24

Write-a-Book Awards Ceremony 2015

DIRECTOR'S REPORT PERIOD 1ST JANUARY 2015 TO 31ST DECEMBER 2015

AGM 2016

February 29th

7.30pm

CLARE EDUCATION CENTRE

2

CONTENTS

Page

Introduction 3

Personnel, External Education & Training Agencies 4

Management Committee 5

Building & Maintenance, Footfall 6

Education Partners 7

CPD - Courses, PDST TiE 8

Lego Project, Primary Science 9

FRIENDS for Life, Incredible Years, Batelle 10

LSP, 1916, Grow in Love, Debating 11

NIPT, Aistear 12

Write a Book, Scríobh Leabhar 13

Accelerated Reader 14

Centre for School Leadership 15

PDST - School Leadership 16

PDST - Leaving Cert Applied, Cultural Subjects 17

PDST - Maths Recovery, Mata sa Rang 18

European Projects 19

Other Centre Activities 20

Cuimhneamh an Chláir 21

Appendix 1 - Courses 22-23

23

Local Courses 2015

Title of Course Courses

Primary Post/Prim Total

Accelerated Reader 16 3 19 1

Aistear 48 0 48 2

Art Course 15 4 19 4

Assessment for Learning 3 45 48 3

Breathing New Life into Education 53 3 56 1

Crafted Project 9 0 9 2

Cruinneas Gaeilge 16 0 16 1

Debating 8 0 8 1

Dyspraxia/DCD 11 0 11 1

First Aid, Manual Handling 23 2 25 3

Friends For Life 61 0 61 2

Maths Leaving Certificate Higher Level 0 18 18 2

Grow in Love 93 0 93 3

Religious Inservice - Post Primary 0 30 30 1

Guidance Counsellors 0 17 17 2

Helping Teenagers cope with Anger 7 8 15 1

Incredible Years 20 0 20 1

Infant Support Group 6 0 6 1

Irish Maths Teachers Assoc 0 5 5 1

Language Courses (Italian & Spanish) 17 22 39 2

Language Acquisition in the Early Years 37 0 37 1

LSP 0 5 5 1

Managers, Educators (ME) Programme 7 2 9 1

Marine Explorers 12 0 12 1

Mata sa Rang 1 & 2 57 0 57 3

Misneach Local 12 0 12 1

Movement & Drawing for Learning Difficulties 27 2 29 2

Music in the Classroom 8 0 8 1

Numicon 26 0 26 1

Retirement Advice 44 18 62 2

SALF 9 0 9 1

School Completion Programme 6 9 15 1

Science 24 0 24 2

Scriobh Leabhar 12 0 12 1

SNA Assist 162 14 176 9

Team TSI Seminar 8 0 8 1

Work-Life Balance, Enneagram & Mindfulness 135 20 155 10

Write a Book 100 0 100 1

1916 Resources for Teaching 53 2 55 2

Total Spring/Autumn 1,145 229 1,374 77

Summer Courses

Aistear 20 0 20 1

Creative Craft Skills 19 0 19 1

History 1916 24 0 24 1

Post Primary SNA 0 48 48 3

Primary Science 17 0 17 1

Promoting a whole school environment 28 0 28 2

Teaching Writing Genres 19 0 19 1

Total Summer 127 48 175 10

Total 2015 1,272 277 1,549 87

Total 2014 1,461 248 1,709 116

22

APPENDIX 1

ICT Courses 2015

Participants Courses

Local ICT Courses Primary Post/Prim Total

Assist ICT - SEN 11 1 12 1

Assistive Technology 8 0 8 1

ICT agus Gaeilge 0 2 2 1

ICT Resources for Literacy 7 0 7 1

Introduction to Online Maths Resources 36 2 38 3

Measúnú na Gaeilge sa Seomra Ranga 14 0 14 1

Robotics using LEGO 20 0 20 1

Use of Digital Imaging 8 0 8 1

Using Tablet Technology in the classroom 21 1 22 3

Total Local ICT Spring/Autumn 125 6 131 13

Enriching The Learning Process with ICT 17 0 17 1

A field and workshop application of digital imaging using Loophead's coastline 16 0 16 1

