The AGM and Conference of NABMSE took place in the Tullamore Court Hotel over the 19th and 20th November 2009.
Despite adverse weather conditions we had a great attendance and received very positive feedback from our members.
The Chairperson, Sr. Marie Carroll, opened the AGM and outlined the work that had taken place since the AGM in 2008 and the motions that were pursued during the year. Sr. Marie also reminded members of the guiding purpose of NABMSE over the next two years which emerged as the result of a review and planning day in early 2009. She gave details of the research project being carried out on behalf of NABMSE and urged schools to participate in the research.
The new General Secretary, Breda Corr was introduced to the membership and the former General Secretary was acknowledged for her work on behalf of the Association.
The work of NABMSE is directed by the motions proposed and carried at the AGM.
The 2009 motions called for the Minister of Education and Science:
- To reconsider the deferral of the full implementation of the EPSEN Act 2004
- To provide funding and substitute cover for Manual Handling and Health and Safety Training
- Take into consideration and provision of funding for additional costs generated in Special Schools
- To negotiate with the Health Service Executive (HSE) to financially assist special schools who serve students with complex medical and physical needs and as a result have mounting costs which in the past may have been met by patron bodies.
- Review the criteria in the SERC report in relation to the administrative status for principals of special schools catering for children with low incidence special needs
- Lifting of the moratorium on posts of responsibility
- To request that the Teaching Council ensure that practice teaching would be of adequate length and appropriately supervised to ensure that student teachers to gain skills in teaching children with special education needs
- To ensure that Special Schools are consulted well in advance of changes to bus routes
The election of the new Central Executive also took place with Sr. Marie Carroll as Chairperson for 2009/2010.
The theme of the 2009 Conference was Dignity in the School Community.
The conference was opened by Mr. John Moloney T.D. Minister for Equality, Disability and Mental Health.
The opening address by the Minister was followed by the Sue Corbett who addressed the issue of What does dignity really mean. The talk included the issues of the basis need for human dignity and a positive school climate which included the social/emotional environment, learning environment and the physical environment. She concluded by talking about the issue of interpersonal competence.
Eileen Flynn, General Secretary of CPSMA gave an informative talk on Codes of Behaviour. Eileen looked at the positive feedback given on behavior in schools in recent Whole School Evaluations. She also talked about auditing and reviewing codes of behavior, the requirement for having the code of behaviour in place by September 2010 and the NEWB Guidelines.
In the afternoon, Jacinta Kitt gave an inspiring talk on the Psychological School Environment – Workplace Bullying and Prevention. Jacinta gave information on creating and maintaining positive relationships at work, the managers role, stress and its effects in the workplace, the definition of bullying and the responses to bullying.
The presentations are available under the seminars section.
The AGM and Conference was a resounding success, if the evaluations are to be believed.
Sr. Marie Carroll Chairperson outlined the previous years work and the organisation’s aspirations for the future. Our work is directed by the motions proposed and carried at the AGM. The motions this year called for action on: the governments deferral of EPSEN Act (2004) due to budget constraints, SERC still being used to dictate Administrative Principal status in schools for pupils with severe/profound disabilities, the withdrawal by the Minister for Education and Science of supports for OT and Speech and Language therapies, the need for funding and substitution for the training of staff in Manual Handling and Health and Safety, a weighting system for children with special education needs in mainstream schools, clarity regarding the criterion for the sanction of SNAs and a call for SENOs to see a child in situ before they refuse to sanction a SNA.
All these issues will be followed up with the relevant parties and a solution sought. Some meetings have already been arranged and we will keep you informed.
It would appear from feedback that our efforts to have the Bus Escort grant paid to schools closer to the time they are needed was successful. We would appeal to schools to get their returns in to DES as early as possible to facilitate early payment.
Conference
Patricia Shanahan of CAPP gave a very informative presentation on the duties and responsibilities of Boards of Management regarding Child Protection and outlined for us the increased risk for children with special needs. This also increases the responsibility of the BOM to have watertight policies and procedures in place and to review them regularly. The Board also has a duty to ensure that staff have the appropriate in-service to equip them for this.
David Ruddy B.L. spoke about the pitfalls of appointment procedures and how to avoid them. He also spoke of the need for BOMs to take great care in developing their policy on Codes of Behaviour. As usual David gave us this information in plain language and in a very engaging way.
Jacinta Kitt gave a talk entitled “Workplace Bullying, Myths and Misconceptions. Building a Positive Work Environment in Schools”. Her presentation dealt with this delicate subject in a very sensitive way while advising Boards of their responsibility to promote a positive environment in their school. Jacinta reminded us that ignoring the problem doesn’t work and in fact can make the situation much worse.
All these presentations are on the website www.nabmse.org and are well worth a look.
Note
The Brochure for the 2009 AGM/Conference will be
dispatched to all schools by September.
AGM & Conference,