Before I continue I need to make it very clear that I am a proud Englishman and do not have any personal political agenda, save the injustice being delivered to my daughter by An coimisiun rules.

The history of Ireland is littered with attempts by those in power to prevent the people from preserving their own culture and heritage. In addition persecution, and discrimination against those without any protection has been rife throughout the years. The ruling classes behaved in this fashion simply because they could.

The organisation Conradh na Gaeilge was formed just over 100 years ago as a non-political & non-sectarian organisation and was initially set up to preserve the Irish culture, including dance, in the face of its threatened extinction by the ruling classes of the day. An Coimisiun itself was born from this goal, to ensure that Irish dance would remain available for the future, and not be lost as the Gaelic language once was.

An Coimisiun has certainly achieved its aim, with over 250,000 dancers currently registered with schools worldwide. During its lifetime An Coimisiun has introduced professional teaching and adjudication qualifications, along with a set of rules designed to ensure that everyone behaves in an acceptable fashion. It is these rules that cause a great deal of debate amongst dancers and their families, and no doubt many teachers too. Occasionally this debate leads to rules being amended, make up & fake tan being a prime example.

Without doubt the concern expressed most loudly is that these rules are not available to dancers, and they only become aware of them when they inadvertently fall foul of a broken rule. When they do they are totally unprotected from the malicious implementation of the rule. The worst case of this is as follows:

3.1.10 Where a pupil is asked to leave a dancing school by the teacher, for whatever reason, that dancer will serve the 6 months restyling period with a new registered teacher, unless rule 3.1.6 applies (i.e. that the dancer is already out of dancing for one year)

This rule effectively gives a teacher carte blanche to destroy a dancers future, just because they can. A malicious teacher can deliberately invoke this rule to do maximum damage to a dancer that they dislike for any reason, and endorses the use of personal discrimination. A teacher can remove a dancer without just cause in the knowledge that the use of the phrase "for whatever reason" in the rule will protect them, and ensure the dancer cannot do anything about it, even if it is unfair. This seems to go against everything that Conradh na Gaeilge and An Coimisiun stand for.

Many of the members of An Coimisiun will be aware that my daughter has just fallen foul of this rule, as her teacher has removed her from his class without any provocation or prior warning. It was only then that I found that the cause of Natural Justice, which is mentioned several times in the rules of An Coimisiun, is not actually supported by those responsible for the administration of those rules. Simply because he has decided not to teach her, and not because she had behaved improperly, she has now been made subject to the "restyling period" which as we all know is simply a euphemism for a ban.

I agree that a Teacher who decides to no longer allow a dancer into class, simply because it is his own business and he can choose his customers, has every right to that decision. However, he does not then have a moral right to affect the next six months of their lives. The An Coimisiun rules should only apply if a dancer has broken an An Coimisiun rule. If they have done nothing wrong then there should be no penalty - that is Natural Justice

In addition I had no idea as to who I should approach to raise my grievance, as there is no access to a Grievance procedure that I am aware of, something seriously remiss in an organisation as large as An Coimisiun has become.

I understand, and to a large degree accept, that the rule exists for good reason. However, for such a rule to be fair there should be a proper procedure leading up to its implementation, as other organisations have. This is where An Coimisiun has failed both the Teacher and the dancer. There is no specified disciplinary procedure leading up to the penalisation of a dancer by administering a ban. For this rule to be fair there needs to be a Code in place that all registered schools must adhere to. If a school does not follow the procedure then a dancer should not be penalised, thereby protecting the dancer. On the other hand if they follow the code there would be no grounds for debate, thereby protecting the teacher.

I certainly agree that a dancer should have to know that a deliberate action on their part, for example moving schools, can have consequences. Knowing this to be the case a dancer will consider carefully whether they are ready to accept the ban or not, and act accordingly. In the same way behaviour that a teacher finds unacceptable should be formally discussed, and a reasonable warning given. If as a result of the formal discussion the situation improves then both teacher and dancer benefit. If on the other hand it doesn't then the dancer knows that they are exposing themselves to the next step in a disciplinary code, the ultimate end being exclusion and a ban.

I therefore invite representatives from An Coimisiun, the Regional councils, and the rank and file membership to publicly debate and subsequently implement, a proper Behaviour Management code befitting of an organisation that started with such noble ideals. In addition I propose that rules should be amended to be seen to be fairer, and that there be an official route to arbitration in the event that there is a problem with implementation.

In order to open up the discussion I am happy to post any email that are sent to this address, however I will not publish your email address, or identity, nor will I retain the information. I will also not publish any message specific to particular dancers or teachers as this could become libelous. email me at darren@irish-dancer.co.uk

To start the ball rolling below is my suggestion for such a code.

Darren Amos

Update 25/11/06 Apparently there is a code!

This information was taken from the 2006 Rulebook (don't ask!)
Items 3 & 4 on the list would seem to apply, so why don't we know what they say?

Other publications by An Coimisiún relevant to teachers/adjudicators.

