is coming but as of now the old system applies. Have you any dates agreed with your NEPS psychologist for review? Are learning support/ class teachers recommending a review by Speech and Language, NEPS, OT etc? Is there a school policy on learning support/ assessment? What is previous practice? The NEPS homepage…see padlet…has some good resources….other resources on padlet include Student Support File and SEN Guidelines
Has school management a timetable for enrolling new entrants for 2017. It might be a good idea to have an idea of 2017/18 numbers by the end of January.
Christmas payroll dates: Keep an eye on these as they may change and it’s important that substitutes and part-time teachers don’t get paid late….see Esinet homepage
CIDs in your school. Return declaration forms if appropriate this month. Relevant circular is on padlet. Consult INTO for advice. Seniority may be an issue here.
4 x cuntais mhíosúla - signed and stored – they should be kept until the end of the following school year at least. This might be a duty to delegate as it can involve some chasing. It is a key responsibility of principal in the Rules though
Confirmation of leavers form for NCSE to SENO (SpSch in Feb) This form details children, who are in receipt of SEN support/ SNA support, that will be leaving the school at the end of the school year – mostly from your 6th class cohort. Make sure you get forms in on time to SENO. Special Schools have an extra month.
Student Absence Report 2 – TUSLA
Staffing arrangements circular – watch the education.ie website and Esinet home page for this in January 2017. It impacts on staffing for the following school year. The appointments are based on the enrolment on the 30th September 2016. see last years appointment circular on padlet.
Job-sharing applications – February 1st
School Accounts – what requirements, if any, does your school patron have in terms of returning school accounts?
Temporary accommodation/ furniture needed – based on the appointments schedule and SEN requirements does school have enough space for 2017/18. If not make contact with the Capital Appraisal Section of the Department of Education and Skills.
(GAM notification) Notify panel operator of vacancies and submit staffing appeals. As school moves into February it is important to watch out for communication regarding panels. A clear timetable is usually set out by the Dept in the appointments circular. During February make contact with your panel operator and notify them of any appointments your school will be making in 2017.
Applications to SENO for Resource, Special Class, SNA support
Career-break applications: 1st March
Order Standardised test booklets for May/June
Student Absence Report 3 - TUSLA (Optional)
Special Schools: new entrants applications, expansion requirements, transport applications to SENO – see ncse guidelines for dates
booklists, book rental scheme – is there one in operation. How can class booklists/ school system be improved. If change is necessary, consult widely and communicate with all…see guide for rental schemes on padlet
Class allocations, SEN allocations, SEN support timetable – is there a school policy on classroom allocations? This is an area where an agreed school policy might be useful. Bottom line: it’s a duty of the school principal to assign classes, but a policy on how the principal might decide might be good practice. Begin planning with SEN teachers on supports for next year: this will depend on standardised test scores and SENO allocations but it’s good to start the planning early. Does the school have an assessment/ SEN policy? Look at NEPS Guidelines (padlet) What is current practice in the school?
Clusters, part-time teaching posts for 2017/2018, July Provision Applications: Once the General Allocation Model and Resource hours are known school cluster and you will know how many part-time hours your school has. Make contact on this with SENO and primary payments. Are there any children in your school for whom July provision might be appropriate?
Standardised tests/ Input standardised test scores to Esinet - scores for 2nd and 5th must be inputted.
Education Passport to post-primary school…what is current school practice? How do postprimary schools communicate to schools re enrolments? see NCCA resources on padlet
End of Year reports to parents see NCCA templates etc. How are strandardised test scores reports? How is general information re standardised test scores disseminated to parents?
Panel updates….timeline for posts for 2017/2018 – keep an eye out for panel updates and look at your calendar to plot a timeline for advertisements, selection board, interviews, appointments etc see Givernance Manual on padlet.
staff changes, including SNA - payroll form to be returned in June setting out any staff changes for the coming year.
all cuntais mhíosúla signed and stored
Student Absence Report 4 - TUSLA – don’t forget to do it before you head off for holidays!
Allow time for participants to explore as the calendar is being explained….
Remind them that padlet can be added to!
If time allows point out the possible benefits and pitfalls of a shared whole school/ school office calendar
