Who's Who introduces people who are making an important contribution to education in Ireland today

NAME: Aine Lynch

OCCUPATION: CEO, National Parents’ Council (p)
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Where are you from?
Herefordshire in England

What is your earliest childhood memory?
I don’t really know. I am always amazed when people can organise their childhood memories in date order. I have a jumble of childhood memories usually involving playing and making ‘dens’ but I am not sure which one came first.

How many siblings have you?
I have three brothers

Are you a close family?
Yes

Where did you go to school/college?
I went to Primary school in a small rural school in Malvern Wells and I went to Secondary School in Hereford.

Was there a teacher or lecturer who had a particular influence on you?
A lot of my teachers had different influences on me and who I am today. I was very lucky and in the main had very positive experiences with my teachers.

Describe the career path that has led you to your job as CEO of National Parents’ Council primary
When I first left school I trained in Nursing, first of all in general nursing and then I specialised in paediatric nursing. I left nursing to do a full-time degree in Behavioural Sciences. On completion of my degree I moved to Ireland and worked in the area of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for two years. I left this post to work with the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children where I stayed for nine years until taking up my position in the National Parents Council.

What are the main challenges of your current position?
As a representative organisation, the challenge is ensuring that we hear all parents. It is challenging geographically and demographically to make sure that all parents have an opportunity to make their views known. However, with the national structure of the NPC, the developments in technology, and the strong partnerships that NPC has with other organisations, we continually strive to be as accessible as possible to parents.

What are the most common problems presented by parents?
Apart from the general issues of representation, class size, underfunding, etc, the issue that affects most parents who contact the NPC helpline is that of bullying. Bullying is a significant factor in a lot of children’s experience of school to greater and lesser extents.

What does a typical workday involve for you?
What I like about this role is that there is no typical day. The issues for parents in education vary from curriculum to child protection and from supervision to school bags. This keeps my work very varied.

What do you enjoy most about your work?
The energy and commitment from parents in ensuring their children experience the best possible primary education.

What do you like least about your work?
The lack of resources is frustrating

What plans have you for the future of NPCp?
The NPC is in its second year of its strategic plan so a lot of new initiatives are now starting to take shape. NPC is currently working at new initiatives that will reach out to parents that are currently not able to avail of NPC services. For example, we are hoping to add additional elements to the NPC website that will provide information to foreign national parents whose primary language is not English.

Are you a workaholic?
No. I fully prescribe to the work-life-balance school of thought and feel that the life-balance aspect helps me to be more effective in my work.

What do you do to chill out?
The usual I suppose - music, cinema, travel etc.

Do you like living in Dublin?
I live a little outside the city and this suits me as I am originally from a very rural part of England and city centre living would be a little too frantic for me. But yes, I love the convenience of living in Dublin and the amazing restaurants and easy access to live entertainment.

Have you a pet hate?
Exaggeration.

Have you a role model?
A few, but none that are famous.

What in the world would you most like to change?
Increase the levels of tolerance and understanding.

Have you a message for parents?
You have to have your say and get involved in your child’s education, you have the right and your child will benefit from having you there.

Have you a message for teachers?
Parents have a right to be involved in their child’s education; if this involvement is integrated, children in your class will benefit.

Have you a message for policy makers?
The most cost efficient and most effective way of improving the primary education of children is to involve parents in a meaningful way in their child’s education.