Leading for Impact with IPPN

School leaders are often overwhelmed, balancing complex demands while trying to foster real change in their school communities. 
This episode explores how strategic planning—often viewed with skepticism—can actually provide the focus, clarity, and "protected time" necessary to ensure leaders thrive. 
We dive into the concept of "mission creep" and why aligning your school’s vision, mission, and values is the ultimate key to sustainable leadership.
Joining us is Róisín Coughlan, Director of Purpose Strategy at Mantra Strategy. With over 26 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector and a deep background in social care and innovation, Róisín shares her unique insights on navigating the realities of school leadership. 
Discover how intentional, creative strategy can help you reclaim your focus and maximize your impact on the children you serve
THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT
Strategies for school leadership success
Combatting mission creep in education
Aligning vision, mission, and values
Sustainable leadership in primary schools
Focusing on core purpose impact
GUEST DETAILS
Róisín Coughlan is the Director of Purpose Strategy at Mantra Strategy. She brings over 26 years of leadership experience across the social care, mental health, and social inclusion sectors. 
Róisín is a specialist in strategic planning, design thinking, and creative innovation, helping organizations clarify their core identity to lead with greater confidence and strategic discipline
MORE INFORMATION
IPPN is the officially-recognised, professional network for leaders of Irish primary schools. It is an
independent, not-for-profit, voluntary association, with a local, regional and national presence.
It provides practical resources, professional learning, and peer support to strengthen leadership capacity and sustainability. IPPN also advocates on behalf of school leaders, ensuring their perspectives influence education policy and practice. 
Learn more about IPPN and our work at ippn.ie
Our podcast is produced by dustpod.io
QUOTES
It's just about positioning yourselves slightly differently in order to maximise that impact. - Róisín Coughlan
I don't have any hidden agenda, you know. I am there to enable organisations to get to an understanding of where it is that they want to go. - Róisín Coughlan
You want the teachers and the leaders to feel safe, valued, supported, and inspired. - Róisín Coughlan
KEYWORDS: #SchoolLeadership #StrategicPlanning #EducationPolicy #ImpactfulLeadership #PrimarySchools

Educational underachievement remains a complex challenge, often limiting young people's potential despite their talents. This issue extends beyond the classroom, requiring a long-term, community-focused approach to foster personal growth and academic success.
The discussion explores how a holistic, character-based philosophy, known as "The Citywise Way," provides consistent support and role models, creating clear pathways from primary school right through to third-level education. Key topics include integrating STEM programs like computer coding and robotics, the importance of long-term involvement, and the potential of community organizations to boost school leadership capacity and student opportunity.
Joining host Brian O'Doherty is Daire Hennessy, CEO of the charity Citywise Education. With a background in business economics and social policy, Daire is also a past participant of Citywise, offering a unique perspective on the power of community-based leadership to drive profound, positive change.
THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT
Tackling educational underachievement and community
Programs link with primary schools
Character education: The Citywise Way
Role model's pathway to CEO
Advocating for alternative education support
GUEST DETAILS
Daire is a past participant, volunteer and staff member of Citywise Education. He first got involved in Citywise programmes when he was eight years old. With the support of Citywise he went on to study Business, Economics and Social Studies at Trinity College Dublin and a master's degree in social policy. 
He is now the CEO of Citywise having previously worked with the Trinity Access Programmes, coordinating the national college awareness campaign and leading a large-scale mentoring programme across six higher education institutions. 
He actively contributes to education and youth policy as a member of the local authority’s Community Strategic Policy Committee and is a member of the Young Ireland Advisory Council for Ireland's youth policy.  
MORE INFORMATION
IPPN is the officially-recognised, professional network for leaders of Irish primary schools. It is an
independent, not-for-profit, voluntary association, with a local, regional and national presence.
It provides practical resources, professional learning, and peer support to strengthen leadership capacity and sustainability. IPPN also advocates on behalf of school leaders, ensuring their perspectives influence education policy and practice. 
Learn more about IPPN and our work at ippn.ie
Our podcast is produced by dustpod.io
QUOTES
So essentially, we're trying to get young people in the door at a very early age, so age of eight. - Daire Hennessy
A big part of that work is, I always say, cross pollination, or basically, the young person might come because they're interested in something, but you stay for the people - Daire Hennessy
KEYWORDS: #SchoolAchievement #PrimaryLeaders #CommunityPartners #CharacterBuilding #AlternativeSupports

