1. Introduction to the collaborative professional learning bursary
This bursary serves two key purposes:
- Building Collaborative Professional Communities: The bursary is designed to support the creation and development of professional learning communities.
- Promoting the Teaching Profession: Each bursary recipient will be required to create a digital asset that demonstrates their professional learning activities and the impact on teachers. This will be used to promote the teaching profession more broadly.
2. Eligible activities
Schools may use this bursary to collaborate with other schools to organise, and host professional learning activities. The chosen activities must focus on teacher professional learning, rather than outcomes for pupils or students.
The activities must align with one or more of the following areas:
Forming professional learning communities: Collaborate with other schools to form professional learning communities around shared educational interests.
Hosting workshops/events: Bring teachers together from different schools to share best practices and learn from each other (for example, a shared learning day).
Inviting speakers: Arrange for a speaker to deliver an information session or workshop to teachers.
Joint professional development events/programmes: Collaborate with other schools to organise a professional development event or programme on topics relevant to the schools, for example, universal design for learning, technology in education, building leadership capacity, restorative practice, reflective practice, building relationships and working with parents, or action research on a chosen topic.
Organising a lesson study: Partner with other schools to conduct a lesson study, where teachers collaboratively plan, observe, and analyse teaching and learning.
3. Application themes
Your application must be based on at least one of the following themes:
Inclusive practice
Teaching of Gaeilge/Teaching through Gaeilge
Leadership and professional relationships
Wellbeing
Alignment with a named Teaching Council policy or Department of Education and Youth policy or strategy, for example, Céim, Cosán, Droichead, SSE (Looking at our Schools).
4. Funding details
The bursary offers two bands of funding, depending on the number of schools involved in the collaboration, as outlined below:
- Band 1: €2,000 for professional learning activities involving two schools, or more
- Band 2: €5,000 for professional learning activities involving three schools, or more
The full bursary payment will be made to the lead school/ETB in the collaboration, who will manage the funds among the participating schools as appropriate.
5. Eligibility criteria
Applications will be screened to determine their eligibility based on the following criteria. If an application does not meet all the criteria below, it may be deemed ineligible.
Collaboration: Applications must show evidence of collaboration with at least one other recognised school or college of further education, with a roll number. To administer the bursary, we will need the details of the lead school, and each collaborating school. Schools may be named as collaborating schools on multiple applications.
Although not a requirement, applicants are encouraged to consider collaborating with your local education support centre, higher education institution or centre of education such as a Youthreach setting.
Although not a requirement, applicants are encouraged to consider collaborating with another sector. For example, a primary school may link with a post-primary school, or a post-primary school may link with a college of further education.
Applicant: The applicant must be a registered teacher applying on behalf of the lead school. If you are not working in a school (for example, due to secondment, retiring etc.) you must partner with a lead school in order to participate in the bursary scheme.
Schools: Schools involved in an application must be recognised by the Department of Education and Youth and have a roll number in the Republic of Ireland, or must be a college of further education with a roll number in the Republic of Ireland.
A lead school is a primary, post-primary or college of further education in the Republic of Ireland. The lead school must be recognised by the Department of Education and Youth and have a roll number. For the avoidance of doubt, the following schools are also eligible to apply as a lead school provided they hold a roll number recognised by the Department of Education and Youth:
- Schools under the Prison Education Service
- Hospital schools
- Special care units
- Youthreach settings
If in doubt, please contact feilte@teachingcouncil.ie
A school may only act as a lead applicant on one application. Should a lead school submit more than one application, only the first valid application received will be considered.
Details of the lead school and collaborating school(s): To administer the bursary, we will need the details of the lead school, and each collaborating school.
Budget: A costed, itemised breakdown of how the bursary will be spent must be included on the application form.
Projects that are in receipt of funding from another bursary scheme/grant are not eligible for funding under the Féilte bursary scheme.
Consent from collaborating schools: Consent for the application must be sought from the Principal, Deputy Principal or equivalent of all collaborating schools before the application is submitted. Please note, a final internal check will be conducted by Teaching Council staff to confirm the awareness and support of school leadership and/or collaborating schools before the bursary is awarded.
