Scoil Spreagtha

Scoil Spreagtha is a celebratory, accredited scheme that recognises and encourages the efforts of English-medium schools to promote and increase the use of Irish throughout the school environment.

Scoil Spreagtha aims to encourage and support schools to celebrate, showcase and expand their efforts to promote the use of our native language throughout the school community.

The scheme is based on three pillars:

• Seeing Irish
• Hearing Irish
• Using Irish

• Support schools in their efforts to incorporate Irish into their school environment
• Provide resources to enable schools to incorporate Irish into their school environment
• Encourage the use of Irish conversation as a natural part of school life
• Support the school in identifying phrases that can be used that are relevant to school routines
• Promote regular opportunities for the school community, both staff and students, to improve their vocabulary and use Irish

The vision of a Scoil Spreagtha school is based on the following principles:

• Looking at each school at its current level
• A non-prescriptive, flexible approach that respects individual school contexts
• Focusing on support and encouragement rather than inspection or evaluation
• Emphasizing regular, manageable actions that have a meaningful impact and enriching educational opportunities in small steps for students

Each of the four principles outlined above is guided by a genuine commitment to supporting schools, with consideration of teachers’ workload at the heart of our planning and support.

The new Scoil Spreagtha accreditation system is based on three simple pillars:

• Seeing Irish,
• Hearing Irish,
• Using Irish

– recognising how second language learning can thrive and grow in the everyday life of an English-medium school. Small actions taken regularly are often more effective than large actions taken occasionally.

Step 1:

Let your school community know that you are taking part in the scheme – a sample is available here – feel free to edit it however you wish.

Step 2:

Plan how you will implement the scheme this year – be realistic – less is more when done regularly! If this is Year 1, how can we start with simple steps that are done regularly? If this is Year 3, what phrases can we add to our school phrases?

Step 3:

Be aware of the criteria for accreditation and how to access the support resources. Share the ‘Resources’ with staff.

Step 4:

Share your journey in any way you can with your school community.

Step 5:

Enjoy! Don’t hesitate to ask any questions if you’re unsure about anything!

A significant collection of resources is provided to schools participating in the scheme to support teachers in achieving the goals of Scoil Spreagtha.

The scheme will operate through a three zone system where a zone will be designated for your school and a ‘School Liaison Officer’ will then be your designated contact to support you and your school and guide you through the programme. The designated officer will contact you to let you know which zone your school is in.

Zone A : Caitlin Mhic Naois

Zone B : Séamas Mac Eochaidh

Zone C : Éirinn Mhic Amhalaí