Mr. Eddie Ward:

I thank the Chairman and the joint committee for the opportunity to attend today and to participate in the debate on leadership in schools. I am accompanied today by Mr. Alfie Barrett, who works in the teacher salaries section of the Department, as well as Ms Deirdre Matthews of the Department's inspectorate. At the outset, it is appropriate that I acknowledge the standard of leadership provided in schools since the foundation of the State. It is indeed true to state that the need for leadership is a priority for organisations, whether large or small and public or private and schools are no exception in this regard. It has been stated and is true that schools are complex organisations, comprising a community of participants with high expectations that may not always be well aligned with one another and where there often can be conflicting issues and demands. Our understanding of school leadership has evolved over recent years and that understanding has been enhanced considerably by the work of international organisations like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, that have scoped out the parameters. This has informed our thinking and certainly will continue to so do into the future. The quality of leadership is central to the setting of direction in a school and the achievement of good education outcomes for students. The primary purpose of school leadership, therefore, is to create and sustain an environment that is conducive to good learning and teaching. Effective school leadership is inclusive and distributed across a range of partners and personnel who have a shared understanding, ownership and commitment to transform and make change happen in a context that itself is changing.

In Ireland, school leadership has evolved from a model in which leadership was tightly held by a few, namely, the school owner, the principal and the Department, to the position today, where we have a more open, democratic model. As a society, Ireland has changed significantly over recent decades. The profile of student intake has changed, as have our expectations as a people. However, nowhere has this change in expectations manifested itself more than in people's expectations of public institutions and local schools. In response, new legislation, not all of which came from the education area, has been enacted that clarifies roles, responsibilities and the entitlements of citizens, much of which has an impact on the daily operation of a school. There has been a drive for curricular reform and change, as well as new programmes designed to improve education outcomes in a more holistic and inclusive way than heretofore. We are developing further the role of assessment in a learning context and from research, it is known that the management and mediation of change at school level is critical.

We know from research that the management and mediation of change at school level is critical. Leadership is key in this regard. The Education Act 1998 provides an enabling legal framework for the development of a distributed model of leadership in the schools. The Act envisages roles for the patron, trustees, board of management, the principal, teachers, parents, students and the Department.

The boards of management have a clear role in setting the direction of a school. The distributed model of leadership in place in the schools is comprised of a tier of management and middle management posts.

The Department has made significant investment in leadership development programmes, both directly through its support services but also through the work of the education partners, such as the IPPN and NAPD. The inspectorate, through its work, supports the development of high quality school leadership. The school self-evaluation framework, which every school has to implement, is a key strategy for school improvement at every level. The Teaching Council's work also will add to the capacity of teachers to teach and act as leaders within their school community.

In terms of evidence of how we are doing, we know from the chief inspector's 2013 report that the school leaders are performing well across a number of headings: teaching and learning; leadership; management; and school improvement. However, there is a significant number of schools, at both primary and post primary, where leadership and management require improvement. That is something that is of concern to the Department and will be guiding our policy development and planning in the future.

We are also aware of other concerns that are emerging in the system, some of which have already been identified in the international context. There is evidence of a lack of interest among teachers to apply for principal posts. There is also evidence that some of the school leaders are leaving their posts early. There is a negative perception of the role of principal which may have to do with the perceived lack of clarity of the role, the workload and the absence of support.

There is no doubt but that the expectations and demands being made of school leaders have increased. These matters are being considered by the Department and will be addressed as the availability of resources permit. We have already commenced discussions with the IPPN and NAPD, particularly in the area of ensuring that there is a continuum of professional support available to teachers, including preparation for the role of principal, induction and career-long support.

System reform has and will address some of the administrative workload issues with which school principals are dealing on a daily basis. We know that the best performing education systems place high value in quality school leadership. A number of factors distinguish these systems and we must take account of these as we plan for the future. These systems are clear that leadership is a shared responsibility for all teachers in a school, not merely the concern of a few. These systems pay particular attention to the selection and development of the correct staff for leadership roles and development must commence early in the teacher's career. These systems also have a clearly distributed model of leadership in place within schools where there is clarity of roles and responsibilities clearly set out for boards of management, principals and the middle management posts together with the provision of appropriate supports. These systems also place an emphasis on making school leadership attractive, which relates to role clarity, remuneration, training, supports, and career progression.

School leaders are leaders of teaching and learning first and foremost and managers second. Therefore, any policy framework must address those barriers that keep teachers away from making teaching and learning in their school their absolute priority.