Description of professional learning activities: A detailed description of the proposed activities that align with the eligible activities and themes listed in the guidelines.
Impact: Clear aims and objectives regarding the impact of the proposed activities on the professional learning of staff and schools involved.
Digital asset: Agreement to submit a digital asset as outlined in your application.
6. Digital asset requirement
To promote teaching as a profession, each bursary recipient must create a digital asset demonstrating their activity and the impact on teachers’ professional learning. These digital assets can take the form of:
- a number of photographs/videos showcasing the professional learning activities in action,
- a poster,
- a digital artefact (for example, a T-REX byte or a Padlet),
- a video reflection (for example, an audio or video reflection on how the teachers involved benefited from the bursary).
These digital assets must be shared with us by 6pm on Friday, 10 December 2027.
They will be collated, developed, and used to promote the teaching profession.
The digital assets may be placed on our website and social media channel in order to promote professional collaboration and to showcase the teaching profession more broadly.
If another school viewed your digital asset, they should get a sense the professional learning the teachers engaged in. It should act as a guide for other teachers and schools should they wish to engage in something similar.
Names of those captured in the digital asset should not be submitted. As the focus of the bursary scheme is teacher professional learning, no images or footage of students should be submitted. No images of minors or vulnerable adults should be submitted.
It is the responsibility of each school to ensure that all individuals captured are made aware of the use of the footage so that they can decide not to participate if they wish.
7. Additional requirements
In addition to a digital asset, bursary recipients must submit the following before 6pm on Friday 10 December 2027:
- a short written reflection on your experience and the impact of the professional learning activities,
- a feedback survey which will be issued to all successful bursary recipients,
- a budget overview outlining how the bursary was spent.
8. Scoring rubric
Applications will be scored against the following criteria once they have passed an eligibility check:
| Criteria | Max Points | Evaluation Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Level of collaboration | 30 | The quality, depth and long-term sustainability of the collaboration is important. Applications should clearly demonstrate how meaningful collaboration will take place in practice, including the structures and approaches that will support sustained engagement between partners.
While collaboration involving a greater number of schools may be appropriate in some cases, increasing the number of participating schools in itself is not sufficient evidence of effective collaboration. Higher scores may be awarded where there is evidence of well-planned, purposeful collaboration, including cross-sectoral* engagement where appropriate – for example, between primary, post-primary and special schools, colleges of further education, higher education institutions, education support centres, or other centres of education such as Youthreach. |
| Impact on professional learning | 30 | Clearly defined objectives with significant and measurable impact on professional learning across schools, and evidence of shared learning. Applications where teachers are playing an active role in their professional learning will score better than applications where teachers have a passive role. |
| Relevance to themes and policies | 15 | Strong alignment with chosen themes (Inclusive practice, Teaching of Gaeilge/Teaching through Gaeilge, Wellbeing, Leadership and Professional Relationships) or named national policy (for example, from the Teaching Council or Department of Education and Youth). |
| Quality of digital asset proposal | 15 | Innovative, creative, and practical proposal for creating a digital asset showcasing the activity for wider promotion. |
| Realistic budget breakdown | 10 | Costed, realistic, itemised and well-justified budget breakdown. |
*Cross-sectoral collaboration can be defined as follows:
- a lead primary school working with a post-primary school, a special school or a College of Further Education
- a lead post-primary school working with a primary school, a special school or a College of Further Education
- a lead special school working with a primary school, a post-primary school, or a College of Further Education
- a lead College of Further Education working with a primary school, a post-primary school or a special school
9. Evaluation process
Applications will be evaluated as follows:
| Stage | |
|---|---|
| Screening | All applications will be screened against the eligibility criteria outlined in Section 5. |
| Scoring | Eligible applications will be scored by an independent assessment panel, appointed by the Director of the Teaching Council. |
Feedback: Ineligible applicants will be provided with the reasons why their application was ineligible. Unsuccessful applicants may seek feedback on their application. Unsuccessful applicants must email feilte@teachingcouncil.ie and request feedback within 21 days of receiving the outcome.
