r/IrishTeachers

Practically everybody voted to reject the agreement in our school. What about you guys?

Hi, I was wondering what people who have spent their life studying to be a teacher and want out now have done? I’ve been teacher for 10 years in many different contexts and I can’t deal with the exhaustion I feel coming home everyday. I love working with children, but I know myself I’m burnt out and need to leave. I don’t want the children I teach to have a teacher who hates being there, when they can have one that is great for them. They deserve better.
Thanks

Quite frustrated with my school atm. I am covering a person that has taken a career break, no idea if they plan to extend or not, or if they are stepping away altogether. The person isn't that far off retirement from what I know. Principal told me twice over the past 2 weeks she wanted to talk to me about what's happening next year. Unprompted, she is the one who said it to me.

Since then I haven't got any notification of a meeting. I've sent an email and tried to catch her in her office, to no avail.

There are a few others waiting for word on next year. One finally got a meeting with the principal a few days ago and it was a nothing meeting, just that roles would be posted and the teacher was encouraged to apply. Nothing specific about her subjects or anything, and no indication of when the roles would be posted. Such nonesense, I have been in two other schools and they gave you a real heads up on what to expect, bad or good.

Anyone else dealing with something like this? Or is this just uniquely poor management.

Would you wear a full suit or is that overkill?

Thanks.

Hi all,

I am in the final year of a Law degree, and having done my studies, I have figured out that I more than likely do not want to pursue a career in law.

Although there are any other paths I could take, I have always been very interested in teaching, and was my second option to law.

I know it is possible to take a PME in order to do primary school teaching, but is there a conversion path for someone interesting in going into second-level? Ideally, I'd like to teach Business and English, but my degree would not have directly covered Business besides for certain modules where there is a small overlap.

Is there anyway to get over this?

Many thanks!

I have been a casual/day-to-day sub in my current school since about February and I have not signed any contract. Do I need to attend croke park hours?

Hi all, sorry if this has been posted on here already but I just had a quick question regarding jobseeker's allowance during the Summer.

I'm a PME2 so as of now, I will not be paid over the summer months. I submitted my application for jobseeker's allowance two weeks ago in person at my local intreo centre. I'm aware that you can track applications/receive updates via the MyWelfare website, so I've been checking that as well.

However, I still haven't received any update. I don't even know if my application has been processed because nothing has changed on the MyWelfare page. I have tried to call intreo to get a clearer idea of what stage my application is at, but they seem to just leave you on hold indefinitely.

I was just wondering from anyone who was in a similar situation, how long did it take you to hear back on your application? Thanks!

I started teaching in my current school last September and I’m being reinterviewed this week for the following school year. For anyone in a similar situation, how do these interviews differ from your original one? Are the questions any different considering they already know a lot about you?

I've just finished my PME. Im not with any Union. Honestly, I know fuck all about unions. I know there's TUI and ASTI, and I did take out a student loan with the TUI CU. But I've no idea the purpose or benefits of a union or which one I should go for.

What concerns me is Im subbing in a school at the moment and heard them talking about an ASTI ballot vote thing. And they said that this was an ASTI school. Does that mean if I chose to join TUI I couldn't work in that school anymore? Do you join a union after you get a job in a school and just go with the union they tell you? Im very confused and don't want to ask teachers in the school for fear they will think I'm an idiot.

TIA

Primary teacher here looking at possible masters for the following September and wondering about people’s experiences doing it and if there are many career progression opportunities from it? I’ve heard of many who have done the leadership and management one but are still just teaching with it and wondering is it worth it if you’re not sure if you definitely want to be a principal?

Mary I have other ones including M.Ed with specialisms where you can build your own masters, a wellbeing one and one in digital leadership in education. Has anyone done any of these ones? Are there many other possible job opportunities from doing a masters other than principal roles? Since there is no pay increase from doing one, I’d love to hear if anyone has any experience doing a M.Ed, if they’ve gained new roles from it and if they feel it was worth it?!

Looking for opinions, experiences, critique - whatever ya have!

I will probably do my post primary placement here. Heard some mad shit about ET in general; but have skepticism.

