Classroom Central

‘The quiet child down the back might actually be an excellent leader’

A non-profit organisation is aiming to help young people become better listeners, improve their resilience and develop inner strength. But can pupils really learn to lead?

Secret Teacher: Too many school leaders bow to parent power. They bend the knee or rarely back their staff

I’m sure there are principals who have the conviction to do the right thing. I just haven’t met them yet

Schools in poorest areas to get extra support under ‘Deis-plus’ scheme

McEntee plans to tackle drop-off in school attendance with supports for at-risk pupils

My daughter wants to drop a foreign language in the Leaving Cert. Should she?

It is worrying that continental language take-up at Leaving Cert level is dropping

‘Why must we fight for our children’s basic rights?’ – Parents sleep out over lack of school places for pupils with special needs

McEntee says department doing ‘everything possible’ to help

All schools eligible for free solar panels to help tackle energy bills

Initiative aims to deliver average savings of up to €1,600 a year per school and reduce carbon footprint

Two issues on Helen McEntee’s desk will provide an early clue to her ambitions as Minister for Education

How she proposes to address them – and the extent of her resolve and ambition in managing her new portfolio – will become clear over the coming months

Concern over rise in alleged assaults of special needs pupils

Forty parents planning legal actions over alleged mistreatment, Department of Education records show

Secret Teacher: I was too soft when I started but soon you stop caring what students think of you

Competency is great and everything, but we’re not curing cancer: we’re trying to model decency and help young people develop into worthwhile adults

Synge Street CBS board of management says it will ‘not proceed’ with move to Gaelcholáiste

Board says the change to planned move in 2026 is due to staff concerns

‘I had first-years with a WhatsApp group mainly used for porn sharing’: Why parents are delaying access to smartphones for their kids

Mounting concern over role of social media algorithms in pushing inappropriate content to young people

School meals to be made available during summer in bid to tackle ‘holiday hunger’

Many pupils taking part in summer programme will have access to ‘nutritious’ lunches

‘We certainly didn’t cancel Christmas’: What happens when a Catholic school turns multidenominational?

Uniforms are on the way out and teaching staff are adjusting to a new ethical education curriculum

‘The pressure is relentless’: parents voice support for phone ban in schools

€9m smartphone pouches at second level sparked criticism from Opposition parties who labelled it wasteful and unnecessary

Stigma persists that disadvantaged students ‘low-achieving’ or ‘non-academic’

Many poorer schools saddled with sub-standard classroom facilities, research finds

My son did poorly in the mocks and is now very worried. How can I get him on the right track?

It’s much better to make mistakes now rather than in June. There’s plenty of time to use the experience positively over the coming months

‘We’ve lost 11 days of school ... attendance has collapsed’: Principals on the enduring effects of Storm Éowyn

While power has been restored to most schools, teachers feel children’s needs have not been prioritised

Primary teachers to be trained to teach foreign languages over several years

Pupils to learn French, German or other languages from third class onwards

McEntee to push ahead with €9m smartphone pouches as study casts doubt over their merits

Phone ban in schools not linked to pupils getting higher grades or better mental health, new research finds

Irish schools struggling without guidance on safe AI use in the classroom

Mandatory training for teachers under EU law may be a challenge due to limited budgets and time constraints

Irish-language exemptions: ‘It’s all firefighting and band-aids, instead of a sensible approach’

Critics say there is an urgent need to overhaul how we teach Irish following a century of failure

As a teacher it makes me so sad to hear young people say how much they dislike Irish

We need to ensure language lessons are active, engaging and fun instead of pure drudgery

What Ireland can learn from Finnish schools in tackling disinformation

The Nordic country is helping students learn about spotting false information. Is there space in the Irish curriculum to do the same?

Students were giddy at prospect of school being cancelled for Storm Éowyn - until the principal came on the intercom

Covid-era remote learning means schools are in a better position to cope with weather-related disruption

Paying travel costs may boost supply of substitute teachers to tackle classroom staff shortages, report finds

Insufficient cover across schools despite large number of substitutes, Department of Education study finds

Storm Éowyn: Schools, childcare and colleges to close on Friday due to red weather alert

Ireland weather: Automatic closure of education facilities triggered by Met Éireann status red warning

Most secondary teachers will struggle to authenticate students’ work under Leaving Cert reforms, survey finds

Exam integrity will be compromised by access to artificial intelligence tools, ASTI says

‘We’re not going back to a world before AI’: how technology is changing the classroom

Teachers are harnessing the power of artificial intelligence – and navigating its pitfalls – with the help of new courses

As a visually impaired Leaving Cert student, I feel ignored, frustrated and voiceless

Students with visual impairments should be able to access modified or enlarged mock State exam papers

More than 20,000 pupils with Irish exemptions studied European languages

Dyslexia group says there are genuine reasons why students with additional needs go on to study French or German

Call for ‘urgent’ review of new restraint guidelines in schools

Rules fall ‘far short’ short of what is needed to protect vulnerable pupils, special rapporteur on child protection says

Schools told not to accept psychologists’ reports for Irish exemptions

Some principals ‘under pressure’ from parents seeking permission for children to not study language

Leaving Cert 2.0: What to expect from the reformed senior cycle

Students starting fifth year in September will be the first to experience sweeping changes

Plan to introduce foreign languages at primary level could ‘divert time from Irish’

New curriculum for primary schools draws contrasting reactions from teachers, parents and other stakeholders

It’s time to get rid of the damaging Leaving Cert points race

Unrestricted access to third level education in Ireland would allow schools to educate holistically and give pupils a chance to flourish in the subjects they enjoy most

I worry that if my son doesn’t apply to the CAO he will limit his options

Parental expectations can – unintentionally – distract students and distort course choices

Gender identity not included in draft primary school curriculum

Body finalising shake-up to curriculum says topic not referenced in new syllabus despite ‘misinformation’

Tension between teachers and special-needs assistants flagged in official report

SNAs' ‘over-familiarith’ with students’ parents can result in sensitive information being shared, say school leaders

Our education system is in crisis after years of neglect. Now is the time for action

Reducing class sizes, addressing the teacher supply crisis and bolstering school leadership must be priorities for the next government

Schools to close in areas badly affected by snow and ice

Department of Education expects most schools to open as normal on Monday despite conditions

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