Total Local ICT Summer 33 0 33 2

Total Local ICT 158 6 164 15

National ICT Courses

Scratch 22 0 22 2

Assessment using ICT Primary 11 14 25 2

Finding and Selecting Info 11 0 11 1

Active Learning Methodologies 0 12 12 1

Creating ICT Resources 11 0 11 1

iPads 4 0 4 1

Total National ICT Spring/Autumn 59 26 85 8

National ICT Summer

Using Scratch to Develop Numeracy 13 0 13 1

Using ICT for Literacy and Numeracy in Junior Classes 18 0 18 1

Using Tablets and Online Tools for Literacy and Numeracy (ipads) 54 0 54 3

ICT for Teaching, Learning and Assessment 96 0 96 5

The Reading and Writing Process using ICT 44 0 44 3

Fís: Film making process to promote Literacy 16 0 16 1

Total National ICT Summer 241 0 241 14

Total National ICT 300 26 326 22

Total ICT Courses 2015 458 32 490 37

Total ICT Courses 2014 518 71 589 44

3

INTRODUCTION 2015 has been a very good year in Clare Education Centre (CEC). Facilities have been further improved and numbers attending courses has remained strong. I would like to thank sincerely all who have contributed in any way to this positive outcome. The Teacher Education Section (TES) are always helpful and I would like thank Principal Officer Eddie Ward and all the staff for the ongoing support. We were particularly delighted that Clare Education Centre was chosen as the national base for the new Centre for School Leadership (CSL) which commenced in September 2015. Congratulations to the National Director, Mary Nihill and her team. As Centre Director I am part of both the Steering Committee which meets 3 times a year and the Implementation Group which meets monthly. While it has involved a lot more travelling, both groups have been very positive experiences and the work of the Centre has been recognised on a number of occasions. Car parking space is beginning to become an issue and this is something that will need to be monitored. Many of the other tenants on the site have increased their workforce and parking space is a real issue. I wish to pay particular thanks to the members of our Management Committee and especially to our Chairman Tom Clohessy, Treasurer Nuala Kennedy and Vice Chairperson Michael Browne who continue to sup-port both the staff and myself. With some uncertainty around secondment this year, the support was more ap-preciated than ever. A special word of gratitude to Nuala on her retirement from the role of Treasurer. She has given outstanding and dedicated service in this role since 2010. She will be missed! Lastly, but by no means least, a very special word of thanks to all of the staff members of the Centre for their courtesy to all teachers and visitors to the Centre and for their diligence in ensuring that the Centre worked efficiently and productively throughout the year. Evelyn and Clara have streamlined our booking system and communications. Lara has worked most efficiently in ensuring that all our financial reporting is up to date and accurate. I believe our structures and procedures in this area are second to none. Linda and Karen, have coped extremely well with the many changes to the support service and continue to give an excellent service to the various team leaders and PDST as well as contributing to the work of the Centre. Mary assists Lara with pay-ments and also ensures that the JIS scheme is funded and accounted for in a proper manner. Margaret works during the day and ensures that the centre is always ready for customers and in good order at all times. I wel-come Derek, who works the evenings, to the staff of the Centre and thank him for his very positive contribu-tion since appointed. Congratulations to Linda on the birth of her twins Cara and Cian before Christmas and to Karen on the birth of her son, Aran, also before Christmas. It was a very challenging time for the Centre on the changeover of staff but our Temporary replacements Eileen, Thecla and later Geraldine really put the shoulder to the wheel and ensured that all events around the country went off smoothly. We look forward to 2016 in the belief that the Centre is in excellent shape to continue to develop and offer a good service both locally and nationally

Pat Hanrahan Di- rector February 29th 2016

4

PERSONNEL

The staff of Clare Education Centre are:

Pat Hanrahan Director

Evelyn Murray Office Manager

Lara Doris Finance Manager

Linda Hogan Administrator

Clara Carr Administrator

Karen O’Loughlin Administrator Mary O’Donoghue Bookkeeper JIS /CEC Administrator Margaret Conway Caretaker (JIS) Derek Maddox Caretaker

Other Personnel Other personnel using CEC administrative services include:

Joan McDonald and Gerry Kerwin NCSE

Mary Kierse Dallas and Linda Quinn Tusla Child & Family Agency

Cormac McCarthy Cuimhneamh an Chláir

Mary Nihill, Maire Ni Bhroite, Centre for School Leadership

Anna Mai Rooney

Pat Coffey LCA & Cultural Subjects

Noreen O’Loughlin Mata sa Rang

Anthony Kilcoyne School Leadership

Catherine Sweeney ILSA Library

Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN)

Ennis Schools Completion Project (ESCP)

External Education & Training Agencies In 2015 facilities and support was provided for external education and training agencies. The main users of the facilities were:

Accord Cuimhneamh an Chláir NUI Galway

Acist Skillnet GPA Solutions Profect Training

Bushy Park Addiction Centre Hartley People Revenue

Career & Life Planning HSE Samaritans

Clare Immigrant Support Centre Mary Imaculate College School of Philosophy

Clare Local Dev Company National Council for Special Education Social Welfare

College Progressive Education National Learning Network Tusla Child & Family Agency

21

20

CLARE AND LIMERICK EDUCATION CENTRES RESEARCH CONFERENCE The Limerick & Clare Education Centres’ Fifth Education Research Conference 2015, hosted by Limerick

Education Centre on Challenges and Opportunities in Education in 2015 & Going Forward gave vocabulary and expression to a diverse range of issues. The Conference took place on Saturday 7th March 2015. Papers presented highlighted the roles of Digital Media, The Creative & Expressive Arts, the roles of School Leader-ship, Pastoral Care and Special Education Needs together with Teaching & Learning play to enrich Assess-ment of Learning and Assessment for Learning on the education journey.

The conference accorded teacher researchers the opportunity to share directly on a selection of current issues of particular interest to them in education pertinent to their immediate practice. Teacher research involves teachers engaging directly in research on their choice of immediate and compelling topics relevant to their own practice.

DIPLOMA in PERSONAL & BUSINESS COACHING The Irish Lifecoach Institute (ILI) is one of the largest coach training organisations in the country offering a professional Diploma in Personal Coaching & Business Coaching. Since the course commenced in 2001 in excess of 1400 people have qualified. Many of these are School Principals and teachers. The skills of coach-ing relate very closely to any job that requires the building of strong relationships and good communication. Therefore this course is a good fit for school leaders and teachers. CEC have partnered with ILI to run the diploma course for 2015/16.

Front Row: L-R Ms. Maire Nunan, Ms. Nuala Kennedy, Ms. Cathe-rine Sweeney Back Row: Dr. Joe O'Connell, Ms. Ruth Morrissey-Casey, Ms. Eve-lyn Sorohan, Ms. Geraldine Ni Thuathaigh, Ms. Dorothy Keane

NUI MAYNOOTH COUNSELLING SKILLS In October 2012, CEC began running the NUI Maynooth Counselling Skills Course. This course is open to anyone who wishes to develop effective counselling skills and enhance their own personal development. It is a very successful partnership and is currently running for the fourth year for 2015/16.

OTHER CENTRE ACTIVITIES

Clare Principals and Teachers at Lisbon RECIPE Conference in 2015 Ray McInerney (Ennis N.S.) , Gerald-ine O’Loughlin (Corofin N.S.), Deasun Hennessy (Clooney N.S.) , Myra Shannon (Corofin N.S. ), Hilary Parkinson (Clarecastle N.S.)

5

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE The Management Committee for Clare Education Centre is as detailed below.

