NAPD Annual Member’s Conference October 2023

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Registration for the NAPD Annual Member’s Conference is now open.

To register you need to be a current term 2022/2023 fully paid NAPD Member.

Our new term Member’s Registration will open in June 2023. An email will be issued to all for registration.

The Conference will take place in The Galmont Hotel, Galway Wednesday 11th October to Friday 13th October 2023.

The conference will begin at 4 pm with the opening of Registration and then the President’s welcome will begin at 5 pm followed by our AGM. Further schedule to be confirmed.

The conference will conclude on Friday 13th October at 12:30 pm

Delegates will also have the option to attend the following events on Wednesday 11th October before the conference begins,

  • The 2nd Annual Golf Outing,
  • Yoga, The Galmont Hotel,
  • Galway City Walking Tour.

More details will be emailed in due course.

Please note the following:

  • You must be a Fully Paid member for term 2023/2024 of the NAPD to attend the Annual Conference
  • A Membership invoice for 2023/2024 will be issued in June 2023 once you register
  • Registration is for ONE Delegate Only, if two, three, or four would like to attend from one school, registration is needed for each individual and cannot be shared
  • To avoid any disappointment your Conference fee must be paid before Conference takes place in October 2023
  • If you use a PO System for invoices, can you please raise this PO and add it when you are registering
  • Once you register you will receive an automatic email from NAPD confirming you have booked your place, your place will then be fully confirmed upon receipt of payment.

Accommodation Information:

This booking form is to attend the NAPD Conference in October 2023. Your Conference Fee does not include your accommodation. NAPD is not responsible for the booking of the delegate’s accommodation and all queries are to be directed to the hotel itself.

To book accommodation in any of the hotels with the NAPD rates you must be a NAPD Member 2022/2023.

To note: If you book your hotel you must still register to attend the conference through NAPD, booking your accommodation does not automatically book you into the conference

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Hotel Information:
You must book a minimum of two nights to avail of the NAPD Rates and Delegate Hotels:

Galmont Hotel;

Single: €155 Bed & Breakfast per night

Double/ Twin : €175 Bed & Breakfast per night

Connacht Hotel:

Single €119 B&B

Double/Twin €129 B&B

Hyde Hotel:

11th October €160 B&B – Single/ €170 B&B – Twin

12th October: €170 B&B – Single/ €180 B&B – Twin

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We look forward to welcoming you all back to The Galmont Hotel in October.

Click on the image below to register or here

NAPD Deputy Director Announcement

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Following a national competitive recruitment process, the National Executive Committee of the National Association of Principals and Deputies (NAPD) are delighted to announce the appointment of Rachel O’Connor as Deputy Director of the association. Rachel O’ Connor has been the Principal of Ramsgrange Community School since 2013 and will take up her new role as Deputy Director of NAPD on the 1st of September 2023.

Rachel is currently past-President of NAPD having served her term as President during the 2021/22 academic year, culminating in the national conference in Galway in October 2022, our first in person conference since 2019 and our best ever attended. Rachel inspired us all at conference and since then has continued working tirelessly within NAPD to deliver for members.

Rachel brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise to the role. She has worked in the three post-primary sectors and has leadership experience in two of them.  Rachel worked as a Whole School Associate with JCT. She is a Leadership Associate with PDST delivering on both Misneach and Comhar for newly appointed Principals and Middle Leaders. Rachel is a co-founder of the WILL Network, launching a series of workshops ‘Aspiring Female Leaders in Education’, WILL Chats and WILL Brunch for aspiring and inspiring female leaders nationwide.  Rachel is a qualified life and professional coach and a CSL Mentor also.

Rachels leadership style and her excellent interpersonal skills will continue to unite school leaders nationally thereby improving the processes for our people, who are the NAPD members. Her drive, dedication and commitment to school leadership are second to none and will raise the profile of our association in the best interest of our members. While her passion in the area of pedagogy will undoubtedly bring a renewed energy and passion for sustainable leadership, supporting all school leaders to deliver in the job that they love.

I am sure you will join me in wishing Rachel every success in her new role, all of her experience to date has brought her to this point and we all look forward to working closely with Rachel to deliver on the Statement of Strategy 2022-2027.

 

Ar aghaidh le chéile

 

Phase 2 of the Irish Principal and Deputy Principal Health and Wellbeing survey Now Open

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Phase 2 of the Irish Principal and Deputy Principal Health and Wellbeing research is now open.

This valuable research is being conducted in response to concerns that the increasing complexity and workload demands of school leadership roles is impacting on the health and well-being of Irish school leaders.

 

Thank you to all who completed this research last year. Those of you who completed last year will receive an invitation from the Deakin research team to reengage.

There is a password reset function, so not to worry if you have forgotten your password and a frequently asked section is included for your assistance.

 

The following are the links to the 2023 survey:

 

Participants who registered or completed the survey last year: https://survey.educatorhealth.org/login

 

Returning participants should use the login details they used last year. However, it is possible that you may have issues remembering these and if you have you can reset your password.

 

All new participants should use the following link: https://survey.educatorhealth.org/register?experiment=IEP

 

If you have any queries or issues please contact me at: irelandprincipalsurvey@gmail.com

 

Looking forward to another successful round of the survey this year

 

Many thanks,

 

Shay Bannon

Survey Facilitator

NAPD Senior Cycle Survey

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NAPD has broadly welcomed the publication of the NCCA advisory report on Senior Cycle Reform and the ministers expressed a vision for a student-centered senior cycle. As we prepare to begin negotiations on the implementation of the senior cycle it is vital for NAPD to represent the views of the membership.

I apologise that yet another survey is requested and your workload is immense, this survey will take 10 minutes and will really strengthen our position to influence the direction the senior cycle goes from this point.

