Primary heads ‘at breaking point’
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
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Primary school principals are at breaking point and buckling under the pressure of dealing with dozens of live issues, a leading Northern Ireland head teacher warned today.
In a hard-hitting article for today’s Belfast Telegraph, Harry Greer said a shortage in funding for primary schools is the main cause of underachievement among secondary school pupils.
Mr Greer — a member of the Northern Ireland Primary Principals' Action Group (NIPPAG), which campaigns for increased Government funding in the primary sector — said that Education Minister Caitriona Ruane needs to do much more to demand better funding for primary school children.
The principal of Harmony Hill Primary in Lisburn and Northern Ireland Regional Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, warned that primary principals are at breaking point and buckling under the pressure of dealing with 70 live issues.
These include a revised school curriculum, replacing the 11-plus, school improvement, the formation of the new single education authority, new pupil assessment arrangements, reviews in pre-school and special education and rationalisation of the school estate.
“It is time the Northern Ireland Executive took decisive action on a strategic way forward in education. Crisis after crisis cannot be acceptable,” he said.
“Never mind the ridiculous and dangerous shambles of the transfer procedure — let's face the reality that academic selection is not the main cause of secondary age under-achievement.
“The main cause is the failure to resource sufficiently, high quality foundations on which to develop academic, moral, social and emotional education.
“Our primary school principals need to be listened to and their demands for better treatment of primary children need to be met.
“It is worth listening to the people who have to deliver in schools and who are growing weary of telling their masters, ‘told you so.'
“Why don't we listen to those who lead our schools when they say the situation is critical?”
In 2006/07 the gap in core funding between a P7 pupil and a Year 8 pupil in secondary education was £1,250 per child per year. Caitriona Ruane allocated a 4% increase to primary schools and 2.5% to secondary schools — which ended up widening the gap to £1,258.
Ronnie Milligan, principal of Cregagh Primary in Belfast, is also a member of NIPPAG and backs Mr Greer’s call for increased funding.
He said: “Primary teachers are fed-up with being expected to work miracles with no resources and principals aren’t miracle workers either.”
“The Department of Education will probably tell principals there is no extra money available and that we have to make do – as always.
“Primary pupils deserve the best. Why should our youngest and most vulnerable pupils be discriminated against?
“We are at our wits end and we need parents to tell Assembly members that enough is enough.”
A spokesman for the Department of Education said: "The Education Minister Caitríona Ruane is aware of the issues around funding for primary schools and recognises the importance of ensuring children get the best start to their school years. This is a complex and difficult area and the Department of Education has to work within a finite budget.
“The Minister has recently announced a detailed review of school funding, which will take some time to complete."
See the education page in tonight’s Public Sector Jobfinder.
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It amazes me that P.S heads can shout loud about money, yet when pupil profiles (which are not worth the paper they are written on) or scrapping academic selection were brought up, the silence was deafening!
Posted by Disgusted Parent | 22.01.09, 11:28 GMT
Harry Greer will know which children in his school are under-achieving at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Perhaps there are none.He then argues by contorted reasoning that second level under-achievement is a result of lack of cash in the primary sector. Where is the causal link? What does he mean by '' high quality foundations on which to develop academic, moral, social and emotional education ?''
Posted by George | 14.01.09, 15:04 GMT
Exasperated.
It is clear from your excited reaction that you have an aversion to evidence. PACE did not invent the negative results of the Early Years Enriched Curriculum experiment, PACE contributed to the Public Accounts Committee evidence on the failed DENI Numeracy and Literacy strategy, however we did not note any contribution from teachers unions or concerned teachers and principals. PACE note with interest the quotations from Hansard when the Principals addressed the Education Committee on June 6th 2008.
Try reading and examining evidence Exasperated. No doubt you have read Mr McCartney's many warnings on education but prefer to think that you know better. If so come forward with your rebuttal. You may soon come to identify with the one principal who said "We are not able to lead our schools."
Calm down or you may be joining the rush for early or health related retirement so endemic among the teaching profession. Petulance is unbecoming. Leadership - uncommon.
Posted by Parental Alliance for Choice in Education | 14.01.09, 11:54 GMT
Wonderful stuff PACE!!!
Everyone involved in education is to blame for society’s deficits in raising Literacy and Numeracy (except so called ‘Grammar’ schools and the system of academic selection you are so enamoured of). First it was the ‘Educationalists’, a phrase you have attempted to appropriate as a defamatory term. You (and your ‘friend’ Bob McCartney) then accused teachers of deliberately undermining the opportunities for disadvantaged children on the Shankill Road, before ‘slagging off’ the non-selective post primary Principals lobbying for a better deal for the children they are responsible for. Finally you have identified the real culprits….. it is the fault of the Primary School Principals all along!
I hope your insight will be acted upon with mass redundancies of the miscreants, the logical outworking of your revelation.
Posted by Exasperated | 14.01.09, 09:32 GMT
Thanks to the puzzled parent and reference to the assembly I have looked at the Education Committee evidence. There are lots of gems hidden in the principals' plea for more money.
For example Mr Harry Greer says
"INCA assessments, pupil profiles and PRSD are workable models for primary schools if they have the funds that are available to secondary schools in order to release teachers. ....There must be some money lying around Departments in the Northern Ireland Executive that can be made available quickly."
Did Harry read the announcement on Pupil Profiles or just ignore the message parents and teachers sent to CCEA about them?
Harry wouldn't be doing Caitriona's begging from Nigel for her would he?
Say it ain't so Harry!
Posted by Pro Tanto Quid | 13.01.09, 15:12 GMT
Mr D McCartney of the NIPPAG put it best when he told the Assembly Education Committee on 6th June 2008:
"We are not able to lead our schools."
His colleague Mr Greer stated:"To be fair, Caitríona Ruane has the will to deliver an education service, but she needs more money.... we have severe concerns about the use of the Department’s current resources."
But both men were supportive of the revised curriculum and admitted the poor leadership by principals on the failed numeracy and literacy strategy.
Greer also told the MLAs "A favourite saying among our colleagues is that they have “closed down”. People who have closed down cannot lead or be visionary; they can be good day-to-day crises managers, but that is all that we can do at the moment. There is no vision for developing a revised curriculum for those children; we have not got the resources and are bogged down continually in crisis management."
It must make parents weep to read such admissions.
Posted by puzzled parent | 13.01.09, 14:57 GMT
Primary school principals claim to be at breaking point and buckling under the pressure of dealing with dozens of live issues in education. Their predictable answer: more money!!
As ever they trot out the children as their core concern but were silent when they promoted to parents "live issues" such as the revised school curriculum, abolishing the 11-plus, or the Pupil Profile.
Blaming the "masters" when the negative effects of supporting initiative after initiative comes home to roost is disingeneous.
School principals have damaged their credibility with many parents. If they wish to rehabilitate themselves with those to whom they are accountable then delivering on their core responsibilities;numeracy and literacy would be a good starting place.
Saying NO to nonsense may be difficult though for many progressive teachers and principals. More money is certainly not the answer. To quote a Belfast P.S. principal, "I don't give a **** about budgets"
Posted by Parental Alliance for Choice in Education | 13.01.09, 11:41 GMT