Finance Committee

Chairperson

Thomas Clohessy

Vice Chairperson

Michael Browne

Treasurer

Nuala Kennedy

Committee

Syl Barrett

Laura Cullen Ryan

Sharon Dilger

John McCrohan

Rory McGann

Ray McInerney

David McMahon

Ann McMahon

Aine Meehan

Dorothy Meenaghan

Una Ní Gháirbhith

Noreen O'Loughlin

Aideen O'Mahony

Denis O'Rourke

Liz Spring

Brian Spring

Chairperson Thomas Clohessy

Treasurer Nuala Kennedy

Director Pat Hanrahan

Brian Spring and Ger Coughlan at the LEGO night during the year

6

BUILDING & MAINTENANCE During the year all necessary repairs were carried out and the building was maintained to a high standard. Our caretaking staff work hard to ensure that the level of cleanliness in the building is of a high standard. All the staff have been especially busy at times during the year with regard to catering for large numbers.

The improvement and expansion of the centre over the last few years has had a very significant effect on the quality of the facilities we can offer and on the numbers using the centre. Many teachers and visitors comple-ment the staff and me personally on the facility. We have significant footfall, as detailed in the Centre At-tendance Records below. The challenge ahead is to at least maintain current numbers and hopefully increase this over time. All profit made from rental etc goes back into new initiatives and further improvements to the building. We have just completed replacement of the flat roof which was very necessary.

Centre Opening Hours

Monday to Friday 8.30 a.m. to 9.30 p.m.

Saturday Variable upon request

Centre Attendance Records

By Month 2015 2014 2013

January 2,044 2,423 1,689

February 2,323 2,655 1,936

March 2,195 2,677 1,936

April 1,322 1,415 1,887

May 1,646 1,881 2,162

June 921 1,161 1,120

July 2,770 3,276 2,304

August 590 1,134 769

September 974 1,942 1,577

October 1,973 2,890 2,727

November 1,975 2,616 2,574

December 1,318 1,304 1,549

Total 20,051 25,374 22,230

By Activity 2015 2014 2013

National Programme/PDST 1,725 2,210 2,594

PDST Technology in Education (TiE) 1,577 1,955 1,634

NDP - Local & NIPT 4,266 4,828 4,742

External Education & Training 9,455 12,774 10,562

Tutors, Other Events & Meetings 3,028 3,607 2,698

Total 20,051 25,374 22,230

19

EUROPEAN PROJECTS

STAYON STAYON (STrategies And systems to reduce YOung people’s Non-completion of upper secondary vocational education) Project continued in 2015 with a Conference in Greece in May and the final meeting in Norway in November. The project is an intervention with students at Second Level to address school dropout. The Confer-ence brought over 40 delegates to Ennis in 2014 to discuss this issue which continues to be an EU priority. En-nis Community College has been centrally involved with a special input from the School Completion Pro-gramme. I thank John Cooke (Principal), Aine Meehan, Catherine O’Donnell and Denis O’ Rourke in par ticu-lar for their assistance. This project has been a great learning experience for all involved.

RECIPE Regional Education Centres in Pedagogical Europe) RECIPE (Regional Education Centres in Pedagogical Europe) which looks at the influence of Regional Educa-tion Centres on schools continued during 2015 with a meeting in Ireland during May. This project gets great support from Rory McGann (MC Member and Lecturer in Mary Immaculate) Eamon Curley ( Scoil na Maighdine Mhuire) John Griffin and Theresa McGann (Scoil Chriost Ri). Rory is spearheading the use of Lego in the Primary School through Mary Immaculate and the Centre works with Rory to develop an appropriate classroom strategy using Lego. Teachers get training in the use of Lego and student teachers were assigned to the different schools. I sincerely thank Rory and Mary Immaculate for this new initiative. RECIPE held its first Conference/Course in Lisbon in Sept 2015. CEC and the schools involved were very fortunate to be funded un-der the KA1 funding strand and were able to take 24 local Principals and teachers on the 4 day course. It was a wonderful experience for all involved and demonstrated the positive role the Centre can play at local level and the power of collaboration. Needless to say, Clare teachers were not found wanting and participated fully in all aspects of the event!

New Projects As a result of the contacts made through STAYON, Ennis Community College ,with the support of CEC, has been successful in securing funding for a new project called “Logged-on” which looks at the integration and ef-fective use of ICT. Clare Youth Service, again with the support of CEC, were also successful in getting funding for their project called “Courage” which has a very vocational slant and has commenced. More recently CEC has assisted Holy Family Jnr and Scoil na Maighdine Mhuire, Newmarket on Fergus, in put-ting together a KA2 applica-tion in the area of Early Child-hood Educa-tion. The pro-ject will be called

“RECEPTION”

Above: Clare Principals and Teachers at the RECIPE Course in Lisbon in October

Right: participants at the meeting in Clare Education Centre in May 2015

18

Maths Recovery Maths Recovery (MR) is a numeracy programme currently available only to DEIS Urban Band 1 & 2 schools. From 2012 to 2015 training had not been available to these schools. However, last April saw the recommencement of training and by the end of April 2016, more than 820 teachers will have completed training to the level of Maths Recovery teachers and almost 2000 class teachers will have received training to support implementa-tion. Clara Carr is the administrator. Dr. Noreen O Loughlin who was the PDST National Coordinator for MR, has returned to her post as Lecturer in Mary Immaculate College but continues to support Maths Recovery. We sincerely thank Noreen for her work with us.

Mata sa Rang In response to demand from other schools, both rural DEIS and non-DEIS schools, Mata sa Rang, a class-room approach to MR was developed by Dr. Noreen O’Loughlin, MR Ireland and delivered nationwide by MR teachers through the Education Centre Network. MR teachers in every centre were trained to tutor the programme. CEC has been instrumental in achieving this and CEC admin staff have given outstanding sup-port in administering the programme. To date, in excess of 2000 teachers nationwide have availed of this training.

