This Instagram account, run by ASD Class Teacher Angela O’Connor, offers resources for Primary school children and children with ASD and additional needs, including how to make visual timetables for home.

Is féidir cuardach a dhéanamh ar líne do na háiseanna atá ar fáil do theagasc na Gaeilge nó don teagasc trí Ghaeilge.

AsIAm, Ireland's national Autism charity, have advice, guidance and a vast array of resources available on their website. AsIAm also organise a selection of online events, such as their "Lunch and Learn" events. Previous free webinars can be viewed on their YouTube channel.

In October 2021, the Kilkenny County Council Library Service will launch a new range of Autism friendly services at Kilkenny Library Service. These include a new toy and sensory resource collection (which includes a wide range of toys and sensory resources which help the development of gross motor skills, fine motor skills and play and life skills), a specialised Autism friendly book collection, a social story for your local Library so that you can prepare students for a visit to the Library, and a sensory box, which is now available at your local Library to help students to enjoy a better sensory experience during their visit.

Barnardos have various supports for parents/guardians available on their website.

The Biodiversity in Schools team have a number of nature activities that are simple, free, require minimal resources and encourage students to get outside. There are nature activites for birds, bugs, trees and wildflowers, to name a few!

Based on some of the best contemporary children’s authors and illustrators, Bookville in a Book is sure to inspire children, teachers and parents/guardians. Packed with fun and exciting interactive activities to suit children from 5 - 12 years, this will be an activity book to treasure, and you can enjoy it at any time! There are also Shadow Puppet and Bookmark Making video workshops available. Bookville is brought to you by the Kilkenny County Council Library Service and the Kilkenny County Council Arts Office, supported by the Creative Ireland Programme.

If you are looking for creative projects to keep children occupied at home, Butler Gallery have released some creative activity inspiration as part of their Home Studio series, along with colouring pages based on works from their Collection and colouring pages of original artwork from the Cartoon Saloon WolfWalkers (2020) film. 

Camara Education Ireland, in partnership with Google for Education, host a range of G Suite for Education online support sessions on various topics, from an Introduction to Google Classroom to Google Sites.

The Castlecomer Discovery Park Education Officer has devised a number of educational worksheets and activities, such as Rock Balancing and the Mindful Nature Journal, which can be done at home. 

A number of useful presentations for teachers, SNAs and parents/guardians have been developed by the HSE Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), in partnership with Kilkenny Education Centre. These presentations have been developed to assist, inform and guide adults who are in contact with children who are transitioning from Primary to Post Primary school, but they will also be useful for teachers, SNAs and parents/guardians of all children and young people who are returning to school following closures.

Cisco WeBex can be used for video conferencing, online meetings, webinars and screen shares.

ClassDojo is a communication app for teachers, parents/guardians, and students. The app connects teachers with parents/guardians and students, sharing what's being learned in the classroom through photos, videos and messages. The PDST Digital Technologies Team have a page of content dedicated to ClassDojo.

Cocoon run online Remote Educator/Blended Learning bootcamps for Primary and Post Primary teachers; for example, there has been a Google for Education bootcamp and an Office 365 bootcamp, on which they partnered with Explain Everything and WeVideo. 

Get Ireland Making is an initiative led by the Design and Crafts Council Ireland, supported by Creative Ireland and Healthy Ireland. It aims to share the skills of DCCI craftspeople and designers, a lot of whom work on the CRAFTed: Learning Skills for Life Programme for Primary schools, with communities across Ireland. There were weekly updates about live workshops and video tutorials, all with an emphasis on making with materials at home or that are easily accessible. Many of these video tutorials, along with podcasts, are available to watch on the DCCI website. The DCCI ambition was to engage the public and the design and craft community in activities designed to support wellbeing and build resilience. In partnership with the Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI), DCCI hosted a series of podcasts entitled 'Design Your Life' in early Summer 2021. This podcast series featured recent design graduates speaking about their education, career path and current role.

Enable Ireland has launched a free Assistive Technology in Primary Education e-Learning course for Primary teachers and SNAs, along with parents/guardians. This free, self-directed online course takes approximately 1.25 hours to complete and gives a broad overview of the areas where technology can enhance a student’s learning and performance. 

The English Language Support Teachers' Association of Ireland (ELSTA) have opened their 'Members Only' resources to all teachers.

In March 2021, in partnership with Co. Wexford Education Centre, Kildare Education Centre, Limerick Education Centre and Monaghan Education Centre, Kilkenny Education Centre organised the 'Enhancing Teaching and Learning Post-Pandemic' Conference online. 