Hey guys, I accepted a contract for the last 2 weeks of the year in a school I did one of my school placements in, in which I didn’t have a great experience (bad behaviour in students where they just don’t care about consequences, struggled a lot with classroom management). I accepted it as im nearly completed my PME and wanted experience on my CV when applying for other jobs. I have being killed with anxiety about 2 particular classes I have being given. They are wild, no concept of respect of any means in the classroom. I never taught them but I know of some of the kids in the room as I team taught some of them. The last 2 weeks until exams, forgot to mention the 2 classes are 3rd years, I am meant to be revising with them, exam papers. Just feel like I’ll be fighting the next 2 weeks with them. Any classroom management tips that are effective for these type of classrooms? I was thinking doing some kind of seating plan but for the 3 classes a week we are in different classrooms so unsure. It’s bad when the principal said to me when I went in last week ‘good luck’. Any help appreciated as I want to have some of my hair left after the 2 weeks!!!

A place for teachers to share and discuss what's going on in their day. Feel free to vent, ask a question or just share your thoughts.

Please keep all comments respectful, have a great day.

Hey, I am wondering has anyone done the post primary Hibernia, starting in the spring block and know when yere exact start date was ?

I am travelling in January and need to plan when to be back if I want to start in the spring block

Any information would be much appreciated

I’m a post-primary teacher in the west and I’ve accepted a new post for next year. Keeping details vague for obvious reasons.

I’m currently in a school where I’ve been for the first part of my teaching career. It’s a place where I’ve felt really settled and supported, and I’ve built good relationships with staff and students. Since people found out I’m leaving, a few have been very kind and said they’re sad to see me go, which has made me feel emotional and guilty.

The main reason I looked elsewhere was sustainability. My current commute has been very demanding over time, and the new post should make day-to-day life more manageable. On paper, the move makes sense.

The hard part is that I’m not leaving because I dislike my current school. I really value it, and it has shaped me a lot as a teacher. Now that leaving feels real, I’m second-guessing myself and wondering whether the sadness means I’ve made the wrong decision, or whether this is just a normal part of leaving somewhere that mattered.

For anyone who has left a school they genuinely liked: how did you know you were making the right decision? Did you feel guilty or unsettled after accepting a new job? How long did it take for the sadness to settle?

I’d appreciate advice from other teachers who have been through something similar.

Hi there. I'm an NQT and I was covering a maternity contract this year in my first ever school. The school was the nicest school I've ever been in and staff were so helpful. Made some great relationships with the students. What should I do for staff and students for the last week/last day? I was thinking taking in some sweets for the kids but unsure of what to do for staff as they were all so so kind and helpful!

Hey everyone,

With the SCRISM agreement being debated, again, I can't shake this feeling that we're watching history repeat itself, even if it's dressed up a bit differently this time.

We all remember the absolute disaster of the post-2011 two-tier pay scale, where established terms were protected at the direct expense of new entrants. While SCRISM isn’t a literal pay cut, to me, it feels exactly like a two-tier system of *workload alleviation*.

The big "win" being touted in this agreement is the creation of the new AP1 and AP2 posts for Senior Cycle Co-ordinators. Crucially, these come with the holy grail: timetable reduction. But let's be realistic—NQTs and younger teachers aren't getting those posts. You need years of whole-school experience and a massive STAR-method portfolio to even be competitive in those interviews. So, the most lucrative, supportive parts of this agreement are completely walled off from newer staff.

Meanwhile, who is actually standing at the chalkface delivering these new, untested Senior Cycle specs for the rest of their careers, NQTs. They are the ones who are going to be drowning in the new coursework, the shifting assessment structures, and the general ground-level friction of the rollout—and they have to do it all on a full 22-hour timetable.

I totally get that we need experienced people coordinating a massive national rollout. But it feels incredibly unjust that the tangible time supports flow almost exclusively upwards, while the youngest teachers in the staffroom are just expected to absorb the stress of frontline delivery as standard duty.

Are we really surprised there's a retention crisis when every major agreement seems to expect new grads to just put their heads down and wait a decade before they get any basic workload alleviation? I know in my own school there's a flood of teachers taking their pensions and running before their tranche hits, an option that won't be open to anyone on the latest pension.

Am I way off base here, or is anyone else feeling this way? Would love to hear what people think.

I’m hoping to do Hibernia in spring 2027. I’m wondering about subbing before then. Im in my 30s I have a mortgage and bills I really want to pursue this career I’m wondering what the pay is like for subbing pre PME degree. I’d love to get as much experience as I can.