Mata sa Rang Participating Clare Schools

Module 1 - 68 schools

Annagh Carrigaholt Cratloe Killaloe Boys Moyasta Shannon - St Tolas

Ballina Clarecastle Doonbeg Kilmurry Newmarket-on Fergus Shannon - St. Aidan's

Ballyea Clohanes Ennis - CBS Kilnaboy O'Callaghan's Mills Shannon - St. Senan's

Ballynacally Clondrinagh Ennis - Gaelscoil Kilnamona Parteen Shragh

Barefield Clonigulane Ennis - Holy Family Kilrush - Gaelscoil Querrin Sixmilebridge

Bodyke Clonlara Ennis NS Knockanean Quilty Toonagh

Boston Clooney Ennis - Scoil Chríost Rí Knockerra Quin Tuamgraney

Bridgetown Clouna Ennistymon Lahinch Raheenwood Steiner Tulla

Broadford & Kilbane Connolly Flagmount Lakyle Ruan

Caherea Cooraclare Inagh Lissycasey Scariff

Cahermurphy Coore Inch Miltown Malbay Shannon - Gaelscoil

Carrig Corofin Kildysart Mol an Oige Steiner Shannon - St Conaires

Module 2 - 39 schools

Ballina Carron Doora Kilnaboy Newmarket-on Fergus Shragh

Ballyvaughan Clohanes Ennis - CBS Kilnamona Querrin Sixmilebridge

Barefield Connolly Ennis - Gaelscoil Kilrush - Gaelscoil Quilty Tulla

Bodyke Cooraclare Ennis - Scoil Chríost Rí Knockanean Quin Toomgraney

Broadford & Kilbane Coore Ennis NS Knockerra NS Raheen Wood Steiner

Caherea Cratloe Killaloe Convent Miltown Malbay Shannon - St. Conaire's

Cahermurphy Crusheen Kilmurry Mól an Óige Steiner Shannon - St. Tola's

7

EDUCATION PARTNERS Clare Education Centre works with many organisations and agencies in attempting to support teachers and schools. Listed below are some of these groups. I would like to acknowledge the professionalism and dedica-tion of all those listed and indeed others who may work with us occasionally.

National Programmes Career Guidance Counsellors Circus & Fairground Support Service (CFSS) Junior Cycle for Teachers (JCT) Mental Health Awareness Initiative (MHAI) National Induction programme for Teachers (NIPT) Professional Service Development for Teachers (PDST) Project Maths Special Education Support Service (SESS)

External Education Partners ATECI An Chigireacht Clare County Library Clare Primary & Post Primary schools principals and deputies Clare Sports Partnership Crafts Council of Ireland Diocese of Killaloe European Partners Health & Safety Authority (HSA) Health Service Executive (HSE) Irish Learning Support Organisation (ILSA) Irish Lifecoach Institute Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN) National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) (Aistear) National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) NUI Maynooth Léargas Renaissance Learning - Accelerated Reader Riches of Clare Museum School Completion Programme - Clare

Education Centre Directors met Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD in November 2015 and discussed issues of concern to Centres

8

CPD - COURSES The main function of the Centre is to provide support and Continuous Professional Development (CPD) to teachers and schools through courses and access to advice and the various national programmes. Precise data is forwarded to Teacher Education Section (TES) of the Department of Education and Skills for statis-tical purposes. Summary details of Local and PDST Technology in Education courses are set out in Ap-pendix 1 and details of National Programme workshops facilitated are listed below. The level of national in-service during the school day, at both primary and post-primary, has declined con-siderably in recent years. Only a small number of Programmes now run during school hours with many CPD courses taking place after school hours. It is a worrying trend and is expected to continue during the coming year. This puts considerable pressure on the Centre to bring in other business in order to continue to provide a proper service. Unfortunately, due to industrial action the JCT pro-gramme hasn’t taken off during 2015. We can expect increased activity from Post Primary over the next few years, once agree-ment has been reached between the DES and Unions. There are encouraging signs for 2016 but still some uncertainty. CEC is continuously trying to use technology to improve com-munication with teachers and now uses an online course booking facility and communicates with all schools by email. All teachers on our mailing list receive email communications of upcoming courses. Our website is continuously updated and we are now using Facebook and Twitter to communicate with the education community. The following pages highlight some of the many courses/initiatives supported by CEC in 2015.

PDST Technology in Education (TiE) With regard to PDST Technology in Education courses, I would like to acknowledge the work of all our tutors and schools. Great progress has been made in developing ICT in Clare schools. To encourage use of ICT we have invested in two sets of 16 ipads that we loan to schools. I would like to acknowledge the tro-jan work done by Tony Kelly (formerly Ennis NS) in supporting this project. His dedication and enthusi-asm is much appreciated. We have re-structured and added new material to our ICT Resources section on our website. We believe the new layout by subject/strand etc. will help Primary teachers in particular access the relevant resource more easily. Many thanks to David McMahon (Scoil Chriost Ri and PDST) for great work on this project. Also to Rory McGann (Mary Immaculate College) for his on-going support and expertise in general.

National Programmes

Workshops facilitated in CEC 2015

PDST Programmes

Gaeilge 1

Health & Wellbeing 10

Leadership 22

Literacy 9

Numeracy 11

PE 1

Primary Languages 1

Sciences 2

Total 57

Other National Programmes

JCT 4

Project Maths 2

SESS 5

Total 11

Marie Egan and Pat Hanrahan with Scoil Mhichil Cahermurphy Debating Team

The constantly busy ICT Training Room

17

Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) is a two year practical Leaving

Certificate programme with a strong vocational focus. It places

particular emphasis on preparation for the world of work and life-

long learning. Clare Education Centre continues to administer the support of the Leaving Certificate Applied

programme to 365 schools and centres. This has been a particularly busy year as per the attached table. The

centre continues to support teachers of the programme through a telephone help line and through email. A

comprehensive website offers further support. Pat Coffey is the team leader and Karen O'Loughlin adminis-

ters the programme. Thecla Farrell has taken over recently on a temporary basis and has been most efficient.

