Scoil Diarmada Parents Association

07/10/2026

📅 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁?

The situation around teacher industrial action has moved on again, with two planned strike dates now in the calendar.

For parents, here’s where things stand as of 6 October.

📌 Work-to-rule action is already under way

INTO members in primary and special schools and ASTI members in second-level schools began work-to-rule action on 5 October.

Normal teaching continues, but some additional duties outside contracted school hours have been withdrawn. In some schools this has already meant changes to early drop-off, late collection and meetings held outside school hours.

📅 MONDAY, 12 OCTOBER

TUI members are due to begin their own work-to-rule action.

This will affect some duties outside normal working hours, while teaching continues as normal.

🚨 WEDNESDAY, 14 OCTOBER

A 24-hour public-service strike is planned, with teacher unions participating.

Parents should prepare for significant disruption and should check directly with their own school about arrangements.

🚨 WEDNESDAY, 21 OCTOBER

A second strike day has now been confirmed under the current plans.

The INTO confirmed the date on 6 October, while TUI members are also due to participate in strike action on both 14 and 21 October.

There has also been a new development from Government.

💶 Budget 2027 has allocated €1.2 billion towards a new public-service pay agreement.

Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers has called for unions to re-enter negotiations and stand down the industrial action. At the moment, however, the planned strike dates remain in place.

✅ What parents can do now

📩 Keep checking emails, texts and school-app notifications
🕗 Check whether drop-off or collection times have changed
👨‍👩‍👧 Check whether parent-teacher meetings or other activities are affected
🧸 Consider alternative childcare arrangements for 14 and 21 October
🏫 Follow information from your own school, as arrangements may differ

The situation could still change if negotiations progress, so we’ll continue to keep parents updated as new information becomes available.

👇 Has the work-to-rule changed anything for your family so far?

And would school closures on 14 or 21 October create difficulties with work or childcare arrangements?

🔗 Latest RTÉ update:
https://www.rte.ie/news/2026/1005/1593974-teachers-industrial-action/

07/10/2026

07/10/2026

A wonderful museum on our doorstep 🩵

💙 ATHY LOCALS — THIS ONE IS FOR YOU! 💙

To celebrate their First Anniversary, Shackleton Experience is saying a huge THANK YOU to the people of Athy by offering FREE ADMISSION for Athy residents! 🎉

📅 Saturday 10th October 2026
📍 Shackleton Experience, Athy Town Hall
⏰ Open from 10am – 4pm (last admission)

04/10/2026

🏫 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵?

Earlier this year, more than 200,000 households took part in Ireland’s Primary School Survey.

Parents were asked about three big questions:

👧👦 Should their school be co-educational or single-sex?

⛪ Should it remain denominational or become multi-denominational?

🇮🇪 Should education be provided mainly through English or Irish?

Every primary school has now received its own school-specific results.

And where those results show demand for change, Boards of Management have until 31 October to decide whether they want to join the first group of schools progressing changes from September 2027.

Importantly, parents are supposed to be part of that conversation.

Schools have been asked to:

📄 share their survey results with parents
👥 seek feedback from the Parents’ Association
🏫 hold a meeting involving the school community
💬 consider feedback before making a decision.

So this may be worth checking.

👇 Has your school shared its Primary School Survey results with parents yet?

And if your school is considering a change, do you feel parents have had a proper opportunity to be involved?

🔗 More information:
https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/campaigns/primary-school-survey/

04/10/2026

📌 Industrial Action – Key Information for Parents

From Monday 5 October:

• There will be no morning yard supervision.
• School gates will remain locked until 9.00am.
• Children will go directly to their classrooms when the gates open.
• Classes begin at 9.10am.
• Formal parent-teacher meetings cannot be scheduled outside school hours during the industrial action.

Planned strike dates:

📅 Wednesday 14 October – schools are currently expected to close.
📅 Wednesday 21 October – a second strike day is provisionally planned.

Normal teaching and learning will continue on other school days unless families are advised otherwise.

Please keep an eye on school communications for any further updates.

Also - please consider sending a message to your local political representative in support of our teachers and SNAs.

04/10/2026

🎄 Quick Design a Card reminder!

If your child has their Christmas drawing at home, please send it back in by Monday — they’ll all be heading off to the printers mid-week. 🎨

Some classes have already done theirs in school, so no panic if you haven’t seen one!

And for anyone new to it, you’ll get an order sheet back afterwards with the option to order Christmas cards, tags, wrapping paper, calendars and more with your child’s own artwork on them. 🎁❤️

03/10/2026

🍎 𝗛𝗼𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀.

Earlier this year, parents told NPC that while they strongly supported the idea of school meals, they wanted improvements around choice, freshness, nutrition, portion sizes and food waste.

Now two major reviews of the Hot School Meals Programme have recommended a number of changes.

Among the proposals are:

🥪 giving children a cold lunch option alongside hot meals
🍽️ different portion sizes for different age groups
🥗 improving nutritional quality
🧒 adapting menus for special schools and special classes
🥛 better provision for dietary requirements
📅 introducing a standard three-week menu cycle

One striking finding was that 84% of parents surveyed said children should have the option of a cold lunch.

There is also a significant issue with waste. The review found that roughly one fifth of meals supplied were not eaten, although when pupil absences are taken into account the estimated uneaten proportion falls to 11.1%.

NPC raised many of these same concerns at the Oireachtas Education Committee earlier this year, including calls from parents and children for simpler, fresher options, age-appropriate portions and greater flexibility.

So we’d love to hear from families again.

👇 What ONE change would most improve the school meal programme for your child?

🥪 More cold choices?
🍎 Fresher food?
🍽️ Better portion sizes?
🌱 More fruit and vegetables?
🔄 More variety?

30/09/2026

The school has put together a short parent survey on smartphones, devices and children’s technology use, building on the conversation started by the Parents’ Association last year.

We’d really encourage as many families as possible to take a few minutes to fill it in. The more responses there are, the better picture we’ll have of what’s actually happening across our school community and how parents feel about it.

The survey is anonymous, and the school has said the results will be shared in two weeks.

👉 Survey link:

Following on from the wonderful work of our Parents Association last year in beginning a conversation about smart phones in our school, we are seeking some further information. While the internet and smart phones are a part of everyday life, research from Growing Up in Ireland has found that screen....