Solas Hospital School, CHI Crumlin, was awarded €5,000 as part of the Féilte Bursary Scheme to collaborate with seven schools* to support the hosting of the HOPE Congress 2025, an international congress of teachers in hospital schools. This project aims to unite hospital educators from Ireland and around the world to share knowledge, practices, and insights tailored to the unique challenges of teaching children with medical and mental health needs.
*List of collaborating schools:
- Temple Street Hospital School
- Linn Dara Schools
- Children’s Ark School
- Beaumont Hospital School
- National Rehabilitation Community Hospital School
- Cork University Hospital School
- The National Children’s Hospital Special School, Tallaght
School's reflection
We are deeply grateful to the Teaching Council for awarding a Féilte bursary of €5,000 to support the HOPE Congress 2025, which took place in Dublin in May 2025. The congress brought together 294 hospital teachers and education professionals from across Europe and beyond, united by the theme Together: Sharing Information, Sharing Knowledge, Sharing Practice.
The bursary was an important contribution that helped us to provide a rich programme that balanced research, policy, and practical strategies through keynote lectures, oral presentations, and hands-on workshops. Particularly impactful were sessions amplifying the voices of students with medical or mental health needs, which powerfully reminded participants of the importance of inclusive and responsive educational practices.
The congress facilitated meaningful professional learning by creating spaces for hospital teachers to exchange ideas, reflect on shared challenges, and collaborate on solutions that will benefit students at home and internationally. The positive feedback from attendees highlighted the value of the event in inspiring new approaches, strengthening networks, and supporting the ongoing professional development of those working in this highly specialised field.
We sincerely thank the Teaching Council for their generous support in making this important learning experience possible.
Resource
Deirdre: Definitely recommend schools and educators to look into this Bursary from the Teaching Council as it helped us with our conference.
Ciara: HOPE stands for the Hospital Organisation of Pedagogues in Europe, and it’s an organisation that actually has members from all across the world. It’s a chance for us as hospital teachers to come together, to share information, to share knowledge and best practice, and also to network and meet our colleagues who work in other countries. So you’re actually meeting your colleagues face to face, which is really lovely.
Stephen: The absences that they experienced through their mainstream school meant that they fell behind, even socially. Centering this kind of work shows the value that it does give to students with chronic illnesses, that they’re not forgotten, that they are very much being looked after, being supported and being educated.
Annette: I think as hospital teachers, we hold a very special place and have a privilege to share that space with those kids at that very difficult time.
Stephen: It reinvigorated my attitude towards hospital school teaching. We can change. We can introduce new things that we’ve learned from this conference.
Deirdre: Just that continuous professional development, inspiring you again and giving you that energy, particularly for the end of the year. But it just inspires you to do better and keep doing better.
Ciara: HOPE has been really, really valuable for me as a practitioner in that very particular area.
Avril: Because we work in neurosurgery. The opportunities to connect with other teachers that work in that very niche area don’t really arise in Ireland. So the HOPE conference is the one time that we get to talk to other educators. The research that we get exposed to at a conference like this, we can bring that practice back.
Stephen: This is my first hospital teacher congress but I’ll definitely go to the next one. I would encourage anyone who is a hospital teacher that this is valuable, really, really important.
Ciara: It’s lovely, too, to hear that there are other teachers out there doing the work that we do. It’s also a chance for us to celebrate, actually the work that we do. I think the bursary is really helpful. I think it’s really important that bursaries like that are available. I would really encourage any teachers out there who are thinking of doing some research, apply for the bursary. It’s been really beneficial to us and it’s really well worthwhile.