Job sharing is an option available to teachers who would like to work part time. There are a variety of reasons why someone would opt to job share. Each school may have different approaches to job sharing and each job share may be slightly different. Below you’ll find some tips from fellow teachers on what has worked well for them and some things to consider. Partner The main thing to do is to find a partner. This may be someone in your own school or someone in another school or maybe you’d prefer to job share in another school. To find a job sharing partner check out educationposts.ie and ..read more

There are a number of ways to get a permanent job as a teacher; open competition, through the supplementary panel, through C.I.D. and through the main panel. Main panel The main panel is for teachers who are permanent but their school loses a job. They are then placed on the main panel and are entitled to get a permanent job in their panel area. The main panel must be clear before the supplementary panel is opened. C.I.D. C.I.D. is a contract of indefinite duration. C.I.D. is awarded to teachers who have worked for 2 full years (consecutively) in their school and there is a viable fixe ..read more

I recently asked teachers who follow me on Instagram for ideas for school tours around Ireland. I’m putting their answers below, hopefully you’ll find a suitable tour for your class. I will just include links to the relevant websites rather than prices etc. as these can change each year. Junior and Senior Infants Airfield Estate (Dublin) Explorium (Dublin)  Imaginosity (Dublin) – not currently open due to Covid Newbridge Farm (Dublin) Ardmore Open Farm (Waterford) Leahy’s Open Farm (Cork) Rumleys Farm (Cork) Mollie Moo’s Pet Farm and Playground (Mullingar ..read more

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Irishprimaryteacher (@irishprimaryteacher) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Irishprimaryteacher (@irishprimaryteacher) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Irishprimaryteacher (@irishprimaryteacher) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Irishprimaryteacher (@irishprimaryteacher) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Irishprimaryteacher (@irishprimaryteacher) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Irishprimaryteacher (@irishprimaryteacher) View this post on Instagram A po ..read more

Styrofoam Food Nature Other objects Lego Blocks Fork Buttons Dice Spools Comb Coins Bottle caps Cotton buds Sponges Hot glue Tin foil Bubble wrap DIY stamps ..read more

Materials As much as possible I try to use recyclable materials for construction art lessons. I source these from Recreate or ask the children to bring things in from home. Recyclable materials Bottles Caps Cardboard boxes (cereal/shoeboxes etc.) Wrapping paper Scrap paper Containers (yoghurt pots/egg cartons) Other materials Tin foil Scissors Foam sheets Stickers Crepe paper Pipe cleaners Tape Techniques Diorama Animals Nature Paper Abstract Buildings Other Useful websites I Am An Artist Scoilnet Education.com  ..read more

Transitions really help to keep your classroom running smoothly – especially as a substitute teacher. Transitions are a perfect way for the children to have a quick break after a busy lesson, to calm the children down after a very active lesson, to motivate them or to give you 5 minutes to get the lesson organised especially when you get a last minute call in the morning and there’s no plan left as the class teacher is absent unexpectedly. Calming transitions Guided meditation There are tons of these on YouTube. Choose your favourites beforehand. Breathing exercises (triangle breathing or ..read more

Remember When you’re a substitute teacher, classroom management can be more difficult than it would be in your own class. There’s many reasons for this; You don’t know the class/class dynamics etc. The class might test the boundaries (especially with a teacher who is new to the school) The class teacher has different expectations/ a different way of doing things Hopefully the ideas and strategies below will help you with your classroom management when subbing. Expectations Be clear about your expectations at the beginning of the day. Explain who you are, what you’ll be covering during th ..read more

This is a new series of blogposts focussing on each strand of the Art curriculum. I know how hard it can be to find a good lesson so hopefully these ideas will save you some time when planning Art lessons. Landscapes Perspective Flowers Still life ..read more

Ciara McGuane is the Summer Course Director for Rahoo.ie. Her career highlights include being filmed by BBC London teaching in the classroom and guest-lecturing at the Institute of Education in London. She has worked as a teacher, school leader, teacher trainer and initial teacher training tutor prior to setting up Rahoo. One of her favourite memories of teaching is when her class (with the help of kind colleagues!) organised a surprise engagement party for her and sung Bruno Mars “Just the Ways You Are” to her! One of her most embarrassing moments is getting locked into the school building ..read more