Wellbeing for school staff forms a significant part of the Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice 2018-2023. In November 2020, Education Support Centres Ireland (ESCI) launched the Ignite Your Light - Minding Ourselves as we Light the Way for Others series of events. School staff can view the various webinars in the series, along with previous Midday Moments, on the ESCI website. As part of this series, ESCI released a number of Ignite Your Light - Minding Ourselves as we Light the Way for Others podcasts, which can also be found on the ESCI website.

ESCI, in partnership with the Department of Education (DES), the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) and the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST), delivered a webinar entitled Maintaining Connectedness and the Wellbeing of School Leaders, for Post Primary School Leaders, in November 2020.

In October 2020, two level-specific webinars were delivered by various support services for schools (DES, ESCI, JCT, NCSE, NEPS and PDST) to support both Primary and Post Primary schools with Very High Risk (VHR) learners.

Jigsaw, in collaboration with Education Support Centres Ireland (ESCI), has developed a number of interactive online training courses for teachers. This unique training, based on the latest research, was developed in collaboration with young people, teachers and schools. The courses are self-directed, and provide ongoing opportunities for reflection. There is also a series of ESCI/Jigsaw Connect for Teachers webinars, available to teachers who have signed up to the Mental Health eLearning Programme. These webinars were hosted by Jigsaw Clinicians and included ESCI tutors on the panels.

In February 2021, ESCI, in collaboration with Mason, Hayes and Curran LLP, delivered this webinar for Primary and Post Primary teachers.

The FÍS Film Project has various resources and ideas for both teachers and parents/guardians alike, such as learning film-making skills for making films at home, available on their website. In November 2020, FÍS announced their Storyboard Storytelling Competition, where Irish Primary schools were invited to enter a one-off COVID-19 special initiative. The FÍS Storyboard Storytelling Competition provided an opportunity for students to visually interpret a story, concept or topic, and use artistic media and different types of shots, to convey that story in an imaginative and creative way. To support the Competition, the FÍS Film Project developed a step-by-step tutorial which guides Primary school students through creating their very own storyboard - ideal for use in the classroom! 

For any teachers struggling to get to grips with Google Classroom, there are updated tips and tricks available on The Keyword, Google's official blog, on how to keep lessons going remotely, should the need arise. Google have also created a Teach from Anywhere hub, which contains a suite of information and tools to help teachers teaching remotely.

The Happiness and Wellbeing Skills website offers a number of wellbeing tasks and short guided meditations for Post Primary schools. Additional wellbeing skills are added regularly, such as the Daily Wellbeing Skills videos, which may be helpful.

Introducing the principles of workplace safety and health to Senior Cycle and Further Education students

The HSA Choose Safety Programme is a free education programme, available to Post Primary schools, PLC's, Colleges of Further Education and Youthreach centres, which introduces the principles of health and safety in the workplace. The programme is designed around six Units and each Unit contains enough material and teaching suggestions to cover five or more class periods. The school pack consists of a Teacher book and a Student book, which are available in hard copy, and to download from the HSA website. Teachers may dip into the text and engage in the topics and student activities that best suit the level of knowledge of their students.

Heritage in Schools have a vast array of resources for teachers, designed to inspire and develop an appreciation and curiosity about Ireland’s wonderful natural and cultural heritage, available on their website.

ieducate have developed a number of resources to help schools using Zoom; these resources include video tutorials, past webinars, such as the ieducate and ESCI 'Zoom for Education' Webinar Series, and Zoom guides for Principals and Teachers.

Kilkenny County Council Library Service have developed OWL, the Oral, Words and Language Programme, covering a range of topics to support parents/guardians and children to increase oral language and literacy skills. Online workshops will take place at 9p.m. every Tuesday evening from 30^th November 2021, and Storytelling workshops will take place at 9p.m. every Wednesday evening throughout December 2021.

The Kilkenny Wildlife Detective Programme, produced jointly by the Heritage Office of Kilkenny County Council and the Kilkenny County Childcare Committee, with support from the Kilkenny Heritage Forum and the Heritage Council, is comprised of a colourful Guide and accompanying poster, which outlines many activities and interesting facts about Kilkenny’s wildlife. The Programme encourages children to explore the biodiversity and habitats of Kilkenny. 

Libraries Ireland have various online services available. For example, you can join the library online and get eBooks, audiobooks, online magazines and newspapers for free straight away.

The Wish Leader programme is a three-fold initiative by Make-A-Wish that gives students the chance to learn about Make-A-Wish, shape their career direction through the series of Wish Leader videos and challenge new skills by holding a fundraising event. Make-a-Wish will provide a school talk, along with information about their wishes, 40 videos from inspirational Irish leaders talking about their career, along with a workbook for students to track how their fundraising is going and learnings from the campaign. The project is suitable for Transition Year students and all other age groups at Post Primary school level, and can be completed in a timeframe that suits you!

