Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of PLÉ
2nd October 2009
Present Acting Chair: Edel Healy (Head of School, DKIT)
Jan Pettersen DIT Maire Mic Mathuna DIT Deirdre Breathnach UL Roisin McGlone IT Sligo Perry Share IT Sligo Pat McGarty IT Tralee Joan Kiely Marino Institute of Ed. Isolde Gavin DkIT Mary McSkeane DkIT Jacqui Quinn WIT
Apologies Noirìn Hayes DIT Philomena Donnelly St. Patrick’s College Rosemary McGill Letterkenny IT Jacqueline Fallon CICE Mark Taylor IT Sligo Elizabeth Dunphy St. Patrick’s College Anne MC Gough St. Patrick’s College Maura O’Connor St. Patrick’s College Orla Walsh IT Sligo John Kane IT Sligo
1. Chair welcomed the members to the inaugural AGM.
2. Joan informed the AGM that the constitution was formally adopted at the morning meeting.
3. A call was made for nominations for each of the posts. The following nominations were accepted:
Chairperson: Roisín McGlone (nominated by Perry, seconded by Jacqui) Deputy Chair: Jan Pettersen (nominated by Mary, seconded by Perry Secretary: Mary McSkeane (nominated by Roisin, seconded by Perry) Treasurer: Isolde Gavin (nominated by Jacqui, seconded by Mary) Public Relations Officer: Deirdre Breathnach (nominated by Mary, seconded by Roisìn)
4. The newly appointed committee were wished well in their two year term. 5. Discussion took place about the steps necessary to conduct the business of the association. The need for a bank account to be opened was discussed. It was agreed to open the account in the DKIT college branch of AIB. Isolde Gavin (treasurer) and Mary McSkeane (secretary) were nominated and accepted as authorised signatories.
6. Discussion took place regarding the date to send the bill for the membership fee. It was agreed to wait until January of 2010.
7. IT Sligo agreed to take responsibility for establishing a website. The outline of this website will be brought to the next meeting. The content of the website will be controlled by the Deirdre (the PRO), who will circulate proposed content to the executive committee for approval. The function of the website should be to include relevant research articles. Future possible developments of the website could include buying a domain name and having a password protected discussion board.
8. A competition is to be held among Early Childhood students to design a logo for the association. Details of this competition are to be confirmed by Roisin
9. The institutions who were likely to have membership of the association were listed as DkIT, Letterkenny IT, IT Sligo, Carlow IT, IT Tralee, WIT, UCC, DIT, Marino Institute, St. Patrick’s College, Mary Immaculate, CICE and CIT. It was agreed that the membership sub-committee would be elected at the next meeting.
10. Responses to the Workforce Document from various colleges were discussed. IT Sligo had worked with their 2nd year students to create their submission. Those who had submitted responses are to be invited to a follow up meeting in the Dept. of education on the 19th of October. The importance of attending this workshop was emphasised.
11. Issues related to flexible delivery (arising from the workforce document) were discussed. Mary Immaculate College and IT Sligo both reported difficulties in recruiting sufficient numbers of students for multiples cohorts of part-time courses to ensure feasibility. IASCE have explored this area for over 10 years. The resource demands are very great for any one college. The need for collaboration between colleges for joint delivery of courses was highlighted. Costing would be an essential element for this submission to the boards of directors.
12. Possible sources of funding for fees for such students was thought to be available through the county childcare committees (CCC). Each CCC has a budget of 10,000 per annum for training. Many staff in CCCs would like to earn a qualification specifically in Early Childhood.
13. An online summer course that was developed by Marino Institute for teachers of junior classes was discussed as a possible model for further exploration. 14. The need for flexibility in the placement requirements for students on part- time courses was also discussed. Approaches taken by WIT and IT Sligo were discussed. Flexibility received a very positive response from students, and also increased interest from potential students in the local areas.
15. Practices in RPL in different college were also explored. Discussion took place regarding the need for consistency between colleges in RPL practices. The tim-consuming nature of RPL was also highlighted. It was noted that IT Sligo have a full-time RPL staff member.
16. The benefits of offering some bridging / part-time modules for mature students were discussed. This allows students the prospect of exemptions if / when enrolling for a full-time course later.
17. It was identified that DKIT have a full-time member of staff who is supporting the delivery of on-line programmes across the college. The possibility of developing an on-line Early Childhood course is to be investigated.
18. IT Tralee recommended the exploration of a minor / special purpose award in Early Childhood.
19. DKIT reported on their experiences of other departments where part-time students sat in the same class with full-time students. This arrangement was not without some difficulty. It was noted that this would cause registration issues in some colleges.
20. The next meeting is to be held in Marino Institute in Drumcondra. Date to be confirmed following consultation with host college
21. The meeting was brought to a close by the chair and good wishes were extended towards the newly formed association.
22. Prof. Tom Collins Maynooth and Chairperson of the NCCA, guest speaker, presented a thought-provoking examination of Early Childhood experiences in Ireland, by comparison to educational reforms that have taken place for other age-groups of children.