Guides, tips, and news for Irish primary school teachers navigating the curriculum transition.
The Department's updated 2026 PLTA guidance in plain English: the Focus of Learning, the three things a short-term plan must contain, what is optional in long-term plans, and the Cúntas Míosúil clause that cuts duplication.
Read moreThe suggested time allocations from the Primary Curriculum Framework, stage by stage: weekly minimums for Language, Maths and Wellbeing, monthly allocations for STE, SEE and Arts, Flexible Time, and what it means for your timetable.
Read moreThe five parts of primary school teacher planning in Ireland: long-term plans, short-term plans, the Cúntas Míosúil, support plans, and the whole-school layer, as set out in the 2026 guidance.
Read moreThe 1999 History curriculum is still the one most schools plan from in 2026/27. The strands class by class, the working-as-a-historian skills, and what a strong history plan shows.
Read moreWhat the first month of enacting the redeveloped curriculum actually looked like: how much the 1999 curriculum is still carrying, which enactment area leads, and when teachers really plan.
Read moreThe redeveloped curriculum introduces a Modern Foreign Language from third class. What is changing, when most schools will enact it, and how to start planning for MFL in your primary classroom.
Read moreFrom September 2026 every school picks at least one curriculum area to begin enacting. A plain comparison of Wellbeing, STEM, SEE, Arts and Modern Foreign Languages, so you can choose your order with your eyes open.
Read moreThe four strands of the 1999 Science curriculum, the working-scientifically skills your plans should show, and how science planning changes when Science, Technology and Engineering arrives.
Read moreThe NCCA Planning Tool is free and official, so what do the paid options add? A plain comparison of curriculum planning tools for Irish primary schools in 2026/27.
Read moreHow History and Geography are structured in the 1999 curriculum, what SESE planning looks like while the transition is underway, and when Social and Environmental Education takes over.
Read moreThe six strands of the 1999 Physical Education curriculum, how they fit into fortnightly planning, and why PE may be one of the first subjects your school moves to the new Wellbeing specification.
Read moreA plain-English guide to the redeveloped primary curriculum from September 2026: the five areas, the school-led rollout, and what it means for your planning.
Read moreFrom September 2026 your school begins enacting the redeveloped curriculum in at least one curriculum area, while other subjects stay on their current curricula. This guide sets out which document to plan from for every subject.
Read moreThe updated 2026 Department of Education guidance explicitly acknowledges monthly short-term preparation for the first time. Here's what changed and what it means in practice.
Read moreA plain-English comparison of the 1999 and redeveloped primary curriculum. What stays, what changes, and what it means for your classroom.
Read moreThe primary curriculum changes in September 2026. A plain-English guide to what it means for your fortnightly plans, Cúntas Míosúil and recorded preparation.
Read moreScience Week 2026 runs 8-15 November with the theme Water: From Molecule to Ocean. Class-level activity ideas mapped to the curriculum, and how to record the week in your fortnightly plan and Cúntas Míosúil.
Read moreWith teacher posts suppressed and classes merging in 2026/27, many teachers face larger, more mixed groups. Practical ways to keep your planning fast and useful when the class gets bigger.
Read moreTwo completed long-term plans for Irish primary classes, free to download as PDFs. What a long-term plan needs month by month, and how the whole-school plan flows into it.
Read moreA free, branded fortnightly plan template for Irish primary teachers, laid out for the 2026 curriculum with one subject filled in as a worked example. Print it, or have Pleanáil fill every subject from the curriculum for you.
Read moreA practical, step-by-step way to get your long-term plans done for the new school year: what the 2026 guidance actually requires, what to leave out, and how to keep your summer.
Read moreA step-by-step method for writing your fortnightly recorded preparation fast, for both the 1999 and redeveloped 2026 primary curriculum.
Read moreOctober is the first full-length month of the school year and its Cúntas sets the pattern for the rest. A short, practical routine for closing out the month, mid-term break included.
Read moreThe updated preparation guidance says short-term documentation that clearly outlines the learning may also be used for the Cúntas Míosúil. Here is the exact wording, what it asks of your plans, and how to put it to work.
Read moreWhen the first Cúntas Míosúil of 2026/27 is due, what belongs in it subject by subject, and how to write it from the plans you already taught.
Read moreWhat the Cúntas Míosúil actually requires, what principals and inspectors look for in it, and a routine that gets it done in twenty minutes at the end of each month.
Read moreA free, branded Cúntas Míosúil template for Irish primary teachers, with one subject filled in as a worked example. Print it, or have Pleanáil generate your monthly record from the plans you already taught.
Read moreAutism class teachers plan for a small group of pupils of different ages, each working at their own level, and almost no planning advice is written for them. Here is what the paperwork involves, grounded in the official guidance: group plans, weekly notes, support files and the monthly Cúntas.
Read moreCircular 0032/2026 supersedes the 2014 circular that introduced the Personal Pupil Plan. Here is the official replacement, the Student Support Plan, and what it means for SET teachers and principals.
Read moreSpecial Education and EAL teachers plan across caseloads, groups and class levels, and most planning advice ignores them. Here is how the pieces fit: support files, targets, timetables and the Cuntas.
Read moreThe redeveloped curriculum makes planning a whole-school job this year. Why one shared system beats sixteen separate documents, and how a school comes on board.
Read moreEnacting the curriculum comes down to three decisions: which area your school starts with, what to do with the closure days, and a whole-school plan that flows into your teachers' planning.
Read moreThe worry that stops many teachers moving off paper: will the cigire accept digital planning? The Inspectorate's own guide asks for documents in electronic format, preferably. Here is the wording and what actually matters in your records.
Read moreA plain-English glossary of the acronyms and terms Irish primary teachers meet in planning: PLTA, PCF, STE, SEE, Focus of Learning, Continuum of Support, Droichead and more, each in a sentence or two.
Read moreWhat Croke Park hours are, the 36-hour requirement, the 26/10 split since Circular 0042/2016, what the hours may be used for, how they are scheduled, and where things stand during the October 2026 industrial action.
Read moreA free weekly planning template for NQTs on Droichead: what the recorded preparation needs to show, what stays in your Droichead file, and a calmer weekly rhythm that survives October.
Read moreThinking of changing planning tools but dreading the re-typing? How Pleanáil moves your whole-school plans and teachers' year plans in for you, word for word.
Read moreCircular 0018/2026 standardises the main primary school breaks for 2026/27 to 2028/29. What is now fixed nationally, what each school still decides, and what it means for your planning.
Read moreEverything the first fortnight of the 2026/27 year asks of your planning folder, with the guides, samples and templates in one place: curriculum versions, long-term plans, fortnight one, and the first Cúntas.
Read moreEverything to have in place before the first bell, in the first week, and by the end of September. One page, in order, with links to the detail.
Read moreStarting your first class this September? What planning is actually required of an NQT, what Droichead expects, and how to build a routine that survives past Halloween.
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