Cultural Subjects We hosted Transition Year until June 2015 when we assumed responsibility for Cultural Subjects. Pat Coffey is the Team Leader and Karen O’Loughlin is the Administrator .

Leaving Certificate Applied Inservice 2015

Jan-Jun 2015 Number of Workshops Total particants

Coordinators Day 7 78

Task Days 12 91

Aug-Dec 2015

New Coordinators Days 2 53

Task Days 8 240

Coordinators Workshops - Day 32 633

Total 2015 61 1,095

Total 2014 67 1,028

Cultural Subjects Inservice 2015

Jan-Jun 2015 Number of Workshops Total particants

History Workshops 3 54

History National Seminar 1 112

Religion National Seminar 1 77

Religion Workshops 3 34

Geography National Seminar 1 10

Classics Workshop 2 19

Aug-Dec 2015

Home Economics 6 106

History 5 76

Geography 4 92

Religion 3 40

Total 2015 29 620

Donal O hAinifein, who presented the awards at “Scriobh Leabhar” and

Assumpta Concannon ( Principal Moveen NS) with award winner

16

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERVICE FOR TEACHERS (PDST) Since Sept 1st 2010 most National Programmes have been brought under one umbrella group, titled PDST. CEC is designated the national administration centre for four pro-grammes– School Leadership, Maths Recovery, Leaving Cert Applied and Cultural Subjects. While budgets and general activity are declining nationally, the continuation of these programmes in the Centre has been very welcome. During 2015 we also had some activity from the Local PDST team especially David McMah-on. We are also very grateful to Mick O’ Riordan, Dympna O’ Byrne and Micheal Mac Donnacha for taking on a variety of projects with CEC.

School Leadership All PDST School Leadership Programmes aims to respond to the challenging and complex environment in which they operate. Anthony Kilkoyne is the team leader and Linda Hogan administers the programme. Eileen McNamee has taken over recently on a temporary basis and has been most efficient. Despite cutbacks and retirements of full time members, the team continues to deliver courses to school leaders of a very high quality. The difficulties surrounding the secondment of Principals to the support service is an important issue for School Leadership. Most people in the system agree that seconded principals are essential to the develop-ment of the service, however the Dept. of Finance have refused payment of appropriate allowances to new en-trants. This issue is being addressed with the formation of CSL and hopefully leadership will now form a more central role.

Tóraíocht Post Graduate Diploma in Ed-

ucational Leadership

PDST works in partnership with NUI Maynooth to pro-vide a course leading to the award of a post graduate di-ploma in educational leadership (Level 9, 60 credits). The programme was launched in September 2008 and has been delivered nationwide during the last seven years. There are almost 1000 graduates of the course currently in the Irish school system. CEC hosted the course in 2013/14 and 2014/15. Having had 58 participating in 2014 we were pleasantly surprised to get 30 in 2015. This group finishes in June 2015. We hope to have the post graduate programme in CEC again in the future. Through CSL a new postgraduate programme is being tendered for with the assistance of the Office of Government Procurement (OGP). It is a complex process which has to be fair and transparent. Several third level colleges are expected to apply and the first programme will commence in Sept.2017. In the meantime Toraíocht continues.

Leadership Pro-gramme

Number of Courses

2015 Participants

2015

Forbairt Post-Primary 23 556

Forbairt Primary 59 799

Misneach Post-Primary 10 230

Misneach Primary 36 1,289

Tánaiste Post-Primary 8 357

Tánaiste Primary (5 days) 9 95

Tóraíocht (centres) 10 583

Meitheal Primary 12 53

Total 2015 167 3,962

Total 2014 164 3,427

Clare Ryan and Anne Marie McGann representing St. Flannan’s College at the “Ag Foghlaim le Cheile”

presentation in Charleville.

9

Primary Science Fair Clare Education Centre held its annual Science Fair for Clare Primary schools in the Auburn Lodge Hotel in March. In excess of 420 pupils participated from Primary schools across the county. The evening was the cul-mination of a series of evening workshops delivered in CEC by well-known Primary Science expert Michael

Browne. Michael, who is a Crusheen native, is the author of a range of Science books for the Primary school curric-ulum and has worked closely with CEC for a number of years. The teachers from the participating schools attended 5 evening workshops during the term in preparation for the Science Fair. Schools looked at all aspects of the science curriculum and devised suitable experiments to demon-strate the various concepts. The emphasis was very much on the practical and "learning by doing". On the night, parents were invited and the pupils demonstrated their knowledge and understanding of the subject to their par-ents, teachers and all who attended. Thanks to all teach-ers and schools for their enthusiasm and hard work. Much of the work was done outside normal school hours and teachers deserve great credit in this regard, es-pecially in these challenging times. Their professional-

ism and interest in their pupils was most noteworthy. All participating schools were presented with a framed memento for their participation and pupils were presented with a certificate of achievement. The presentations were made by Mr. Sean Lenihan (Chairman, Engineers Ireland) who sup-ported the project and Clare hurler and teacher John Conlon. Twenty-one schools participated on the night (thirteen in 2014).

Barefield Ennistymon Liscannor

Bodyke Fanore Newmarket-on-Fergus

Cahermurphy Flagmount Quin

Crusheen Kilkee Scariff

Dangan Kilrush - Gaelscoil Uí Choimín Shannon - St. Senan’s

Doonaha Kilshanny Shannon - St. Tola’s

Ennis - Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Cíosóg Lakyle Shragh

RDS Primary Science

The RDS Primary Science came to Mary Immaculate College for the first time in 2016. The Centre worked with the College and the RDS in assisting with the arrangements. Through Michael Browne the Centre offered support to the Clare schools involved. It was a well organized event. A greater emphasis on the CPD aspect would improve it even further. This should be highlighted early in 2016.

