While attention during the ASTI dispute was understandably centred on teachers and their students, the pressure imposed on school principals was largely ignored. In an thought-provoking address to the annual conference of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD), its president, Ms Mary Hanley, said second-level principals had felt "isolated, hurt and ignored". Principals, she said, had been left in "splendid isolation".
But it is not just during the ASTI dispute that principals are left to their own devices. There is a strong sense that the entire education system leans heavily on school principals. The school principal is expected to be an educator, a manager, a guidance counsellor, a motivator and a personnel manager. As Ms Hanley asked; "How many crisis moments do we manage on our own?".
The NAPD is emerging a powerful force in Irish education. The concerns it expresses about the increasing loss of teaching time for students will strike a chord with parents across the State. It would be good to hear what the Minister for Education, Dr Woods, is planning to do about the continued erosion of the school year. Delegates were critical of the Minister's failure to attend the conference although the Department said he has a prior engagement.
The conference also raised interesting questions about the level of representation for school principals. The NAPD is a professional association rather than a trade union and does not enjoy negotiating rights with the Department of Education. The vast majority of school principals are represented by the ASTI or the TUI. But can a union which represents tens of thousands of staff teachers also adequately represent school principals? The teaching unions insist that they fully reflect the views of principals at all times.
But the decision of the NAPD to make its own submission to the benchmarking body on pay - the ASTI has refused to participate in benchmarking - is a significant development. A parallel development is underway at primary level where the Irish Primary Principals' Network claims it is gaining ground, a claim disputed by the INTO. There is already speculation that the NAPD may over time become a fully-fledged trade union. Its director, Ms Mary McGlynn, says the organisation will consult widely with members on a way forward. The message to the teaching unions is clear; principals want better representation of their grievances.