Second Level

News and advice on the second-level education system.

The role of school principal is no longer sustainable

We are expected to be chief executives, HR directors, compliance officers and facilities managers, all while leading learning, managing behaviour, supporting parents and safeguarding children

Second-generation immigrants more likely to aspire to go to university, study finds

Landmark study finds immigrant families feel strengths of education system include support and culture of care

Teachers face loss of 5% pay increase if Leaving Cert reforms blocked

Teacher unions to ballot members on whether to accept package or take industrial action in September

Disruptive students are being enabled to cause mayhem in classrooms

Teaching staff witness a merry-go-round of ineffective dead-ends posing as ‘consequences’.

Degrees without CAO points were meant to be a ‘game changer’. Why do so few students avail of them?

Simon Harris said tertiary degrees meant students would not have to worry about Leaving Cert points

My son wants to be a pilot. Is there any way of learning without breaking the bank?

It is very expensive, but joining the Air Corps can provide a route into civilian aviation

Synge Street CBS teachers may take industrial action over Gaelcholáiste plan

School patron says school is facing ‘serious sustainability challenges’ due to declining enrolment

‘It comes from fear’: Aoife Daly on parents’ battles to get autistic children into schools

Inspectors find ‘almost all’ schools in study had criteria which could limit enrolment of pupils with learning difficulties

Teachers are using a ‘viral’ AI tool to grade students’ Leaving Cert work. It’s convenient - but is it ethical?

A new AI model trained to mark Leaving Cert work is going ‘viral’. Many educators are embracing it, even as they express concern about the ethics of student use

Leaving Cert textbook author resigns from curriculum reform group amid ‘dumbing down’ concerns

University lecturer says original vision of construction studies subject is ‘all but abandoned’ in new draft

Teacher’s rape conviction ‘fundamentally incompatible’ with profession and its values, says Teaching Council panel

Patrick Joseph Bardon is serving a 10-year sentence in the Midlands Prison for the oral rape of one of his then students in the 1990s

Children protest outside Dáil over failure to provide Irish-medium secondary school

No progress made in transition of CBS Synge Street to a coeducational Irish-medium Gaelcholáiste, campaigners say

Middle-class students may benefit most from Leaving Cert reform, say principals

More resources needed to support teaching and learning changes, poll of school leaders finds

Abolition of pre-teen pupil selection will not solve North’s school-leaver problem, says leading academic

Republic’s education system should ‘not be too smug’ as it too streams students, Prof Anne Looney says

School secretaries to strike in September unless pensions issue resolved, union warns

Fórsa set to ballot members over industral action commencing at start of new school year

Job security boost for special needs assistants in schools under new scheme

New scheme will allow SNAs to be redeployed to other schools if no longer required

Ireland an ‘outlier’ in requiring religious certs to teach in most primary schools

Delegates at INTO annual congress highlight ‘mismatch’ between modern society and education system

Helen McEntee announces ‘largest national conversation on education in the State’s history’

National Convention planned to explore how nation can secure ‘best outcomes in world’ for students

No other OECD country spends a lower proportion of GDP on education than Ireland. Why?

In an uncertain world, we need to give our students the best chance of reaching their potential

More students to get higher Junior Cycle grades under reforms

Move follows criticism from students and teachers over ‘harsh’ scoring system

Sharp rise in assaults at schools pushing teachers to ‘breaking point’

Almost 60 per cent of educators experienced physical aggression, with rates highest in special schools

‘You don’t really live’: Long-distance commuting teachers priced out of Dublin

The housing crisis is resulting in acute teacher shortages, say teachers’ unions, whose annual conferences get under way this week. Is there any solution in sight?

Expansion of therapy services in special schools to start in autumn

Programme will coincide with the establishment of a national therapy service in education, Minister says

Mission accomplished: Irish teens win top prize in Nasa space design contest

Second-level students eclipse thousands of global competitors with space-settlement plans

High levels of burnout and poor mental health among teachers

DCU research comes as schools grapple with staff shortages

First look: Sample Leaving Cert exam papers for brand new subjects

Biggest reforms in half century will see a minimum of 40% awarded for coursework

School-leavers with disabilities have lots to offer – we must do more to support them

Leaving school means leaving a caring community and a familiar routine. It shouldn’t mean losing one’s ability to leave the house as well

Department of Education faces UN complaint over school guidance on use of physical restraint

Campaigners say new rules fail to protect vulnerable children

Leaving Cert Oral English exam a potentially great idea but piling assessments on stressed students and teachers is not

By 2029, 41 subjects will have been redeveloped. Most will have an additional component such as a project or investigation

Children are missing school at an alarming rate. What is going on?

The number of pupils chronically absent from school has doubled. Experts say making students feel they belong is key to tackling the problem

‘I’ve seen quite a few parents devoid of affection, all across that parent-teacher meeting table’

An effective meeting can be done in two minutes if you say what you need to say and brook no unnecessary diversions

Teacher training to include mandatory placements in special education

Move comes after threefold increase in prevalence of autism in the last 10 years

Gardaí investigate ‘upskirting’ suspect targeting girls in south Dublin school

The fee-paying secondary school has sent a notice to parents, informing them that a ‘security incident’ had taken place

Leaving Cert students to face oral exams in English under sweeping changes

Draft plan would see candidates quizzed on plays or books at end of fifth year

Many special needs students struggle to access career advice at second level, finds study

Research tracks experiences of vulnerable young people and level of support offered by schools

Grind schools create an injustice at the heart of Ireland’s education system

Unthinkable: How fair are the State exams if some students can buy an advantage in the form of specialised tuition?

My son is anxious about the Irish orals. How can we help him prepare?

Immersion in the language is key – as is understanding the structure of the assessment

Q&A: Why are teachers worried about AI and the Leaving Cert?

Teachers' union seeks legal indemnity to protect members who must authenticate students' work

‘They’re walking taller’: disabled adults learning tech skills from transition year students

An innovative transition year programme is empowering disabled adults and boosting students’ leadership skills

Grind school expansion in South Dublin sparks concern among school principals over loss of students

Dublin Academy of Education to admit transition year students at its expanded Blackrock campus

Home economics is losing students who are learning little to no practical cookery. Why?

It is a make-or-break moment for reform of a Leaving Cert subject which teaches pupils vital life skills

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