LEGO Project In 2014 we initiated a new LEGO in Education project with 8 schools. This project was funded through assistance from PDST, Engineers Ireland and our local course budget. Rory McGann (Mary Immaculate College) was the tutor to a very enthusiastic au-dience. The project was showcased in Templegate hotel in May 2015 to such success that we have committed resources to fund a further 15 schools to participate in the programme in 2016. The schools that participated 2014/15 were: Newmarket on Fergus, Connolly, St. Conaire’s Shannon, Scoil Chriost Rí, Querrin, St. Tola’s Shannon, Bodyke and Ennis National. In Summer 2015 , we hosted a number of very successful LEGO camps for children, facilitated by Mary Immaculate College un-der the direction of Rory McGann.

Michael Browne (Co-ordinator & Tu-tor) at the CEC Science Fair in 2015

Pupils from St. Conaire’s presenting their project at the LEGO Expo

10

Incredible Years Incredible Years (IY) is an international evidence-based programme that promotes children’s emotional/social competencies and reduces aggressive and non-compliant behaviours. IY Clare is an interagency initiative working since 2004 to address the social, emotional and behavioural needs of children. NEPS psychologists and IY trained leaders, Gabriella Greene and Richard Egan, are currently facilitating the Teacher Classroom Management (TCM) programme in CEC. The aims of the TCM program are: to emphasise the importance of building positive relationships with students and parents; to promote teacher competencies and strengthens home-school connections; to develop pro-active teaching strategies; to manage inap-propriate classroom behaviours; to empha-sise effective classroom management skills and to promote the effective use of incen-tives for difficult behaviour problems. To date 21 schools have participated with the programme continuing in 2016.

Barefield Ennis Educate Together Ogonnelloe

Bodyke Ennistymon Quin

Broadford & Kilbane NS Inch Raheen Wood Steiner

Ennis - CBS Killaloe Boy's Ruan

Ennis - Holy Family Jr Kilrush - Gaelscoil Shannon - St. Aidan's

Ennis - Holy Family Sr Knockanean Shannon - St. Senan's

Ennis - St. Anne's Mol an Oige Sixmilebridge

FRIENDS for Life “FRIENDS for Life” is an evidence-based anxiety prevention and resilience building programme de-signed for use in schools. Developed by Dr Paula Barrett in Australia, the programmes are designed to teach students the skills required to manage their thoughts, emotions and body responses to life stresses. The programmes also seek to develop self-esteem and teach coping skills in a simple and structured way. It is a positive, fun learning experience that does require any clinical assessment or diagnosis and avoids labelling young people as anxious or different. “FRIENDS” is the only anxiety prevention programme acknowledged by the World Health Organization for its 12 years of comprehensive validation in schools and health clinics across several countries and lan-guages. The programme meets many of the aims of the SPHE curriculum in terms of promoting physical, mental and emotional

well-being in addi-tion to providing pupils with oppor-tunities for reflec-tion and discussion. NEPS psycholo-gists Christine O’Sullivan and Aideen Taylor de Faoite facilitated two over -subscribed courses in 2015 with 28 primary schools participating. The pro-grammes continues in 2016 and will be extended to Post Primary schools.

Ballina Ennis - CBS Killaloe Boys Ruan

Barefield Ennis - Holy Family Sr Killaloe Convent Shannon - St. Aidan's

Cahermurphy Ennis - Scoil Chríost Rí Kilrush - St. Senan's Shannon - St. Conaire's

Clooney Ennis Educate Together Knockanean Shannon - St. Senan's

Cratloe Ennistymon Newmarket on Fergus Sixmilebridge

Crusheen Kildysart Parteen Tuamgraney

Doolin Kilkee Raheen Wood Steiner Tulla

Battelle for Kids Battelle for Kids (BFK) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to moving education forward for students by supporting the educators who work with them every day. BFK provide innovative services, solutions, and products that advance the development of formative assessment practices and pupil voice surveys. It links very closely with the SSE format in Ireland. 10 schools in the mid west worked on a pilot with CEC and EEC Direct ,who is the Irish contact. This culminated in a trip, for a representative from each school, to Ohio USA. The group visited several schools over 3 days and were most taken by the quality of teaching and learning, supported by BFK. An evaluative report has been commissioned and will be available shortly on our website. In general the results and feedback have been most positive. It is hoped to expand the pilot in 2016 to more schools with the support of Battelle, EEC Direct and CEC.

15

CENTRE FOR SCHOOL LEADERSHIP (CSL)

We are delighted to have been chosen as the administrative base for the newly established Centre for School Leadership and look forward to working with the CSL team. A report on progress to date from Mary Nihill, Director follows.

The decision to establish a Centre for School Leadership in September 2015, on a partnership basis be-tween IPPN/NAPD and the DES represents a new departure and presents a unique opportunity for the development of a coherent continuum of professional development for school leaders. Furthermore the decision to base the centre in Clare Education Centre is a recognition of the long history that the centre has with leadership development. The CSL’s responsibility will extend across the continu-um of leadership development commencing with pre appointment training through to induction of newly appointed principals to continuous professional development throughout the leader’s career. Three school Principals were seconded from their positions to the two professional organisations (IPPN and NAPD). Mary Nihill, Principal of Calasanctius College Oranmore, Galway was appointed as Nation-al Director for the Centre. Máire Ní Bhróithe, Principal of Rathoath College was appointed as Deputy Director Post Primary and Anna Mai Rooney, Principal of St Louis Girls National School Monaghan was appointed as Deputy Director Primary. The team has met with all of the stakeholders, Management bod-ies, and Trust bodies Trade Unions Professional Organisations as well as Third Level Providers. The initial focus for CSL has revolved around four main areas: Mentoring for Newly appointed Principals. The team are currently training 215 experienced school leaders (150 Primary and 65 Post Primary) as Mentors for newly appointed Principals. This 1:1 mentoring service will commence in September 2016. Coaching service for Principals. The team are working with the Office of Government Procurement in preparing a tender document for a professional coaching service for school leaders who may be experiencing challenge in their role. It is hoped that this service will be launched in September 2016. Tendering for an Aspiring Leaders Programme. CSL are currently preparing a tender document for the provision of a new aspiring leader’s programme which will replace the current DES funded Tóraiocht programme. The team has consulted widely on the content and structure for this programme. It is planned that this new Level 9 post graduate programme will commence in September 2017. Quality Assurance of Current Provision. CSL has been charged with reviewing current DES funded provision in the area of school leadership. We are currently working with PDST to review the current Misneach programme to align it with the draft standards for Leadership and Management being developed by DES Inspectorate as well as incorporat-ing the new Mentoring support for new Principals We are very appreciative of the tremendous support that we have received from Pat and his team in En-nis.

