Anseo.net - If I were the Minister for Education
Episodes
Interview 30: Amanda Jolliffe, Lead Microsoft Dream Space
06 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of 'If I were the Minister for Education', I delve into the integration of AI in the Irish Primary Education System joined by Amanda J...
What's the point of the Primary Ethos Survey?
22 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of ‘If I Were the Minister for Education,’ I explore the recent survey conducted by the Irish Department of Education concerning p...
Interview 29: Debbie O'Neill (LIVE)
01 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Debunking Myths in Special Education: A Live Discussion with Debbie O’Neill In the latest episode of ‘If I Were the Minister for Education,’ I w...
Guidance on Artificial Intelligence in Schools
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It was too obvious not to do it. Let AI summarise the Department of Education’s guidance. Sure, while I’m at it, I may as well use AI to create th...
Interview 27: Rozz Lewis
04 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I couldn’t think of a better guest than Rozz Lewis for this podcast interview about the new ERB subject in the curriculum, mainly because we talk ab...
SCABS: Are We Undermining the Strike Already?
31 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I explore the FORSA strike of school secretaries and caretakers, the glue of Irish schools. For over a century, their work has been u...
Interview 26: Patrick Jackson, Picker Pals
18 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Patrick Jackson is the CEO and Founder of Picker Pals World. The story goes that Patrick was walking his dog when he came across a seagull caught arou...
What we can learn from the UK when it comes to religion in schools
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I've been writing about religious control of schools for well over a decade now, and I found that people tend to throw the same arguments out to me...
The Catholic Church Has the Least to Lose if Sacraments Leave Schools
14 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We often hear the argument that the Church is determined to keep its grip on education. But if the sacraments were removed from the school day and shi...
Interview 26: Paula Korsnakova and Eliane Segers (IEA)
26 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As educators, I wonder do we think much about the research that is done about education. I spoke with Paula Korsnakova and Eliane Segers from the IEA ...
Interview 25: Roisin Brady from LanguageNut
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With the new MFL curriculum coming up, I thought I'd speak to someone who knows a thing or two about teaching languages. Róisín Brady from LanguageN...
The True Cost of Underfunding in Irish Primary Schools
31 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I explore the issue of underfunding in Irish primary schools, using the example of Sacred Heart Junior National School in Killinarden...
Who owns the solar panels in schools and why does nobody care?
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this week's show, I'll be talking about solar panels and schools, but maybe not from the angle you might be expecting. As many of you might know...
Interview 24: Rob Barnett
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rob Barnett is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Modern Classrooms Project, a really interesting project which, at its core, tries to use t...
A Love Letter to the new Minister for Education
03 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Despite my detective work, it looks like I was completely wrong about who the next Minister for Education was going to be and it's Helen McEntee who ...
Interview 23: Muireann Sadlier
20 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this podcast episode, I interview Muireann Sadlier, the Director of Cyber Smarties Ireland, discussing the importance of keeping children safe onli...
10 Reasons to Be Hopeful for Education in 2025
03 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I reflect on the challenges faced by the primary education system in 2024 and offer ten reasons for possible optimism in 2025. Topics ...
Review of the Year 2024 - July to December
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you have been listening to the first half of this episode where I covered the education stories from January to June, you'll notice that the fir...
Review of the Year 2024 - January to June
20 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If there's nothing else you can say about the Minister for Education, Norma Foley. When we look back at 2024, it's likely she will feature heavily....
Who will be the next Minister for Education?
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I count down who I believe are the top ten front-runners to being the next Minister for Education. What position with Norma Foley com...
My Election Manifesto
17 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Don't worry, I'm not running in the General Election! You already have enough of me. However, theoretically, if I got to write a Manifesto, there are ...
Access Undone: The Collapse of Special Education [Episode 6]
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this final episode of Access Undone, I try to outline the ways I would reverse the damage that has been caused in the last decade by the Department...
Access Undone: The Collapse of Special Education [Episode 5]
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When I appeared on Virgin Media television's "Ireland's Education Crisis," I thought my phone would be buzzing from radio stations eager to find out w...
Access Undone: The Collapse of Special Education [Episode 4]
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The AON Debacle and what it tells usIn this episode I cover the controversial Assessment of Need (AON) process which, to me, shows how the power of si...
