Ag Eisteacht provides back to school transition support for teachers and school staff

Ag Eisteacht has developed a new virtual workshop via Zoom for schools to help ease the transition back to school after the upheaval caused by the Covid19 pandemic.

Starting with a free pilot workshop for 25 participants on Monday 24th August from 10am to 12 noon, the two-hour interactive workshop, ‘ABLE4Teachers Back to School Transition Workshop’ will provide staff with a framework to reflect on and think about their thoughts/feelings during the transition back to school as they work to re-establish connections and rebuild relationships. 

Dr Maeve Hurley, CEO of Ag Eisteacht, an Irish charity which trains practitioners to build quality relationships and advocates for relationships as a key social determinant of health and well-being, said: “While the physical aspects of returning to school are imperative for health and safety, the mental, social and emotional well-being of staff also has to be considered during this transition.

“A transition is the psychological process people go through to come to terms with a situation, make sense of it and come to live with it. The physical, emotional and psychological impact of Covid19 is on-going and something we are all working to make sense of. Our aim is to develop principals, teachers and SNAs’ understanding of change and the transition process and consider how it applies to them in the context of their work.

“By providing staff with this time to reflect together, we hope to normalise some of their experience, which can be a great relief to know that others share their feelings. We aim to build their understanding of transitions and their confidence in managing this transition back to school. We will also invite them to consider what supportive resources might help them through this challenging time and  support their well-being and, as a direct result, that of their pupils.

“As always, relationships in practice stand at the heart of our work. Anything we can do to support rebuilding relationships in school communities will have a positive impact on the health and well-being of all.”

The virtual workshops are facilitated by licensed Ag Eisteacht trainers who provide a small group (maximum 25 people on each workshop) peer-to-peer learning experience. The 2- hour virtual workshop is suitable for CPD hours and certificates of attendance will be provided.

The workshops can be delivered directly to school teams while Ag Eisteacht awaits confirmation if they are to be available via the national network of Education Centres.

For bookings and further information, please contact Donna Hennessy at Ag Eisteacht:  donna@ageisteacht.com

Tel: 021 4536556