1. Rules for registered Competitions(1993)

2. Rules for Regional Councils (October 1998)

3. Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (June 2003)

4. Child Protection Policy (July 2003)

5. Rules and Directives in relation to all competitions at Oireachtas Rince na hEireann and
   Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne - (annual publication).

All schools should publish the code and gain a signed Behaviour Code agreement from all dancers that they will abide by the code, and give a copy to the dancer for retention.

Dealing with negative behaviour

Teachers and volunteers should work according to the following principles:

• Discuss concerns with parents/guardians at the earliest possible opportunity in order to try and identify the causes of negative behaviour and discuss strategies for dealing with it
• Make every effort to challenge negative behaviour in a calm but assertive manner, and avoid shouting
• Not tolerate bullying, racism or other unacceptable behaviour and encourage dancers to speak out if they experience or witness it
• Encourage and facilitate mediation between dancers to try and resolve conflict, and encourage dancers to discuss their behaviour and help to develop strategies to avoid repeating incidents .
• Adhere to the Four Step system (see below)

Teachers should try to distinguish between 'disengaged', 'disruptive' and 'unacceptable' behaviour as defined below

• 'Disengaged' : may indicate that a dancer is bored, unsettled or unhappy. With sensitive interventions, Teachers will try to re-engage the dancer in the activities
• 'Disruptive' : describes a dancer whose behaviour prevents other dancers from enjoying or concentrating on their class. The Teacher will follow the guidelines outlined above and adhere to the Four Step system
• 'Unacceptable' : refers to non-negotiable actions and may include discriminatory remarks, violence, bullying or destruction. Teachers will be clear that consequences result from such behaviour, which may include, in the first instance, asking the dancer to sit out. This type of behaviour will always be discussed with parents/guardians at the earliest possible opportunity, and the Four Step system may be accelerated

Four step system

STEP 1 : Teachers should listen to the dancer first and hear the reasons for their behaviour. They should make every effort to ensure that dancers understand what is being said, why their behaviour was negative, and the consequences of their behaviour. Dancers should be given the opportunity to make amends before a Verbal Warning (Step 2) is given

STEP 2 : Official Verbal warning : Teachers should speak to the dancer, repeating why their behaviour does not follow the Behaviour Code Agreement, and asking them to stop. The dancer should be given a verbal warning that their behaviour must improve, or the following step will be taken. Teachers should record the incident in a log book and forward a copy of the entries to their Regional council monthly

STEP 3 : Official Written Warning : Teachers should contact the Regional Council to give the dancer a written warning explaining why their behaviour does not follow the Behaviour Code Agreement, with reference to the fact that a verbal warning has already been issued. A copy of this written warning should be sent to the dancer's parents/guardians, with a contract which must be signed by both dancer and parent/guardian promising to change their behaviour. The contract and the dancer's behaviour should be monitored by the Teacher over a set period of time, after which the warning expires if behaviour has been changed. Regional council to be informed that the disciplinary procedure has been closed.

STEP 4 : Final Offence : If the contract is broken, the Teacher would have the right to exclusion of the dancer from the school. The Regional Council to be informed immediately with a report as to why the action was deemed necessary. he dancers parent/guardian to be given a copy of the report, along with an explanation of the appeals procedure.

NB: If the dancer's behaviour is considered to be 'unacceptable', or the timing of the activity does not allow all of the above steps to be followed, the above steps may be accelerated

Exclusions

In the event of an extremely serious or dangerous incident a dancer may be excluded with immediate effect. In such circumstances, the dancer's parent/guardian will be contacted immediately and asked to collect them, even if the dancer normally leaves on their own. The dancer will not be allowed to leave the premises until a parent/guardian arrives to collect them.

After an immediate Exclusion the Regional Council must be informed immediately with a report as to why the action was deemed necessary. The dancers parent/guardian to be given a copy of the report, along with an explanation of the appeals procedure.

Exclusions should be seen as consistent, fair and proportionate to the behaviour concerned. Consideration should be given to the dancer's age and maturity. Any other relevant information about the dancer and their situation should also be considered.

Dancers will only be excluded as a last resort, when there is no alternative action that could be taken, or when it is felt that other dancers and/or Teachers, and volunteers are potentially at risk.

No exclusion (except in the case of an extremely serious or dangerous incident) may be imposed without prior discussion with the Regional Council. Teachers will contact the Regional council as early as possible if they believe that a dancer's behaviour is in danger of warranting exclusion.

Appeals procedure

A parent/guardian who believes that the disciplinary action was unfair must have the right to contact an Appeals secretary at their Regional council. Contact to be made in writing, or via email, and the secretary should respond with confirmation within 5 days. An appeal to be heard within 28 days and the result to be made known within 5 working days of the hearing.

In the event of sudden & immediate exclusion the dancer & parent/guardian should be invited to attend, in order that they may see that a genuine decision has been made. If the Appeal is successful the Regional council should not enforce the "restyling period"

Provided that all steps are seen to have been fairly followed there is likely to be no need for an appeals procedure.