Mary Nihill, National Director (CSL)

23rd February 2016

14

Accelerated Reader The Accelerated Reader Programme operated out of Clare Education Centre, in conjunction with Renais-sance Learning, continues to expand. Accelerated Reader (AR) is a computerised reading management pro-gram developed by Judi and Terry Paul, co-founders of Renaissance Learning. The program was intro-duced to school systems in 1986 as a tool to help teachers efficiently manage literature-based reading and is currently used in more than half the schools in the U.S. (Paul, 2003:1). Accelerated Reader focuses on a database of thousands of books ranging in reading levels from one to twelve. It provides teachers with spe-cific data on student’s reading levels and their understanding of what they have read. Paul (2003:7) reveals that “because it is computerised, it reduces teachers’ paperwork while providing the information needed to guide and monitor student reading practise”. The Accelerated Reader program consists of a software pack-age which is internet based that corresponds to books and the program has self-administered reading tests that the students use in the classroom to earn points. Clare Education Centre co-ordinates the Accelerated Reader training programme which significantly re-duces the cost for schools. There has been great interest in the programme with fifty-six schools now tak-ing part, including four secondary schools: Gearóid Roughan who has published a Thesis entitled The Effect of the Accelerated Reader Pro-gram on the Reading Achievement and Attitudes of a Senior Class has provided most of the training in Clare Education Centre. Aideen O Mahony (Principal Clohanes NS) joined the AR team in 2014. Both Gearoid and Aideen have been a huge support to schools and I would like to sincerely thank them for that.

Primary Schools

Annagh Coolmeen Inch Moy

Ballina Cooraclare Kilkee Newmarket-on Fergus

Ballycar Corofin Kilkishen O'Callaghan's Mills

Ballyvaughan Cranny Kilmaley Quin

Barefield Cratloe Kilmurry Ruan

Boston Crusheen Kilmurray McMahon Scariff

Bodyke Doonbeg N.S. Kilrush Shannon - Gaelscoil

Broadford Ennis - Holy Family Sr. Lahinch Shannon - St Tolas

Clarecastle Ennis - Scoil Chriost Rí Lakyle Shannon - St. Senan's

Clohanes Ennis National Liscannor Sixmilebridge

Clonlara Feakle Lisdoonvarna Stonehall

Clonmoney Flagmount Lissycasey Tubber

Clooney Inagh Moveen Tulla

Secondary schools

Colaiste Muire Ennis Kilrush Community College Scariff Community College St Caimins Shannon

Teachers from Schools in Clare at the Bat-telle headquarters in Columbus Ohio

11

Pathways to 1916

With the focus on the 1916 Rising centenary in the 2015/16 academic year, CEC ran a very well attended Summer course and four Autumn workshops to support and encourage teachers in their efforts to promote the event. Digital media and art competitions are completing in 2016. My thanks to Rory Chesser and Brian Spring for all their work and enthusiasm.

Grow in Love

With the introduction of the new religious education series for Primary Schools, ‘Grow in Love’, Diocese of Killaloe held an inservice programme in November for teachers throughout the Diocese. CEC assisted with all the administration with three of the six events held here. 174 teachers attended from 115 schools, including 63 Clare schools.

Primary Debating Competition Primary Debating Ireland have set up the All Ireland Primary De-bating Competition, a project that Senator David Norris has be-come Honorary Patron of. The objective is to enrich the children's cognitive and language abilities not to mention encouraging con-fidence . This is the Third year of the competition and after some keenly contested earlier rounds Scariff Central N.S. and Scoil Mhichíl Cahermurphy made it through to the final. The motion was “Newspapers are a thing of the past” . It was keenly contested by both sides and some excellent coherent and clever points made on both sides of the debate. Scariff Central NS emerged winners by the narrowest margin. There were 10 participating schools (2014:6 schools): Ballycar, Cahermurphy, Holy Family Sr. Ennis, Kilbaha, Kilkee, Kilkishen, St. Senan’s Kilrush, Parteen, Scariff and St. Aidan’s Shannon.

The Learning Schools Project LSP-5 is a DES initiative at Post Primary Level in Clare, Limerick, Cork & Kerry. Schools are invited to evaluate their own school and establish areas that may need attention. Each school involved establishes a “school project team” and this group meets in CEC a number of times during the year. It also involves a number of school visits from the Education Centre Director. The programme has a clear pattern - commenc-ing with each school examining their needs through data gathering and analysis, then taking appropriate ac-tions and finally evaluating the initiative. A short report is issued by each school at the end of the school year. A showcase event was held in Sept 2015 in Charleville in order that schools have an opportunity to share experiences and resources. Two Clare Post Primary Schools par-ticipated in this project in the 2014-15 school year and have worked ex-tremely diligently. I believe this type of initiative will become more common at both Primary and Post Primary Level. Schools were present-ed with a commemorative plaque at the Ag Foghlaim le Cheile event in Charleville. Clare Schools in LSP-5: Kilkee Community School, & St. Flannans College.

