Caroline Sheill spent 12 years in corporate finance before discovering her teaching vocation during maternity leave. After training in Montessori and Special Education she eventually became Deputy Principal in an ASD specific school before moving to St. Michael's House in Ballymun as Principal.Arriving at the end of COVID to lead 60+ masked staff she'd never met, Caroline made a crucial decision: spend September meeting every staff member individually before implementing any changes. This listening-first approach helped her understand existing expertise and build trust before transformation.Those conversations led to key innovations which prevented burnout, built whole-school capacity, and shifted the culture from reactive to proactive behaviour strategies, making both students and staff feel genuinely safe.Join us to hear practical strategies for leading change, preventing specialist burnout, and building effective transition programmes that prepare students with complex needs for adult life through real community partnerships with hairdressers, libraries, and cafés.THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT Meeting every staff member before changing anything Mixing classes and building whole school approach to needs Reactive to proactive behaviour strategies making students and staff feel safe at school How new classrooms impact on the physical environment matters as much as staff Community links transition programme to give students real life skillsGUEST DETAILSCaroline Sheill is the principal of St Michael's House Special National School in Ballymun, serving 64 students aged 5-18 with moderate to severe/profound intellectual disabilities (28 with autism diagnoses, many with complex medical needs requiring four nurses on staff). Her journey to education was unconventional—working 12 years in a multinational's accounts department then customer service before realizing during maternity leave with her second child that she wanted a career allowing more family time.MORE INFORMATIONIPPN is the officially-recognised, professional network for leaders of Irish primary schools. It is an independent, not-for-profit, voluntary association, with a local, regional and national presence.It provides practical resources, professional learning, and peer support to strengthen leadership capacity and sustainability. IPPN also advocates on behalf of school leaders, ensuring their perspectives influence education policy and practice. Learn more about IPPN and our work at ippn.ieOur podcast is produced by dustpod.ioQUOTES I decided for the month of September, I was going to meet every single member of staff individually before I changed anything. That was the start. - Caroline Sheill I wanted to talk to every single one of them and get an opinion from every one of them about the good and the bad in the school. That was the first time staff said they really felt acknowledged for the skill sets they had. - Caroline Sheill To get to the teaching and learning, we had to sit down and go: How can we make this safe so our children feel they don't have to be anxious coming to school? - Caroline Sheill I'm extremely proud of the community links we've formed over the last two to three years. Our 17 and 18 year olds can be quite forgotten in special schools—still under primary curriculum. Our young adults have started going out doing work placements - Caroline SheillKEYWORDS#specialSchoolLeadership #behaviourSupport #communityLinks #physicalEnvironment #transitionProgramme

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