Sir, – The Secret Teacher’s article on the issue of school leadership highlights a largely unaddressed, if not unspoken, crisis relating to the sustainability of school leadership in Irish primary schools (“Few principals have the training and experience required to manage a large organisation”, Education, November 22nd).
As the professional body for school leaders, the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) engages with members on a daily basis through the provision of supports and services to empower effective leadership. That direct engagement with school leaders has highlighted the increasing levels of challenge, frustration and disillusionment experienced and articulated by school leaders in response to their experience of the practice of leadership. The intensity of that sense of frustration and disillusionment has noticeably increased in recent years and prompted IPPN to undertake its Sustainable Leadership project.
The objective of the project is to enhance school leadership because effective school leaders mean effective schools and effective schools mean better outcomes for children. Therefore, making sure that school leaders can dedicate themselves to delivering effective leadership must be a system imperative.
Last week, IPPN published its research report on this issue: “Primary School Leadership - The case for urgent action – A roadmap to sustainability”. The report presents an evidence informed analysis of the current reality in which primary school leadership is exercised which addresses the questions raised in the article by the Secret Teacher.
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The report identifies how our education system relies heavily on school leaders to implement change and mandated reform, at both school and system levels.
As a result, and because school leaders do not have a clearly defined role, that role has expanded year on year. Every set of policy guidelines, every piece of education legislation and every circular has added, and continues to add, to the list of tasks and responsibilities and that fall to school leaders.
IPPN’s analysis of these circulars and documents highlights a completely skewed focus on tasks relating to administration and managing the organisation but a significantly lesser focus on tasks and responsibilities in the area of leading teaching and learning, which is central to the core purpose of school leadership.
Through a member survey, to which over 1,000 school leaders responded, 97 per cent of the respondents report that the key issue that undermines the sustainability of their leadership role is the number of tasks and responsibilities they have to undertake that have little or nothing to do with their core purpose. In short, the capacity of school leaders to focus on their core purpose – to do the job they signed up to do – is consistently limited.
This is not only having a detrimental impact on leadership effectiveness but also on the sustainability of those leadership roles. We also know the toll that this is taking on the health and wellbeing of our school leaders. The data from the Irish Principal and Deputy Principal Health and Wellbeing Survey (2022), undertaken by an independent, international research team and which is referenced in the article, tells us that there is increased incidence of burnout, depressive symptoms, sleep disorders and stress. The scores for primary school leaders are double and sometimes more than double those of the healthy working population for these negative health and wellbeing outcomes.
However, the report is solution focused. It explores the key issues and advocates for what needs to happen to ensure school leadership of the highest quality in our schools as well as a leadership role that is sustainable. Specific recommendations are made and IPPN would welcome the opportunity to work with the Department of Education and the education partners towards their implementation.
IPPN believes that implementing these recommendations would have a profound impact on leadership effectiveness and sustainability. We have a shared responsibility to current and future school leaders, to their school communities and most importantly to the children in those schools, to ensure progress in this regard. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’DOHERTY,
President,
Irish Primary
Principals’ Network,
Richmond,
Cork.