Department of Education

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

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

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

Protest at Dáil gates for Synge Street Gaelcholáiste

Students call on Minister for Education Helen McEntee to provide a timeline for promised Gaelcholáiste

Number of public servants set to exceed 400,000 this year

Pay bill expected to rise to almost €33bn this year, with two-thirds going into health and education sectors

‘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

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

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

‘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

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

The debate: Are Irish language exemptions given out too freely?

Over 20,000 students who had exemptions from studying Irish at second level on the grounds of literacy difficulties were studying other languages

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?

Storm Éowyn Dublin update: Extensive damage in the capital as shops, transport and services begin to return

Status red warning has passed for capital with fire crews clearing fallen trees and some public transport services resuming

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

‘I have dyslexia. An exemption from Irish goes some way towards levelling the playing field’

Students and parents respond to Department of Education plan to limit issuing of exemptions in study of Irish language in schools

‘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

Tender for controversial €9m mobile phone pouches for secondary schools published

Successful applicants will supply their pouch for a one-year period with the option to extend by a further year

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

‘It’s kind of become our daughter’s cheat meal’: The view on new hot school meals programme

The scheme now covers nearly 2,200 schools, and 345,000 children, but some parents and teachers have concerns about nutritional standards

Future of many Protestant fee-charging schools ‘at risk’

Exclusion from State funding undermines guarantees to protect minority faith education, schools say

Exemptions from studying Irish: What is your view?

New Department of Education instructions on psychologists’ reports highlights issue of Irish exemptions

Schools told not to accept psychologists’ reports for Irish exemptions

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

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

CAO system should be changed to match Leaving Cert reforms, education experts say

Apprenticeships and new tertiary degrees could be combined into a single applications system, says Department of Education advisory board

Ireland weather: Tens of thousands without power and schools close as cold snap persists

Met Éireann warns of cold nights over the coming days with widespread frost and ice and temperatures as low as minus 8

Crises and controversy: our predictions on what’s next for education in 2025

Expect battles over Leaving Cert reform, artificial intelligence hysteria, skills shortages and a farewell to the Easi Singles cheese sandwich

Officials contact dozens of secondary schools over high numbers of students exempt from Irish

Principals say rise in students from abroad and pupils with additional needs are behind high numbers

Gender pay gap increased at three government departments during 2024

Department of Equality again the only department at which women received higher average hourly pay

Hundreds of teaching posts vacant at secondary schools across country, report finds

Unpublished Department of Education draft study finds a further 800 posts were occupied by teachers unqualified to teach subject

A crisis years in the making: Second-level pupils in classes without qualified teachers

Roots of the teacher-shortage problem and ‘out of field’ teaching go back decades

Breakfast clubs in Deis primary schools: ‘If it wasn’t here and you’d had no breakfast you’d be on the yard hungry’

Calls increasing for expansion of breakfast clubs to all Deis primary schools amid rising deprivation

Ireland’s priceless moon rock from Apollo landing was destroyed in a fire

US gifted second piece of moon rock after final moon mission, which is now in National Museum

Taxpayers are subsidising private schools by more than €140m a year

Sinn Féin and Labour want to end State funding for fee-charging schools but Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael support current system

Fees have jumped across many of Ireland’s private secondary schools. Why?

Annual fees have climbed by up to 19% with charges for day pupils now ranging between €4,000 and €14,000

School attendance among pupils drops significantly since Covid-19 pandemic

About 42% of primary pupils in disadvantaged areas are missing more than 20 days of school, an increase linked to the Covid-19 pandemic

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