Access Undone: The Collapse of Special Education [Episode 3]
14 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 3: Those with the greatest needsThe episode examines the troubling history of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and its polici...
Access Undone: The Collapse of Special Education [Episode 2]
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 2: Soft BarriersIn this episode I explore the role of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), a quango responsible for organising r...
Access Undone: The Collapse of Special Education [Episode 1]
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you were to walk into any primary school and compared it to the classroom you might have sat in only a generation ago, apart from a big screen inst...
Access Undone: The Collapse of Special Education [trailer]
29 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you were to walk into any primary school and compared it to the classroom you might have sat in only a generation ago, apart from a big screen inst...
What do most schools mean when they say Religious Education?
22 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You will not be surprised to hear that my first podcast of the 2024-2025 school year is about religion in schools. It's a topic I'm always coming back...
Special Episode on Special Education
24 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week, I focus on the significant challenges within special education. I cover recently published inspectorate findings, testimonies from school p...
Interview 22: Debbie O'Neill
24 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I don't know about you, but when I think about Special Education, in general, I think about 3 options - mainstream, special classes and special school...
Israel/Gaza
10 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I examine the complex topic of teaching children about war, specifically focusing on the Israel-Gaza conflict. Drawing from my person...
Interview 21: Paudie Moore - The Teacher's Coach
09 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last couple of years I've chatted to a number of people about wellbeing in the classroom but usually from a child's point of view. And I've t...
The Perennial Family without a School Place
27 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of 'If I Were the Minister for Education', I delve into the struggles faced by families in securing school placements for children wit...
It's (unfortunately) all about the money
13 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As Meja sang (I had to google her!), this episode is all about the money and it's all about the dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb decisions recently made by ...
Good GRACE!, Poland Bans Home, Warming to the Smartphone Ban
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we talk about the divestment of the first Catholic school to Educate Together, followed by the findings of the Grace report, indicating a ...
INTO Congress, Moral Panic and Gender, Book Grant Uncertainty
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I explore the landscape of primary education in Ireland, focusing on the outcomes of the INTO Congress, the ongoing conversations reg...
After Josepha, Physical Aggression Rising, Estonia is the new Finland.
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I reflect on the implications of Josepha Madigan's departure as the Minister for Special Education and whether the position will ever...
Education News: Mid-March 2024
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I wonder about the quantum of SET agendas and why the IPPN has decided to go against its members. I discuss why the media have reduce...
Education News: Late February 2024
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this podcast episode, I discuss the challenges in special education, specifically the issues with school allocations and the ineffectiveness of the...
Education News: 1st half of February 2024
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this latest episode of the podcast 'If I were the Minister for Education', I explore the recent happenings within the Irish primary education syste...
SET Allocations - Were Children Screwed Over by the Algorithm?
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of 'If I were the Minister for Education', I explore the current state of Irish primary education, particularly focusing on SET (Speci...
Education News: 1st half of January 2024
15 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to another kind of experimental version of the show because I have decided that I'm going to try and extend the podcast to YouTube - you can c...
The 50 Most Influential People in Education - Part 3
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Back in 2011, The Irish Times published a list, which they deemed to be the 50 most influential people in education. I've been profiling them now for...
Live Poetry Reading: The Children's School Lives Report 6
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I give a summary of the excellent Children's School Lives report (number 6!) which is focused on the curriculum and assessment. The d...
Episode 083: Scrap the Catholic Religious Certificate
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Join me as I tackle a question that I feel we should be asking more often: Is the Catholic Certificate in Religious Education discriminatory? Followin...
Episode 082: Solve the Teacher Shortage Crisis
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There is an unprecedented shortage of primary school teachers in Ireland, according to an Irish Times article after a joint survey from the INTO, IPPN...
Interview 20: Dan Carroll, Clever.com
06 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this special interview with the co-founder of Clever.com, Dab Carroll, I talk about all things Clever but also about the US education system. We al...
The 50 most influential people in education — where are they now? (Part 2/5)
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I discuss the people that made it in 11th to 20th position in the Irish Times 2011 article and find out where they are now.Show notes...
Interview 19: Sarah Webb and Conor Bredin
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah Webb and Conor Bredin join me to discuss the fantastic Discover Irish Children's Books initiative (https://discoveririshkidsbooks.ie/) Join us a...