MIC have collated and published a selection of online educational resources and articles, many of which have been recommended by MIC staff, on their website.

Mathspeak is a free foreign language learning resource for Post Primary schools that is available in six European languages; Bulgarian, English, Greek, Italian, Polish and Romanian. The ten courses enable students to perform mathematics in a foreign language at the same level as they do in their native language.

Many schools are familiar with Microsoft Teams for remote learning but many teachers might not be aware of what it can do.

Microsoft Ireland have created a page on their website dedicated to remote learning support for school communities, which includes resources, training and 'how to' guides.

Middletown Centre for Autism offer a wide variety of courses and webinars, which feature members of their own multi-disciplinary team and international speakers, on a range of themes, such as Autism and Sensory Processing. They also have a page on their website containing plenty of resources and activities.

Empathy Education in the Post Primary Classroom Through Exchanging Stories

Narrative 4 Ireland is running online CPD courses in an evidence-based model that builds empathy skills in young people. The Story Exchange is an innovative educator-led model that can be used in any classroom, in person or online. It increases peer support and instils a sense of resilience and belonging by reducing feelings of isolation. Getting young people to share personal stories is a cathartic experience which breaks down barriers, builds trust and reinforces the idea that they are not alone. This programme fulfils six of the criteria of the new Junior Cycle; Managing Myself, Staying Well, Communicating, Being Creative, Working with Others, and Managing Information and Thinking. The training takes eight hours, spread across three weeks, and can be delivered in the classroom over four workshops which focus on topics such as deep listening, empathy verses sympathy and trust building exercises.

NCSE provide various online resources for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN), which have been developed by Occupational Therapists and Speech and Language Therapists. There are resources for both teachers and parents/guardians. NCSE also have a range of supports available for teachers that are teaching remotely and for parents/guardians of students with Special Educational Needs (SEN).

Department of Education NEPS psychologists have advice and a number of resources for children and young people to help them manage and stay well during the pandemic, along with guidance for parents/guardians supporting children and young people. There are a number of other useful NEPS resources and publications, such as the NEPS Maths Support Guide (2020), available for teachers.

With the National Gallery of Ireland at Home, the National Gallery of Ireland has invited schools and families to stay connected with them while at home. Teachers and students can access a range of content, such as virtual tours, podcasts, videos, activites and blogposts.

The National Parents Council have useful information, tips, fun activities and various online training opportunities available on their website for parents/guardians of Early Years and Primary school children.

Dee Hennessy, Mindful Facilitation, offers a range of courses and events, along with informative articles and video resources.

PDST offer professional learning opportunities to teachers and school leaders in a range of pedagogical, curricular and educational areas. They have a vast assortment of supports and resources available on their website.

PDST Technology in Education promotes and supports the integration of ICT in teaching and learning in Primary and Post Primary schools. They provide a range of online ICT-related supports to schools through their website and various video channels. On their website, teachers can access good practice videos, publications and useful articles written by the Team, such as their 10 Tips for Teaching Online article.

RTÉ Learn contains all the educational content produced by RTÉ; from Primary Home School Hub content to content for Junior Cycle and Senior Cycle.

Scoilnet supports Primary and Post Primary teachers in sharing and finding useful resources for the classroom. It also has a number of home usage supports which teachers and students alike can benefit from. These supports are free and do not require registration.

Visit the Scratch website to learn how to program interactive games, stories and animations.

Seesaw is an easy-to-use online learning platform that teachers can use to communicate with parents/guardians and assign work to students. Limerick Education Centre has partnered with EDNIP (Embracing Diversity, Nurturing Integration, Learning for Life Project) to support parents/guardians and children access the Seesaw learning platform through accessible video tutorials. The aim of these videos is to empower teachers, parents/guardians and children access learning within the home and improve engagement between the school and home. Also, the PDST Digital Technologies Team have a page of content dedicated to Seesaw.

The SEN Teacher website has free SEN teaching resources and learning materials to share and use in schools or at home.

If you and a group of teachers would like to collaborate to share a common professional interest or goal, please contact John, the Centre Director, via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The Computers in Education Society of Ireland (CESI) have a useful guide to setting up CoPs, which is designed to explain how to organise a Community of Practice to support teachers’ professional learning. Although it is drawn from experience in doing this for Computer Science, the guide will suit any theme or subject area. 

As a result of COVID-19 school closures, Sligo Education Centre developed their free Virtual Sports Day Resource (2020) with Primary teachers Éanna Casey and Adrian Ormsby. The Virtual Sports Day development team wanted to provide schools with a way of bringing the fun and excitement of Sports Day to the homes of children.