10. Timeline
| Date | Schedule |
|---|---|
| Tuesday, 8 September 2026 | Applications open |
| Wednesday, 23 September 2026 | Information webinar held by the Teaching Council to support applicants. This will be an opportunity to ask questions and seek any guidance you may need |
| 10am on Tuesday, 10 November 2026 | Applications close |
| Wednesday, 25 November 2026 | Schools notified of outcome |
| Wednesday, 2 December 2026 | Last day for receipt of appeals |
| Mid January 2027 | Successful schools will receive funding into their bank accounts |
| January – December 2027 | Schools engage in the professional learning as described in their application |
| 6pm on Friday, 10 December 2027 | Deadline to submit digital assets, written reflection, feedback survey, and budget overview. |
11. Payment
The bursary will be paid into the bank account of the lead school/Education & Training Board (ETB) in Mid-January 2027.
It is the responsibility of the lead school/ETB to manage the bursary payment in accordance with the application submitted, and amongst the collaborating schools, as appropriate.
We will be in contact in January 2027 to arrange payment.
12. Appeals process
The are two grounds on which the decision regarding your application can be appealed: procedural errors or perceived inconsistencies in the assessment process.
If you believe there was a procedural error or inconsistency in the assessment process and you wish to appeal the decision, you must submit a formal written appeal to feilte@teachingcouncil.ie, addressed to the Director of the Teaching Council, within seven days of receiving the outcome.
Your correspondence must clearly detail which of these grounds your appeal is based on.
Please note that only appeals which clearly identify a procedural error or inconsistency in the assessment process will be considered by the Appeals Panel.
No additional information to the application will be accepted as part of an appeal.
| Appeals Process | |
|---|---|
| Review of Appeal | The appeal will be reviewed by an Appeals Panel, comprising of assessors who were not involved in the original decision-making process. The panel will be nominated by the Director. The panel will assess whether the application process and scoring criteria were followed correctly and fairly. |
| Outcome of Appeal | The Appeals Panel will aim to reach a decision within 15 working days of receiving the appeal. The final decision will be communicated to you via email. This decision will be final and binding. |
| No new information | Appeals will not be considered if based on new information or revisions to the original application. Appeals can only address procedural fairness or assessment issues. |
| Appeals outcome | If your appeal is upheld, your application will be reconsidered. If your appeal is denied, the original decision will stand. |
13. How to Apply
Applications for the Féilte Bursary Scheme 2026, can be made via the following form.
Más mian leat cur isteach ar an scéim trí mheán na Gaeilge, cliceáil ar an nasc seo a leanas.
The deadline for applications is 10am on Tuesday 10 November 2026.
To help you understand what the application form looks like, you can download a copy at the following link.
This is for information purposes only, as applications must be submitted online via this Microsoft Form.
14. Data Protection
The Teaching Council is the Data Controller. The data collected in the application process for example, names and contact details of school Principals or equivalent are used to administer the bursary applications. Digital assets submitted as part of the bursary scheme are used to promote teaching as a profession.
Our lawful basis for processing this data is our legitimate interest to promote teaching as a profession in accordance with our obligations under the Teaching Council Act 2001, as amended.
As detailed above, the digital assets will be shared on the Teaching Council website and social media accounts as well as distributed to all registered teachers. Digital assets will be retained for 36 months for the purposes of effectiveness reviews and then securely destroyed.
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) individuals have a number of rights with regard to their personal data. They have the right to request from us:
- access to their personal data,
- rectification of their personal data where it is incorrect,
- erasure of their personal data in certain circumstances,
- the right to restrict processing or object to processing in certain circumstances.
You can contact our DPO at dpo@teachingcouncil.ie
You have the right to lodge a complaint to the Data Protection Commission if you believe that we have not complied with the requirements of the GDPR or DPA 2018 with regard to your personal data.
15. Contact Information
For any questions or additional information, please contact us at feilte@teachingcouncil.ie