Workshop to rebuild relationships

A Cork-based charity has developed a virtual work- shop to help ease the back to school transition.

Starting with a free pilot workshop for 25 participants on Monday 24 August from 10am-12 noon, the two-hour interactive workshop, ABLE4Teachers Back to School Transitions Workshop by Ag Eisteacht will provide staff with a framework to reflect on and think about their thoughts and feelings during the transition back to school as they work to re-establish connections and rebuild relationships.

Dr Maeve Hurley, CEO of Ag Eisteacht, an Irish charity which trains practitioners to build quality relationships and advocates for relationships as a key social determinant of health and well-being, said: “While the physical aspects of returning to school are imperative for health and safety, the mental, social and emotional wellbeing of staff also has to be considered during this transition.

“A transition is the psychological process people go through to come to terms with a situation, make sense of it and come to live with it. The physical, emotional and psychological impact of Covid-19 is on-going and something we are all working to make sense of. Our aim is to develop principals, teachers and SNAs’ understanding of change and the transition process and consider how it applies to them in the context of their work.”

She added: “By providing staff with this time to reflect together, we hope to normalise some of their experience, which can be a great relief to know that others share their feelings.”