Pupils’ mental health on principals’ radars

PRIMARY school principals are calling for a greater focus on pupils’ mental health. A new report, co-authored by the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) and industry leaders, has called for greater focus on pupils’ mental health by building confidence in the classroom through public speaking, acting and group work.

 

The report, Leading Change in Primary Education: An Industry-informed Perspective, sets out 20 top-level recommendations focused on whole-system improvements in Irish primary education.

Seán Cottrell, IPPN director, said the recommendation on mental health is particularly relevant given recent high-profile cases of cyber-bullying.

“By developing confidence in children early, we can improve self-esteem and self-worth, helping them to become less vulnerable to bullying, whether cyber or in the playground, and preparing them to become well-adjusted adults ready to succeed in work or social situations,” he said.

Joe Killeen is principal of Lough Cutra National School outside Gort. He believes developing children’s self-esteem is an invaluable weapon in combating bullying and encouraging good mental health in children.

“Public speaking and allowing children to develop their own views, I would see that as an area of great importance and it is something that has been prioritised in the new initiative in numeracy and literacy and can be introduced in primary schools through the oral language element of the curriculum. It is something we would like to see developed in schools and it is an area where we would like to see some investment from central Government and the upskilling of teachers in these areas would be greatly encouraged and appreciated.”

As a teaching principal, Mr Killeen holds weekly debates in which pupils get a chance to air their views on various subjects.

“We try to encourage children to communicate, to speak and to have their voices heard. Self-esteem development is vital in combating bullying,” he said.

Scariff National School principal Gerard Ruane believes PE has a role to play in this area too. “Regarding mental health, physical education has a crucial role to play in preparing children to become well-adjusted adults. Unfortunately, it receives just one hour per week in the department’s curriculum time allocation and most schools do not have halls. The long history of teachers providing extra-curricular sports and developing school teams is commendable and should be appreciated,” he stated.

The report recommended the removal of administrative tasks from principal teachers, allowing them to focus their role on managing the quality of teaching and learning. It also called for the provision of staffing flexibility to allow principals of smaller schools to induct new teachers and coach existing staff.

“Principals are swamped in paperwork and it is increasing each year. Our focus should be on the education and welfare of children, supporting teachers, meeting parents and developing our schools, not developing paper trails,” Mr Ruane outlined.

The report also recommends a multi-annual budget for ICT for primary schools and peer-based professional development for teachers.

“Parents and school boards of management have had to fundraise to put computers into schools. Schools now need annual grants to maintain and upgrade ICT, otherwise they will become graveyards for old computers. There is constant maintenance in ICT and technology gets out of date very quickly,” Mr Ruane concluded.

The report is now before the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn.