January 2026 ETBI Annual Principals and Deputy Principals Conference in Galway. We are delighted to share a photo of Ms Orlagh Ní Fhaoláin, Príomhoide, Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach, who presented on the impact of Lasair and instructional leadership has in her school
Cohort 16
Congratulations to participants who graduated IL Cohort 16 on Wednesday 11th March 2026 in Carlow.
Cohort 17
A warm welcome to participants of Cohort 17 as they commence their ILP Journey. Session 1 was held in April 2026
Eleven KCETB schools will participate in IL Cohort 17. A Community of Practice will be established to support their learning over a two-year period, and research will be conducted to evaluate its impact.
Congratulations to our graduates of Cohort 2 of Lasair: Supporting Principals & Deputy Principals as Instructional Leaders
IL in collaboration with NCSE the ILP team developed a three-module programme to support primary and post-primary schools in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Three Module programme is designed to provide an understanding and strategies to initiate, implement and sustain UDL in schools.
Each Module is practical, and experiential informed by researched based theories of change including the work of Fullan, Rogers and Hall & Hord. The programme is targeted specifically to individual school contexts to support the embedding of a whole-school approach to UDL using an inclusive, supportive and practical approach.
Module 1: Initiating UDL – Change Process
Module 2: Implementing UDL – Change Process
Module 3: Sustaining UDL – Change Process
The programme commenced in October 2025 with a Cohort in Carlow and a Cohort in Athlone. The programme will conclude in 2026.
Evaluation of the Instructional Leadership Programme
We secured funding to conduct an external evaluation of the impact of ILP, to explore how participation in the Instructional Leadership Programme (ILP) has impacted on post-primary teachers’ individual and collective practice and student engagement and achievement.
This is an important research study, commissioned by ETBI and being undertaken independently by researchers at Dublin City University. The research is being led by Dr Barry Morrissey, and the findings will play an important role in shaping the future direction of the programme and in positioning the ILP within the wider literature on professional learning for teachers.
The external evaluation will commence in the first quarter of 2026 and will be published in the third quarter.
We look forward to launching the evaluation in September and to using the findings to inform the future development of the programme, with a view to further supporting the professional learning of post-primary teachers.