County Donegal Education Support Centre - Week 18 Newsletter (27/04/26 to 03/05/26)

Week 18 2026 - Weekly Event Newsletter

(27/04/26 to 03/05/26)

‍Dear Principal/Teacher,

Included below is a summary of all CPD events for the upcoming week beginning 27th April 2026 aswell as some other highlights in April 2026 and beyond.

You can also review all of these CPD events in either the Primary or Post Primary courses section of the centre website.

Here is a summary of some other great events/initiatives your school may be interested in: 

• NCSE Events - Details of any upcoming NCSE Teacher Professional Training can be found here. To register for any of this training please click here.
• Oide Events - Details of any upcoming Oide Teacher Professional Training and how to register can be found here.

• PeacePlus Aspire - Leading a Highly Effective Shared Education Partnership Workshop - Last Friday, 17th April, marked a new collaboration between the Donegal Education Support Centre and PeacePlus Aspire. It was a pleasure for the Education Centre to hold this event in our new Centre in Letterkenny. Over 50 participants gathered for this workshop and travelled from all over Donegal and as far as Sligo, Belfast and Dublin. Pictured left to right include Isabel Loughran & Aoife Kelly-Gibson (Leargas), Mark Barr & Peter Geoghegan (Facilitators), Kieran Mc Taggart (Director of Donegal Education Support Centre) and Marie Heraughty (Peaceplus Aspire). Link to further info here plus photo included below.

• 2026 Primary Summer Course Programme - Following the launch of this year's summer course programme on Monday 13th April 2026, there has already been fantastic interest in these courses, a number of which are either already fully subscribed or very close to being full. You can find details of all available summer courses here. We will also be launching the suite of online summer courses for this year on Tuesday 5th May 2026.

Latest Surveys

• The Next Generation Calls to Action Survey (Post Primary) - Exploring Adolescents' Climate Change Attitudes, Knowledge and Actions - funded by the EPA and run by Trinity College Dublin and Dublin City University, is looking for secondary schools to take part in a longitudinal study on adolescents’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours around climate change. This is an important piece of research, as it is the first study of its kind in Ireland. They are now approaching the end of data collection for their first round of questionnaires on 1 May, and are looking for schools to support the survey process with students. Schools are eligible to participate if they are based in the Republic of Ireland and have first year, transition year, and fifth year students. Taking part involves:

  • securing principal approval

  • announcing the study to students

  • helping with recruitment of first year, transition year, and fifth year students

  • sending students the survey

  • In return, schools will be offered an in-person workshop on topics such as managing mental health in adolescents and the causes of climate change. Participating students will also have the chance to enter a €20 draw after each time point.

  If you school is interested in taking part, please email nextgen@dcu.ie

• Teachers' Research Exchange (T-Rex) Network Survey - We’re excited to share a two‑phase research study exploring literacy leadership across schools and educational settings. This study is open to all teachers, in all roles and responsibilities, and from all school and educational contexts. You do not need to hold a formal leadership position to take part, every teacher’s experience and perspective is valued. Phase 1: National Online Questionnaire - Your insights are essential. Please take a few minutes to share your experiences and perspectives: https://buff.ly/oO7Xj4K Phase 2: Literacy Leadership World Café - Participants who complete Phase 1 can opt into take part in a collaborative World Café session, designed to: 1) Share experiences and insights, 2) Engage in meaningful professional conversation, 3) Connect with teachers across a range of roles and settings, 4) Contribute to national research on literacy leadership.

• Biodiversity in Schools - Spraying at School Survey - this is a 10-second survey by Biodiversity in Schools investigating the use of sprays such as herbicides at schools across Ireland. The survey is completely anonymous and no school names will be published. You can access the survey here.