Work-to-rule puts principals in ‘no-win’ situation

PRIMARY principals have been put in an unfair position by their union’s work-to-rule directives because they have legal obligations towards pupils, a conference heard yesterday.

Among the directives imposed on Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) members, including principals of the country’s 3,300 primary schools, is a ban on attending staff meetings or parent-teacher meetings outside class hours, which may mean schools having to take half-days to facilitate these activities.

But Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN) director Sean Cottrell told members at their annual conference that this unfairly leaves principals torn between their responsibility to deliver a service to which parents and children are entitled, and a directive that will reduce the quality of the service.