The current structure of school leadership is often unreasonable and resource-constrained, leading to high levels of stress and burnout for those who commit to the role. This systemic pressure often distracts leaders from their core purpose of fostering teaching and learning, compromising their ability to thrive.
Host Brian O'Doherty speaks with Professor Patricia Mannix McNamara about how the sector must shift its focus from merely sustainable leadership to enabling leaders to truly flourish. They delve into the origins and decade-long impact of the Postgraduate Diploma in School Leadership (PDSL), balancing theory with practice, and the collaborative advantage of uniting primary and post-primary leaders. Crucially, they explore the systemic and personal changes required to protect the wellbeing of those at the helm.
Patricia Mannix McNamara is the Director of Human Rights and EDI at the University of Limerick and an established Professor. She is a leading voice in human-centered leadership, organizational culture, and human rights, committed to supporting school leaders.
THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT
Vision for PDSL: demystifying school leadership
Balancing theory to scaffold leader practice.
Collaborative advantage of cross-sectoral learning.
Moving beyond sustainable to flourishing leadership.
Systemic conditions for leader well-being.
GUEST DETAILS
Patricia Mannix McNamara is the Director of Human Rights and EDI at the University of Limerick, where she is also an established Professor. She advocates for human-centered leadership and has researched workplace culture for almost 30 years. Her main skills and contributions include leadership coaching, mentoring, and opening up the space for the humanity of leadership.
MORE INFORMATION
IPPN is the officially-recognised, professional network for leaders of Irish primary schools. It is an
independent, not-for-profit, voluntary association, with a local, regional and national presence.
It provides practical resources, professional learning, and peer support to strengthen leadership capacity and sustainability. IPPN also advocates on behalf of school leaders, ensuring their perspectives influence education policy and practice. 
Learn more about IPPN and our work at ippn.ie
Our podcast is produced by dustpod.io
QUOTES
The space for a school leader to thrive and grow is as important, as important as the space for a child in that school to thrive and grow. - Patricia Mannix McNamara

I believe that if you're going to be leading people, you should have some professional development in leadership. - Patricia Mannix McNamara
I think it's really important for creating a sense within those graduates of the need for kindness and care and human centred leadership. - Patricia Mannix McNamara
KEYWORDS: #FlourishingLeadership #SchoolCulture #PDSL #MiddleLeadership #EducationalLeadership

Caroline Sheill spent 12 years in corporate finance before discovering her teaching vocation during maternity leave. After training in Montessori and Special Education she eventually became Deputy Principal in an ASD specific school before moving to St. Michael's House in Ballymun as Principal.
Arriving at the end of COVID to lead 60+ masked staff she'd never met, Caroline made a crucial decision: spend September meeting every staff member individually before implementing any changes. This listening-first approach helped her understand existing expertise and build trust before transformation.
Those conversations led to key innovations which prevented burnout, built whole-school capacity, and shifted the culture from reactive to proactive behaviour strategies, making both students and staff feel genuinely safe.
Join us to hear practical strategies for leading change, preventing specialist burnout, and building effective transition programmes that prepare students with complex needs for adult life through real community partnerships with hairdressers, libraries, and cafés.
THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT
 Meeting every staff member before changing anything
 Mixing classes and building whole school approach to needs
 Reactive to proactive behaviour strategies making students and staff feel safe at school
 How new classrooms impact on the physical environment matters as much as staff
 Community links transition programme to give students real life skills

