Tipperary delegation represents National Principals Forum and outlines burdens on teaching Principals to Oireachtas Committee

The expectations and requirements facing Teaching Primary School Principals have become “intolerable” and have reached “unprecedented crisis levels”, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education has heard. Pointing to the 9 out of 10 (89%) of teaching principals whose health has been compromised by their roles, the National Principals Forum called for steps to be taken to alleviate their burden and make their positions manageable. 

The National Principals Forum was represented by at the Committee by Angela Dunne and Nóirín Ní Mhaoldhomhnaigh, both of whom are principals in Tipperary. 

Almost 3 out of every 5 primary school principals (57%) across the country are teaching principals. In that capacity, these principals are expected to undertake the administration and management of their national schools, alongside their teaching duties. 

According to the National Principals Forum, the increased level of administrative burden that has been placed on teaching principals in recent years has led to 84% of all teaching principals to consider leaving their jobs. They also outlined that the vast majority of teaching principals are working an additional 20 – 30 hours over their normal school week, placing them far beyond the 48 hour weekly working limit set out by the Organisation of Working Time Act and the European Working Time Directive. 

In their submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee, the National Principals Forum put forward a range of proposals aimed at making the roles of teaching principals manageable. These included seeking an allocation of one day per week release time for all teaching principals, a significant reduction in the rate and intensity of new circulars or initiatives being pushed forward by the Department and the implementation of pay parity for all principal teachers, as was previously agreed by the Government.  

Speaking at the Oireachtas Committee meeting, Spokesperson for the National Principals Forum, Angela Dunne said, “Unfortunately the conditions now facing teaching principals have become completely intolerable. We just want to do our jobs and we want to do them well. But you can’t burn the candle at both ends and expect the wick to last just as long.  Unfortunately that seems to be the expectation coming from the Department of Education in relation to the managing the workload of teaching principals.

“It is worth noting just how many principals are affected by this issue. The majority of primary school principals are teaching principals. So we are talking about hundreds and hundreds of educational leaders from across the whole country.  Communities all around Ireland turn to these individuals and trust them to run their schools and educate their children. 

“In years gone by these roles were what many educators used to build their careers towards. Now unfortunately anyone who becomes a teaching principal is almost certain have their health compromised or to consider leaving their job for a less stressful role. 

“Principals by their very nature want to do more. We all want to make our schools centres of true educational excellence. But the current conditions don’t allow us to do that. We have now reached unprecedented levels of burnout and stress in a never ending battle to keep on top of our workload. Something has to change.  That is why we hope the Committee and the Department will take our proposals on board and bring some relief to this situation soon. Too many schools and careers will flounder if they don’t,” Ms. Dunne concluded.

The National Principals Forum is a grassroots organisation with more than 500 members throughout Ireland.