The 50 most influential people in education — where are they now? (Part 1/5)
26 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Twelve years ago, the Irish Times published an article, out of the blue, which listed the top 50 most influential people in education. It was compiled...
Episode 081: What does inclusion really mean in a Catholic school?
12 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of my biggest bug bears is when a primary school calls itself inclusive. For one, in Ireland, it is impossible to be fully inclusive because schoo...
Smartphone Bans and Schools Solving Societal Issues
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why are primary school teachers like me going on the radio talking about banning smartphones? In this episode I wonder why it is schools, yet again, b...
The Children’s School Lives study - Report 5
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you were listening to the last episode of If I Were the Minister for Education, you’ll know that I was talking about Artificial Intelligence and ...
Episode 080: How Artificial Intelligence is Going to Transform Primary Education
24 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Technology and education have a strange relationship in Ireland. If a teacher said to a parent or another teacher or anyone at all that they really di...
Episode 079: Job Interviews - The Priest's Niece and the local GAA All-Star
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Coming up to interview season, I was approached by someone that has been working in the system for a number of years and hasn’t managed to get a per...
Interview 18: Mark Connaughton, KlaasKickz
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What better way to celebrate my beloved Sheffield United's return to the Premier League than talking about soccer and education! In this interview, I ...
Who Needs Technology Funding Anyway?
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Technology is central to most people’s work and lives and, for schools, it’s no different. Despite this, the Department of Education failed to pro...
Interview 17: Maxwell Roach - Lessons from Canada
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I'm always giving out about our education system so when I got the opportunity to speak about the Canadian system, I was only happy to give Ireland a ...
My Dream Job
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The best talks I ever saw live happened in the same conference. It was the IPPN conference in 2012. Imagine this as a lineup - Mary Robinson, who need...
Interview 16: Joe Dale
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When I think of podcasting, I think of two Joes: Joe Molloy, the retired Irish primary teacher who started podcasting before the word was invented in ...
Why Reconfiguration is Never going to Work
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s probably quite fitting that the 10-year anniversary of the Patronage and Pluralism Forum Report ended in the same way it started - with a huge ...
Interview 15: The SNA Voice with Magdalena Landziak
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The voice of SNAs is often missing from primary education. For example, SNAs are not allowed to be on boards of management of primary schools as staff...
Episode 078: We Need to Talk about Gender
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
According to reports in the media, in January 2023, the CPSMA wrote to the Minister for Children, Roderick O’Gorman to say they were against the tea...
Interview 14 (Part 2): Julian De Spáinn, Siobhain Grogan and Muireann Ní Mhóráin
08 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In part 2 of the interview, we start to tackle some difficult questions about the Irish language and why we aren't close to being a bilingual nation. ...
Interview 14: Julian De Spáinn, Siobhain Grogan and Muireann Ní Mhóráin
04 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For our Seachtain na Gaeilge special, I brought in some passionate Gaelgóirí to speak to me about the Irish language and the education system. I rea...
What do you do in those Educate Together schools?
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
According to ChatGPT, the key differences between ET schools and Catholic schools are related to their religious ethos, curriculum, inclusivity, and m...
Interview 13: Michelle Stowe
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Schools are complex places and teaching and learning can only take place when the classroom is in a place where this is able to happen. In the bad old...
23 Myths about Multidenominational Schools
22 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are so many rumours and myths about multidenominational schools, Educate Together ones in particular, it really was no surprise, to me, why many...
Interview 12: Una and Denise from Mind Moments
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Whatever our feelings on wellbeing in schools, it will become part of the new curriculum. I was lucky to be approached by Úna Ryan and Denise Enright...
To Dee from Raheny
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The last story of 2022 concerned the reduction of religious instruction from 2.5 hours per week to 2 hours per week in the upcoming new primary curric...
Episode 077: It's Beginning to Look a lot like a Controversial Issue
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With the number of people in Ireland identifying as Christian decreasing in the last decade, (CSO, 2016), with notable increases in the population of ...
Live Poetry Reading: Children's School Lives Report 4
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Don't be put off by the title: to me, the Children's School Lives reports are some of the most fascinating insights to primary education produced. Thi...
Live Poetry Reading: IPPN's Roadmap to Sustainability
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The long awaited IPPN report on their Roadmap to Sustainability was released at their annual conference in Killarney, Co. Kerry last week. I finally m...
