ACCS Annual Education Conference hosted at Kinsale Community School

The ACCS Annual Education Conference, “Managing a Sustainable Green and Digital Transition in Irish Education”, was held at Kinsale Community School on the 4th May. For the first time in the history of the ACCS, the Education Conference was held in a school setting. The Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools (ACCS) hosts three National Conferences over the course of the year; an In-School Management Conference, The Annual Convention and the Education Conference. 

The Annual ACCS Education Conference focused on the twin transitions, green and digital, which represent the challenges and opportunities for school leadership at the moment and into the future. The ACCS Education Conference 2022 is a festival of learning and a great opportunity to share best practice in a school setting. 

The agenda for the conference addressed the two most important and pertinent issues for education at the moment, namely the digital and green transitions. These transitions represent the megatrend issues which are of greatest concern for educators throughout Europe. The conference is very lucky to have attracted guest speakers such as Lord David Puttnam and the European Commission Educationalist Deirdre Hodson. The delegates to the conference will include principals and Board of Management members from the 96 Community and Comprehensive schools as well as delegates from across the European Community from the European Federation of Educational Employers (EFEE). Fergal McCarthy, principal of Kinsale Community School said that ‘this is an international festival of learning and he is delighted that KCS was host to this prestigious event. This conference is an opportunity to gather, learn, and share with one another while benefiting from the wisdom and expertise of highly regarded educationalists’. 

THE DIGITAL TRANSITION  
The digital module will took the delegates through the digital journey which teachers have all travelled during the period of emergency remote teaching and learning. It explored how to build on the digital competence which was achieved by both students and teachers. Michael Hallissy from H2Learning guided schools through the opportunities that schools now face and how they can maintain the momentum. Deirdre Hodson from the Education Department of the European Commission was centrally involved in the design of the Selfie for Teachers and Selfie for Schools tools. Deirdre took delegates through the benefits that accrue from the self-evaluative functions which these tools provide to staff and schools. The Selfies provide feedback to direct the digital strategies for schools and this session will provide the delegate with guidance in respect of school improvement in respect of your digital strategy. Both Kinsale Community School and Old Bawn Community School are Microsoft Showcase Schools and they showcased their practices with their students.  

THE GREEN TRANSITION 
Students across our schools are looking for decision makers and policy makers to focus their attention on issues such as climate change, sustainability, bio diversity, and good global citizenship. Schools are grappling with where to start to deal with these complex issues which are giving rise to conditions such as eco-anxiety and eco-depression amongst students. The green module was addressed by acclaimed film maker and educationalist, Lord David Puttnam who provided the delegates with his thoughts and guidance on these issues. Valerie Lewis illustrated her work on the Take One initiative which has been pioneered through the ETBI. This initiative traces the UN Sustainable Development Goals to the Junior Cycle Statements of Learning. Klaus Harvey is the Sustainability Chaplain at Kinsale Community School and Klaus addressed the delegates on his function within the school community and he illustrated the transformative impact that his role has generated. Both Beara Community School and Kinsale Community School shared their experiences and their ‘green’ initiatives with the delegates. Student voice featured again in this module.  

THE TWIN TRANSITIONS 
The afternoon session took the form of a panel discussion where the delegates had the interactive opportunity to share with, and learn from the panelists how to take the next steps on our green and digital journeys. The discussion will also comprehend how schools can use the digital transition to support the green transition. This session allowed the delegates to crystalise the learning from the day and reflect on how these transitions can be managed in their own school settings. Members of this panel discussion included Lord David Puttnam, Deirdre Hodson, Assistant Secretary at the Dept of Education Tomás O’Rourke and Dr Kevin Marshall from Microsoft.