GUEST DETAILS
Caroline Sheill is the principal of St Michael's House Special National School in Ballymun, serving 64 students aged 5-18 with moderate to severe/profound intellectual disabilities (28 with autism diagnoses, many with complex medical needs requiring four nurses on staff). Her journey to education was unconventional—working 12 years in a multinational's accounts department then customer service before realizing during maternity leave with her second child that she wanted a career allowing more family time.
MORE INFORMATION
IPPN is the officially-recognised, professional network for leaders of Irish primary schools. It is an independent, not-for-profit, voluntary association, with a local, regional and national presence.
It provides practical resources, professional learning, and peer support to strengthen leadership capacity and sustainability. IPPN also advocates on behalf of school leaders, ensuring their perspectives influence education policy and practice.
Learn more about IPPN and our work at ippn.ie
Our podcast is produced by dustpod.io
QUOTES
 I decided for the month of September, I was going to meet every single member of staff individually before I changed anything. That was the start. - Caroline Sheill
 I wanted to talk to every single one of them and get an opinion from every one of them about the good and the bad in the school. That was the first time staff said they really felt acknowledged for the skill sets they had. - Caroline Sheill
 To get to the teaching and learning, we had to sit down and go: How can we make this safe so our children feel they don't have to be anxious coming to school? - Caroline Sheill
 I'm extremely proud of the community links we've formed over the last two to three years. Our 17 and 18 year olds can be quite forgotten in special schools—still under primary curriculum. Our young adults have started going out doing work placements - Caroline Sheill
KEYWORDS
#specialSchoolLeadership #behaviourSupport #communityLinks #physicalEnvironment #transitionProgramme

Gemma Maher failed her Leaving Cert once but found her way to teaching through Colraine and Glasgow University. Now she's principal of Rathcoole Educate Together National School, which opened in September 2020 without having any building keys until the night before.
Gemma champions genuine inclusion through relationships, every staff member knows every child's name, story, and family. The autism class is integral to school life, not isolated in a separate wing. As a parent of an autistic son thriving in mainstream education, she understands how crucial skilled SNAs are, calling them the "golden ticket" to inclusion.
Teachers will learn practical approaches to building inclusive school culture, supporting diverse needs through relationships rather than separation, and why Gemma advocates loudly that the teaching principal role for new schools is "unsustainable, unmanageable, and unfair".
THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT
 Relationships and how staff knowing kids, families and each other enables inclusion
 Opening a school during COVID without keys night before
How September 30 numbers penalise growth unfairly
SNAs are golden ticket to inclusion
 SIMS project is excellent but needs funding and training
GUEST DETAILS
Gemma Maher is the founding principal of Rathcoole Educate Together National School in West Dublin, which opened in September 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
After starting at Catherine McAuley dyslexia school, she spent 14 years at St. Catherine's working in specialist classes and becoming AP2 and Acting Deputy under principals April Cronan and Karen Jordan, where she participated in the SIMS (School Inclusion Model) project that influences her current practice. 
MORE INFORMATION
IPPN is the officially-recognised, professional network for leaders of Irish primary schools. It is an independent, not-for-profit, voluntary association, with a local, regional and national presence.
It provides practical resources, professional learning, and peer support to strengthen leadership capacity and sustainability. IPPN also advocates on behalf of school leaders, ensuring their perspectives influence education policy and practice. 
Learn more about IPPN and our work at ippn.ie
Our podcast is produced by dustpod.io
QUOTES
 It's a different role you're stepping into. Give yourself time to get the skills that you need to do the job. - Gemma Maher
 I don't think any school should be opened with a teaching principal. It is unsustainable, unmanageable and unfair. - Gemma Maher
 Every child gets greeted by the staff in the morning by name because we know everybody's name.  - Gemma Maher
 I think at the crux of everything we do is relationships. The heart of our school is that my staff know my kids, my staff know my families, my staff know each other.   - Gemma Maher
 SNAs are fundamental to inclusion. Having access to SNAs and applying for SNAs and training of SNAs, they are the golden ticket to inclusion.  - Gemma Maher

KEYWORDS
#inclusiveEducation #teachingPrincipal #developingSchools #educateTogether #SNAprofessionalisation