Lessons from Finland - Part 2
24 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In part 2 of this exploration of the Finnish Education System, I discover just what it is that sets them apart from Ireland. This is a public episode....
Lessons from Finland - Part 1
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I fulfilled an educational ambition to visit Finland and learn about what's known as the "Finnish Miracle" - that is, how did Finland become the best ...
In "Defence" of Father Sheehy - Part 2
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In Part 1, we explored why Father Sheehy did nothing wrong when he preached from the altar and why what he did is no better than what isn't taught in ...
In "Defence" of Father Sheehy - Part 1
06 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Recently a sermon from a Catholic priest was live-streamed and recorded from a church in Listowel and it went viral. The sermon was from a priest call...
AON F-up Eile - Part 3
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the final part of this episode, we reach the end of the debacle where the partners agree to "pause" the process. I almost finish reading the INTO r...
AON F-up Eile - Part 2
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In Part 2 of this episode, we look at the latecomers to the opposition to the AON debacle and wonder why it took them so long. This is a public episo...
AON F-up Eile - Part 1
28 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is the story of one week in the education system, not an average week, but one which demonstrates the contempt that representative bodies have fo...
Live Poetry Reading: AON Information Note 20/10/22
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This rather innocent looking Information Note landed in principals' inboxes not more than a couple of hours ago. However, its sole job is to land more...
Why are Principals Resigning?
14 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week there was an article in the Irish Times featuring two people that recently stepped away from principalship. In this week's episode I look at...
Live Poetry Reading: Irish Exemptions
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The new Irish Exemption Circular was released to great fanfare back in 2019 with almost everyone annoyed at it for different reasons. Gaelgóirí were...
Reaction to Budget 2023
28 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Like most children with an Irish mammy, I heard the phrase “self-praise is no praise” enough times to know that one simply shouldn’t do it becau...
How will you vote in the latest pay deal?
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this special episode, I look at the two pieces of literature from the INTO and Glór about the latest pay deal that is supposed to deal with inflat...
The Story of Droichead: Part 7
14 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In our final part of the Story of Droichead, we reach 2017. With 91% of teachers voting to stop Droichead from entering our schools, you would think t...
The Story of Droichead: Part 6
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
2016 was an interesting year in primary education, and for me, it was the year where our education system changed fundamentally. The NCSE published th...
The Story of Droichead: Part 5
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
By 2015, it seemed like Droichead was going nowhere. The Teaching Council were doing their best to force schools to join their pilot, which almost nob...
The Story of Droichead: Part 4
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The story of Droichead is littered with twists and turns and all sorts of unexplainable changes that if it were a real bridge, it would have collapsed...
The Story of Droichead: Part 3
17 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
By 2013, The Teaching Council were in a sticky situation. The inspectorate had told them they would no longer be probating teachers but the Union were...
The Story of Droichead: Part 2
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the last episode of this series on Droichead, I’ve been slowly building the story of how Droichead entered our lives. Last time I began to go thr...
The Story of Droichead: Part 1
03 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you were to ask teachers what was the most divisive initiative to come into the primary education system in the last decade, Droichead would be hig...
Interview 11: Celine Govern - Early Childhood Education
28 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With all the talk about early childhood education in the media, I was interested in hearing about the sector and the differences between it and primar...
Five Tech Tips for 2022
21 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this summer episode, I go back to my roots in educational technology and offer you five tech tools that helped me in my job this school year. They ...
Thank you, Racists - 1 Year On
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On 9th July 2021, I was racially abused by people that claimed to be members of the National Party. I received a number of phone calls from the heads ...
Help! My NCSE has turned into a HSE!
06 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The NCSE was established in 2003 to "improve the delivery of education services to persons with special educational needs arising from disabilities wi...
Interview 10: Conor Bredin (Part 3)
30 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the final part of our chat, Conor and I discuss the INTO's support of the LGBT+ community. We talk about schools that raise the Pride Flag but do n...
Interview 10: Conor Bredin (Part 2)
22 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's not often you'll hear me speechless but in this part of my interview with Conor Bredin, he speaks about his experience of being a gay teacher in ...
Interview 10: Conor Bredin (Part 1)
16 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this 3-part episode, I interview Conor Bredin - teacher, podcaster and author. Conor will be well known to anyone who was at the 2022 INTO Congress...