A sub-committee of our national executive will commence preparation on Monday and will continue to put together the NAPD strategy to continue to influence this change and I ask that you complete this survey at your earliest convenience.

We are working to be ready for meetings with the stakeholders before the Easter break.

Many thanks

Paul Crone
Director,​
NAPD

The time is now’ for senior cycle reform; NAPD Annual Conference

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The time is now’ for senior cycle reform; NAPD Annual Conference

School leaders from Ireland’s 700 post primary schools gather virtually for Annual Conference today, ‘From Functioning to Flourishing’

  • NAPD makes clear its intentions to seek progression of reform of senior cycle ahead of its Annual Conference today;
  • Minister for Education Norma Foley set to join conference for ‘open discussion’ on the learnings from the pandemic and senior cycle reform;

 

Speaking ahead of today’s event, Paul Crone, Director, NAPD:

‘Our Annual Conference this week and its theme, ‘From Functioning to Flourishing’ will bring post primary school leaders together to consider the opportunities the pandemic has created for the enhancement of Irish education. Reform of the senior cycle is a key element of this, and we look forward to discussing this issue with Minister Foley later today.

‘The case for such reform has never been greater and the time for action is now. School leaders stand ready to implement senior cycle reform, progress that will improve the development and learning of our young people, and we urge the Minister to act with intent.’

The National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD), the representative body for Ireland’s post primary school leaders, will meet virtually today and tomorrow (Wednesday and Thursday, 20 and 21 October) for its Annual Conference. School leaders from Ireland’s 700 post primary schools are expected to join the event which will feature a panel discussion with Minister for Education Norma Foley TD and seminars from a host of education and leadership experts.

The conference will focus on the theme ‘From Functioning to Flourishing’ and will involve reflection and debate on the lessons learned for school communities during the Covid-19 pandemic and the opportunities these now present.

New appointments

Last week, the Association elected outgoing Vice President and Principal, Ramsgrange Community School, Co. Wexford, Rachel O’Connor, as its incoming President. The Waterford native holds a wealth of experience in education advocacy and leadership. She is set to address members tomorrow on her vision for Irish post primary education in the year ahead.

Outgoing President and Principal, Laurel Hill Secondary School, Co. Limerick, Michael Cregan will open the two-day event today. Both Presidents are set to outline the work achieved to date on senior cycle reform and the urgency required to progress this in the months ahead – both in their respective speeches and during a panel discussion with Minister Foley later today.

Student focused collaboration between education partners

The greatest outcome of this process, the student-focussed collaboration between all education partners, must be carried forward and repeated to now deliver broader, permanent reform of the senior cycle.

Research undertaken in 2018 by the NAPD found that 83% of students claimed that the Leaving Certificate examination in its traditional form was ‘not the best way to assess’ their educational achievement. In the same survey, 55% of parents were in favour of their children being assessed by their teacher and 65% of teachers were in favour of comprehensive reform of the Leaving Certificate.  The reform agenda has gathered further momentum in light of the pandemic.

Speaking ahead of today’s event and on reform of the senior cycle, Rachel O’Connor, President, NAPD, said:

“Over the past 18 months, the post primary sector has demonstrated great adaptability to maintain and improve the quality of education for our students. Through such adaption, we have learned that it is possible for our excellent teachers to assess their students, that entry to third level must be decoupled from terminal exam results and most importantly, that students’ anxiety and stress were significantly reduced when they had options.

“At every stage during this process, students’ voices were heard and as we seek to progress reform of the senior cycle, the NAPD advocates strongly for students to continue to be given a stronger say in their learning and assessment. 

“To this end, the pace at which such reform is occurring is concerning. While school leaders acknowledge that the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic continue to impact how we deliver education in Ireland and will likely do so for some time to come, there must now be resources directed towards senior cycle reform with urgency. We cannot allow another academic year to slip past without progress and delivery. The time for action is now.

“NAPD members stand ready to implement reform and look forward to hearing Minister Foley re-iterate her commitment and that of her Departmental colleagues later day.”

ENDS

For media queries and/ or to secure media access to the NAPD Annual Conference, contact 360:

Barry Murphy / barry@weare360.ie / 087 266 9878

Macdara Ó’Móráin / macdara@weare360.ie / 086 087 3387

ARAG Legal Expenses Insurance Policy

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FAO NAPD Members

The policy comes into effect on 1st November 2018 for fully paid up NAPD members.  You can check your status on your personal profile when you log into the members section of the NAPD website.

For members who renew their membership after that date the policy comes into effect two (2) weeks after payment appears on your personal profile.

A review document will be published on the NAPD website shortly and I would ask you to please complete the form should you have occasion to use the services provided.  This will enable NAPD to improve the effectiveness of this indemnity policy in meeting members’ needs.

In the normal course of events, when faced with a complex situation Principals and Deputy Principals seek advice from trusted colleagues, fellow NAPD members or NAPD Head Office, Management Bodies, Trustees, Chair (BOM) or their UNION and this policy is not intended to replace any of these avenues of support.

The purpose and scope of this insurance policy is to provide Indemnity for Legal Expenses incurred by NAPD members in the discharge of their professional responsibilities which are not covered by their Employers or Unions or where the Principal/Deputy Principal is not a member of a Union. 

  

These are the key contact numbers:

 LEGAL ADVICE SERVICE:  Call 01 670 7474

COUNSELLING:                     Call  01 881 8047

Three documents below relating to the ARAG Policy

ARAG Policy Wording

 ARAG Legal Expenses Summary

Possible Scenarios 

Cyber Bullying Booklet

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As per the latest Newsletter, you can now download the Cyber Bullying document that was issued to all Conference Delegates in October.

Click here to download Cyber Bullying Document