Step Up to Secondary School is a new school transition website available to use as a simple resource for Sixth Class students and their parents/guardians. Sixth Class teachers may find this website useful if they are covering the transition from Primary to Post Primary school with students in the final Term of the academic year. The website was developed in June 2020 as part of the Planet Youth project, largely in part as a result of COVID-19 curtailing school transition work that would typically happen before the Summer Break. In June 2021, a Stepping Up to Secondary School Webinar took place for any Sixth Class parent/guardian who wished to support their child/ren with the move from Primary to Post Primary school. The webinar included a panel discussion with an Adolescent Psychotherapist, a Youth Coach and a School Chaplain. You can view a recording of this webinar on the Planet Youth website.

SEAI have published Climate SOS, a book about climate change, written by Lucinda Jacob, illustrated by Alan Nolan and edited by Dr. Orla Kelly, DCU, St. Patrick’s College. This book is aligned with the Primary curriculum (children aged 8 - 11) and can be used to inspire children to take their own energy actions at home and/or in school. The book is available to download in English and as Gaeilge on the SEAI website. SEAI also have a number of teacher resources and classroom activites available on their website, such as those linked to the Climate SOS book.

TeacherCPD.ie is the learning platform for PDST Technology in Education online courses on digital technologies in teaching, learning and assessment. Online courses available on this platform include the level-specific How to Create and Use Instructional Videos (Primary) and Using Video to Enhance and Create Resources (Post Primary) and Assessment Feedback and Digital Technologies. There are plenty of courses to choose from. TeacherCPD.ie also have a number of video tutorials available for viewing on their Vimeo channel.

TG4, the Irish language free-to-air public service television channel, has two websites, Cúla4 na nÓg (for under 6s) and Cúla4 (for older children). Aside from television programmes, there are games and creativity sections for children.

The Ark @ Home is a way for children who are home from school to connect with The Ark through a series of at-home arts activities, virtual events and online screenings of live performances, to name a few.

The Teaching Council is a statutory body that promotes teaching as a profession at Primary and Post Primary levels, promotes the professional development of teachers and regulates standards in the profession. In response to requests for support in relation to online teaching and learning, The Teaching Council have produced an Online Teaching and Learning eZine highlighting some of the latest research.

Ciara Reilly (@PrimEdTeacher), Digital Education Assistant Lecturer in Marino Institute of Education, has compiled an incredibly useful Padlet of tools, apps and websites to support Primary students at home. Ciara also has a subject specific Padlet (Art, Music and Drama, Literacy, Maths, PE and SPHE and SESE).

Sarah Murray has created an excellent Padlet of resources on the transition from Pre-School to Primary school in Ireland.

Twinkl Ireland offer a variety of resources to support Primary school teachers. Resources range from those for Junior Infants to Sixth Class and cover a range of core topics. Twinkl Ireland also have dedicated Gaelscoileanna, STEM and Early Years sections on their website. During school closures, Twinkl Ireland created a variety of learning resource packs for children from Junior Infants to Sixth Class. These resource packs, created by teachers, contain fun, interactive, exciting and challenging work on English, Maths, Gaeilge, History, Geography, Science, Art and STEM activities.

UNESCO have compiled a list of educational applications, platforms and resources which aim to help teachers, schools, school administrators and parents/guardians facilitate student learning from home.

The Weaving Well-Being Programme has published a Return to School with Weaving Well-Being Primary Teacher Resource Pack with Outside the Box Learning Resources. This Resource Pack was created for Primary school teachers to help their students (8 - 12 years) process and express their emotions and experiences as they returned to school after school closures caused by COVID-19. The activities are based on the Weaving Well-Being Programme and are written by the Programme co-author, Fiona Forman.

Webwise offer free information, advice and education resources addressing a range of internet safety issues and concerns, including the latest online safety advice in relation to COVID-19. Information, advice and education resources are available for teachers, parents/guardians and students.

The Wired for Well-Being Programme has published a Return to School with Wired for Well-Being Secondary Teacher Resource Pack with Outside the Box Learning Resources. This practical Resource Pack was created for Post Primary school teachers to help their students process and express their emotions and experiences as they returned to school after school closures caused by COVID-19. It can be used in the first weeks back to school and is suitable for First and Second Year students. The activities are based on the Wired for Well-Being Programme, a new SPHE programme for Junior Cycle, and are written by the Programme co-author, Fiona Forman.

World Book Online is a learning environment that is free for students to use during their remote learning journey. The content spans all class levels, in both Primary and Post Primary schools, and is available 24/7 from any device through Scoilnet. Each resource is specifically designed for a given age group.

Zoom is a video conferencing platform. Zoom host free and interactive live training webinars daily, ranging from getting started with Zoom to specific webinars on Zoom Meetings and Webinars.