Jean O Brien and Michelle Morrissey at Ag Fog-hlaim Le Cheile 2015. (Kilkee Community School)

Pat Hanrahan and Bridann O Callaghan (Principal) with winning debating pupils of Scariff N.S.

12

Aistear—Infant Programme In October 2009, the NCCA published Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework . Aistear is for all children from birth to six years. It is the outcome of extensive research, consultation, planning, and de-velopment by the NCCA in partnership with the early childhood sector and the Education Centre Network. Aistear can be used in the range of early childhood settings including children's own homes, childminding settings, full and part-time daycare settings, sessional services and infant classes in primary schools. High-lighting the fact that children learn many different things at the same time, the Framework uses four inter-connected themes to describe the content of children's learning and development: Well-being, Identity and Belonging, Communicating, and Exploring and Thinking. Aistear highlights the critical role of play, rela-tionships and language for young children's learning. CEC have 3 trained facilitators for the programme which has been well supported locally both after school and for the Summer Course which was held in Scoil Realt na Mara, Kilkee in 2015. It was the first course outside the Ennis area and was well supported by local teachers. The local facilitators are Emer Healy, Niamh Quinn and Martina O Grady and I would like to thank them for their excellent work.

National Induction Programme for Teachers (NIPT) This initiative commenced in 2010 as two separate programmes. Each programme was specifically targeted at either newly qualified primary or post primary teachers. In 2011 these programmes were combined. The programme aims to support the induction of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) into the teaching profession in primary schools in Ireland. The main objective of induction is towards promoting the professional develop-ment of NQTs by way of systematic support in their first year of teaching, thus laying the foundations for sub-sequent professional growth and development. A key characteristic of the programme is access by the NQT to a mentor at school level or in a neighbouring school. Mentors are experienced teachers who are fully probat-ed, have a minimum of 5 years teaching experience and have undertaken professional training for the role. It is widely acknowledged that building strong professional learning communities through programmes such as the Induction Programme will benefit schools as learning organisations in the long-term. Up until recently NQT’s were required to attend 10 sessions in Education Centres but this is changing as a result of the “Droichead” programme. This allows NQT’s to reduce the number of sessions in Education Centres and fulfil some of the induction requirements in their schools. There is also a tendency for young teachers to migrate towards the large population centres as teaching jobs in Clare are particularly scarce. It is unfortunate that this wonderful programme has come on stream at a time of such high teacher unemployment. A further issue in 2015 was the small number of graduates from the Colleges of Education as the 4 year course came on stream. The overall result of all these factors was a significant reduction in the numbers attending the sessions in CEC. 2016 will be better but it is unlikely to match the high numbers in the earlier years. Our current facilitators are : Primary: Bríd O’Connor, Karen Riordan, Seónaidh Ni Shíomóin, Ciara O’Connell, Críona Smyth Sineád Ginnane facilitated on the programme since commencement and I would like to thank her most sincerely for her dedication and wish her well in her new endeavours as a school inspector. Post-Primary: Laura Cullen-Ryan, Caroline Roche and Philomena Hooban The Centre is most grateful to all the facilitators for their excellent work.

NIPT Courses 2015

Jan/Jun 2015 Participants Number of

Courses Participant Hours

Primary 11 10 220

Cross-Sectoral 20 2 80

Post Primary 21 4 168

52 16 468

Sept/Dec 2015

Primary 14 5 140

Cross-Sectoral 23 3 138

Post Primary 12 5 120

49 13 398

13

Write-A-Book The "Write a Book awards ceremony for Primary School pupils which was organized by Clare Education Centre was held in May at the Inn at Dromoland. This was the 21st consecutive year of this event. In excess of 2000 pupils entered the competi-tion and on the night prizes were presented to 222 winners from all parts of Clare. Prizes were sponsored by O’Mahony's Book Shop Ennis. We were delighted with the huge response to the competition.

There were 58 participating schools (2014: 54).

Scríobh Leabhar Pupils from County Clare gathered in May in the Clare Education Centre to receive their awards for the annual Scríobh Leabhar project. They were among the 1000s of primary school pupils throughout the island of Ire-land who were inspired again this year to use their creative skills and compose, design and publish their very own book in Irish as part of Foras na Gaeilge’s Scríobh Leabhar project.

Dónal Ó Hainiféin (Príomhoide Gaelscoil Mhichíl Cíosóg) was on hand at the presentation to present medals and certificates to the winning pupils. In all, over 450 children participated in the project in the Clare area and there were 40 award winners. Since its launch in the 2006/2007 school year, more than 26,000 pupils have par-ticipated in the Scríobh Leabhar project. As part of this initiative, children not only write their own books, but they also have the opportunity to read and discuss stories written by children in other schools. Teachers also have a central role in Scríobh Leabhar and they are offered in-service courses to help them support the pupils with their efforts.

There were seven participating Schools in 2015: Bodyke, Carrigaholt, Clohanbeg, Kilmurrry, Moveen, Quer-rin and Quin

Ballyvaughan Clarecastle Dangan Killaloe Boys Lakyle Shannon - St Aidan's

Bansha Clohanbeg Doolin Killaloe Girls Lissycasey Shannon - St Senan's

Bodyke Clohanes Doonbeg Kilmurry Moveen Shannon - St Tolas

Boston Clonmoney Doora Kilmurry McMahon Moy Shragh

Bridgetown Cloonanaha Ennis NS Kilnamona Moyasta Sixmilebridge

Broadford/Kilbane Clooney Flagmount Kilrush Newmarket on Fergus Tuamgraney

Burrane Cooraclare Kilbaha Kilshanny Querrin Tubber

Cahermurphy Corofin Kilfenora Knockanean Quin Tulla

Carrigaholt Cratloe Kilkee Labasheeda Raheen Wood Steiner

Carron Crusheen Kilkishen Lahinch Rockmount

Donal O hAinifein who presented the awards at “Scriobh Leabhar” and Liam Clohessy with pupils at

presentation.