In light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, many schools across the country will be supporting Ukrainian families and pupils as they arrive in Ireland. We have collated some useful resources for members below and further information in Ukrainian and Russian can be found on the DE Information for Schools here.
Webinar: Supporting schools welcoming Ukrainian children
In March 2022, the INTO hosted a webinar for members who will be welcoming Ukrainian children to their schools.
The webinar, which you can watch below, features a panel of speakers including Jessica Farnan, Manager, CDETB Youth and Education Service for Refugees and Migrants; Charlotte Byrne, Education Officer with the Irish Refugee Council and Aoife Merrins-Gallagher a primary school teacher and PhD scholar at DCU, Institute of Education who is passionate about supporting children with EAL, bilingualism and inclusive educational practice. This session also featured input from principals and teachers who have experience of welcoming Afghan children and Syrian refugees in recent times.
Information on the webinar and participants is available here.
Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT)
The main function of the REALT is to help families to find a school place. This work involves working with the families, school principals and communities to locate school places and organise school transport where required.
Below are the email and phone contact details for REALT in the ETBs and ETBI.
| County | ETB | Email address | Phone number |
| Cavan | CMETB | REALT@cmetb.ie | 087 603 6711 |
| Carlow | KCETB | REALT@kcetb.ie | 087 134 4558 |
| Clare | LCETB | REALT@lcetb.ie | 086 440 8220 |
| Cork | CorkETB | REALT@corketb.ie | 086-0326754 |
| Donegal | DonegalETB | REALT@donegaletb.ie | 087-9454105 |
| Dublin City | CDETB | REALT@cdetb.ie | 086 1736286 |
| Dublin and Dún Laoghaire | DDLETB | REALT@ddletb.ie | 085 801 2821 |
| Galway | GRETB | REALT@gretb.ie | 086 136 7245 |
| Kerry | KerryETB | REALT@kerryetb.ie | 086 010 8222 |
| Kildare | KWETB | REALT@kwetb.ie | 087 776 7895 |
| Kilkenny | KCETB | REALT@kcetb.ie | 087 134 4558 |
| Laois | LOETB | REALT@loetb.ie | 085 876 4777 |
| Leitrim | MSLETB | REALT@msletb.ie | 085-7482365 |
| Limerick | LCETB | REALT@lcetb.ie | 086 440 8220 |
| Longford | LWETB | REALT@lwetb.ie | 085 885 0753 |
| Louth | LMETB | REALT@lmetb.ie | 086 103 6571 |
| Mayo | MSLETB | REALT@msletb.ie | 085-7482365 |
| Meath | LMETB | REALT@lmetb.ie | 086 103 6571 |
| Monaghan | CMETB | REALT@cmetb.ie | 087 603 6711 |
| Offaly | LOETB | REALT@loetb.ie | 085 876 4777 |
| Roscommon | GRETB | REALT@gretb.ie | 086 136 7245 |
| Sligo | MSLETB | REALT@msletb.ie | 085-7482365 |
| Tipperary | TipperaryETB | REALT@tipperaryetb.ie | 086-0327800 |
| Waterford | WWETB | REALT@wwetb.ie | 086 804 0089 |
| Westmeath | LWETB | REALT@lwetb.ie | 085 885 0753 |
| Wexford | WWETB | REALT@wwetb.ie | 086 804 0089 |
| Wicklow | KWETB | REALT@kwetb.ie | 087 776 7895 |
| National | ETBI | REALT@etbi.ie | 045 901 142 |
Allocation of Teachers to Schools
Allocation of teachers to schools
Application for Language support for New Entrants for the 2022/23 school year
Leithdháiltí Múinteoirí do Scoileanna
Department of Education – Resources
Transport Application Form for Ukrainians in Accommodation Centres – Updated June 2023
Guidance on Completing Ukrainian School Transport Application Form
Ukrainian School Transport – Application Form
Information for people who have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine (Ukrainian language).
Information for people who arrived in Ireland from Ukraine (Russian language).
Information for people who have arrived in Ireland from Ukraine
Supporting the Wellbeing of Children from Ukraine in your School – Guidance for primary schools
Together towards inclusion: Toolkit for Diversity in the primary school.
EAL resources list from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment
Supporting Children and Young People in a time of War Advice for School Staff
Supporting Ukrainian students with special educational needs (SEN) – guidance for schools
Supporting young people and children from Ukraine
ECCE and primary school systems in Ireland – Infographic
Guidance for Irish medium schools
Guidance for Schools in Gaeltacht areas
Department of Education – Correspondence to Schools
Update on Ukrainian School Transport Application Form
Letter to School Principals 15 December 2022
Provision of education to children arriving from Ukraine
Letter to schools regarding capacity to accommodate Ukrainian children May 2022
Educational Supports from agencies’
National Council for Special Education (NCSE):
Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST)
National Educational Psychology Service (NEPS)
Bereavement Supports
Barnardos
Children’s Bereavement Services Overview (English)
Helpline/Лінія підтримки (Ukrainian)
Therapeutic Support/Психологічна допомога у випадку втрати (Ukrainian)
Young Children Grieve Too (0-6)/Маленькі діти теж сумують (Ukrainian)
Mind The Gap: Supporting Children’s Greif (6-18)/Підтримка дитячого горя (Ukrainian)
Tips for Parents (Ukrainian and Russian versions)
National Parents’ Council
The National Parents Council Primary (NPC) has launched a new Helpline for Ukrainian parents who have recently arrived in Ireland.
The Helpline will help parents with any questions they might have relating to their children’s education in Ireland, and we have a Helpline Officer who speaks Ukrainian and Russian.
