EU Education leaders visit Naas School

A group of Education Leaders from across Europe visited Pipers Hill Community College in Naas recently as part of a 3-day visit to Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) which explored effective school management in the context of the transition to green and digital priorities.

They were welcomed by the School Principal, Caroline Herity, and her teachers, Michelle Costigan, Kimberly Edwards, and Maria Ryan. These teachers and their classes demonstrated how students use digital technology to present on projects such as the impact of school buses and cars on the air quality in the school environment and strategies to gain Green Flags on energy use and recycling.

During the visit to ETBI, delegates discussed the evolution of teachers working time as EU countries deal with the challenges around green and digital transitions. This includes how schools will adopt strategies that reduce energy use and commuting

time as well as increased us of digital communications in assessment and student feedback.

A presenter from Belgium described his study of teacher time and how they work at planning, assessment, and feedback alongside their work in the classroom. His study showed that in a study of 7500 teachers, they work for 40 hours per week and up to 17 hours per week during school breaks to ensure that students have well prepared classes and are given proper feedback.

Teachers from Kingswood Community College in Dublin, from Microsoft Ireland and the Director of Schools from Cavan and Monaghan ETB also presented insights from Irish teachers on dealing with green and digital challenges.