The Helpline number is 01 8874473, or the helpline can be emailed at helpline@npc.ie and will be open from Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.
Learning resources
Libraries Ireland
Libraries Ireland offers an inclusive, dynamic, and culturally diverse space that fosters learning, exploration, and community engagement. Libraries Ireland has a large collection of Ukrainian and Russian language books, eBooks, and more. Visit your nearest library branch today.
Libraries Ireland provide the following services free of charge:
- Computer Access: Access to computers to browse the internet, work on personal projects, or stay connected with family and friends.
- Printing Facilities.
- Wi-Fi/Internet Access: Enjoy high-speed Wi-Fi throughout library branches on your own device or our computers.
Libraries Ireland offers a wide range of digital resources, including:
- eBooks and eAudioBooks: Provides a flexible reading or listening experience.
- Online Newspapers: Stay updated with local, national, and international news through access to newspapers worldwide.
- eMagazines: Explore a diverse collection of eMagazines, covering lifestyle, fashion, science, technology, etc.
- eLearning Courses: Acquire new skills with online learning courses, encompassing languages, arts, sciences, and professional development.
- Online Languages: Discover or improve a new language with interactive tools and resources tailored to different proficiency levels.
Language Resources
- Duolingo – provides a (brief) overview of Ukrainian and Russian, what people speak in Ukraine and why. Click here.
- Ukrainian phrases – The ‘Ukrainian Lessons’ website contains useful resources including a Ukrainian alphabet guide with videos and examples, a bank of phrases and a grammar section. Click here.
- Twinkl.ie website – The twinkl.ie website have a range of free resources available for dual language new starters. Click here.
- Languages Connect – The PPLI Primary Team have developed a suite of resources to support all teachers and in response to the current situation Languages Connect have created a range of language maps that will be useful for helping Ukrainian pupils access the language of the classroom. The downloadable resources are available in both Ukrainian and Russian. Click here.
- Omniglot website – Omniglot have compiled a list of useful phrases in Ukrainian. Click here.
- Little Owls website – Free printable dual-language flashcards. Click here.
- Intercultural Guidelines for Primary Schools – PPLI Primary Intercultural Guidelines are designed to help teachers respond to the challenges of the Primary Language Curriculum, include the home languages of EAL pupils in classroom activities and pupils’ intercultural learning. Click here.
- Linguistic Diversity Young Interpreters – The Young Interpreter Scheme was originally set up in response to an increase in the numbers of children attending primary schools with English as an additional language. Its primary aim is for bilingual and multilingual children to use their home language to help newcomer children access English, develop friendships, and successfully transition into a new school. The example below showcases the work of a mixed urban primary school where a rich variety of languages is spoken by multilingual children. Click here.
Ukrainian and Russian Books
- Reading A-Z.com website – A large collection of translated books at a variety of reading levels are available on the readinga-z.com website. Ukrainian translated levelled books are presented at the same levels as their English language counterparts. Click here.
- Children’s books in Ukrainian – Click here.
Other resources
- Children’s Books about Refugees & Immigration. Click here.
- Climbing the Rainbow – Russia and Ukraine story – a resource created to help children or adults feeling anxious about the news regarding Russia and Ukraine. Click here.
- Amnesty resource (using fiction to explore human rights) – The Journey by Francesca Sanna Flying Eye Books (Primary/lower secondary). This illustrated picture book introduces a powerful and moving perspective on migration for readers of all ages. Click here.
- Children’s Books Ireland – Children’s Books Ireland have compiled a ‘Together with Refugees’ reading list. This is a curated list of titles recommended by expert reviewers and includes a spread across age ranges and genres. Click here.
- Free To Be Me – The ‘Free to Be Me’ project celebrates diversity, representation, and inclusion in books for children and young people and to ensure equity and visibility in both school, public libraries and bookshops and in the home. Resource packs are available to accompany the ‘Free to Be Me’ reading guide. Click here.
- Yellow Flag – Resources that are useful for addressing inter-culturalism within the classroom. Click here.
- Schools of Sanctuary Ireland – Guidance and Resources for Parents, Carers and Teachers. Click here.
- Irish Refugee Council – Resources for schools. Click here.
- Barnardos – Talking to children about War. Click here.
- National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) – Resources on refugee trauma. Click here.
- BBC Children in Need – Resources for talking to children about Ukraine and Russia. Click here.
- CPSMA Podcast – Welcoming newly arriving children from Ukraine. Click here.
Continuous Professional Development for teachers
Rahoo
Rahoo provide this free CPD to support you in creating an inclusive classroom environment that helps to make all your students feel comfortable.
They have made this CPD course free of charge because they want as many teachers as possible to take it. The creation of this course was supported by Rahoo’s Pay It Forward Policy.
Mother Tongues – Supporting primary school children who are new to English
The course enables teachers to:
- Distinguish between different types of bilingual/multilingual children
- Identify typical phenomena in English language learning in childhood
- Identify suitable approaches to support EAL in the primary school setting
- Select appropriate techniques to improve children’s language and communication skills
- Support families of EAL by giving evidence-based advice
Click here to learn more.
Mother Tongues Learning Together Education Network
Learning Together Education Network is a community of practice created by Mother Tongues for teachers and practitioners in education settings. It is a space to meet other practitioners and experts in the sector, to learn about what is being done, and to identify what further support is needed and where the gaps are.
The aim of the Learning Together Network is to enable practitioners to learn and share successful practice for engaging with children and families from a migrant background to prevent educational disadvantage, potential misdiagnosis and social isolation in the long term.
A range of videos can be accessed here
Child Psychology Institute – Free online CPD course.
Click here to learn more.
