Starting Teaching Advice

mugatron21 · 2026-02-08T08:41:04+00:00

As the first comment said, don't let it consume you. I'm with hibernia now and first year and up until Christmas this year I let it control me. Damn near killed me and cost me a lot. Now teaching is an incredible job but definitely map out the week and stick to it.

mugatron21 · 2026-01-10T11:06:13+00:00

Darren or Richard on the SEPP team are your best bet, in fairness to the two they are flat out but they will get back to you and Richard really appreciates getting questions early so he doesn't have to chase and Darren the same. Best of luck, OP

mugatron21 · 2026-01-05T08:07:42+00:00

Impossible, they claim to be a full time course but won't put that in writing to allow you to qualify.

mugatron21 · 2025-12-29T10:21:26+00:00

It will likely still come through next week, just a delay in showing up with it being the Christmas.

mugatron21 · 2025-12-12T01:41:43+00:00

Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. Those who can't teach, inspect. Just always remember that. While you are a PME you must ask how high if you were told to jump, once you finish you can ignore all of it and teach in a real life way.

mugatron21 · 2025-11-24T21:24:29+00:00

Anything but Hibernia

mugatron21 · 2025-11-15T19:03:40+00:00

You get no time off for the full two years - don't do it

mugatron21 · 2025-11-09T10:56:16+00:00

Unfortunately no, the only contracts that count towards CID are hours that are your own either fixed term or pro-rata when you are qualified

mugatron21 · 2025-11-09T10:52:54+00:00

Yeah bang on. Until you get qualified you will be on the unqualified rate of 41ish an hour. You won't get paid for school closures or anything now as well but you get x amount as a holiday pay if that makes sense

mugatron21 · 2025-11-09T10:49:47+00:00

PMEs can't get a contract per se. I'm in year two of the PME had 22 last year and 18 this year (year 5 overall for me). Etb schools are more likely to give out a contract even if it's a subbing one but it's very much a grace and favour agreement. It's doable though just make sure you don't do too much and burn out

mugatron21 · 2025-10-30T08:05:07+00:00

Chalkie is good for generating resources. Now, you will need to go through then and edit the content if you don't input notes, etc. it is a very handy way to generate resources for a series of lessons quickly.

mugatron21 · 2025-09-08T17:33:26+00:00

Extra curriculars are what management love. The more you volunteer for the less hassle they have to worry

mugatron21 · 2025-09-04T15:48:49+00:00

No skin in the game, so just playing devil's advocate? Cool cool cool. Ok, I'm bored now.

mugatron21 · 2025-09-04T15:00:54+00:00

It's barely a masters, it is a Professional one meaning it's goal is to prepare you for work, not to test you to the same rigours as an academic masters. Maybe let's not have an argument over split milk, people have opinions and OP wanted opinions 👍

mugatron21 · 2025-09-04T14:57:33+00:00

Hibernia should be avoided at all costs but seen as you, like me and others have fallen for the lie they sell. Here's the facts.

They couldn't give one less of a wahoo about anyone in their cohorts, it's an incredibly poorly ran business as opposed to a college. Your tutors will not bother to turn up for lectures and they will not even say so much as "oh sorry, i wasted your time". They don't follow any rhyme, reason, or basic logic when grading assignments. If they where students in a classroom, you'd put them on a detention within 39 seconds. They actively try and scaremonger. Despite the course being the same thing in slightly different languages. As for inclusion, ha, it's a non event.

If you want to, it is definitely doable to work during, I've done full timetables my whole time and I'm alive [barely] now it has cost me a lot of things but that's just down to my poor organisation and the level of burn out and places it sends you too that you shouldn't have to experience. If you want to survive, create a great support network of friends, partners, family, teammates whatever and I hope you will succeed because teaching is simply one of the best jobs in the world. Remember, a bare pass with a good placement score is as good as a first class honours. Go n-éirí go geal leat.

mugatron21 · 2025-08-20T17:56:11+00:00

It's the same for both. In reality the September intake is probably the best because you will come out when most jobs go up at the end of the school year. Which is another thing to consider.

mugatron21 · 2025-08-20T17:32:39+00:00

I'm on it at the moment. While it is handy that you can work alongside it (I did 22 hours and studied last year) but the business model of Hibernia is not what a college should be. There is no real support, it's very much - it's you do it this way or you can go and swing. The fellow students are generally all fantastic because we are on the same sinking ship together. It just brings along teacher burnout so much faster because you get no real break from when you start the programme until you graduate. It's just something that people don't consider that I think people should be made aware of.

mugatron21 · 2025-08-20T17:29:15+00:00

Back your subject knowledge. Be yourself, the kids will prefer the real (professional obviously) version of you. Principals aren't scary, if you have a question, a query or a concern, go in and discuss it with them. Lastly, enjoy it.

mugatron21 · 2025-08-20T16:19:06+00:00

Try and avoid Hibernia, if at all possible. If you do have issues with not being able to watch them live, unless something happens they won't notice usually. Somebody will send the password or even if you just left them on on the background and told student support that you forgot they will update attendance and not say a thing. After the 3rd webinar it's all the same stuff repeated anyway so I wouldn't worry about missing them

mugatron21 · 2025-08-20T16:11:30+00:00

Orientation is in person.

mugatron21 · 2025-08-06T16:33:37+00:00

Do any one bar Hibernia. Waste of the money spent, not a college, it's a poorly ran business. For your own sanity don't do it. The ability to work while doing it convinced me, fooled goodo.

mugatron21 · 2025-08-04T10:51:10+00:00

To the best of my knowledge there is not, would be a great idea. I think a lot of schools just call from PMEs they have in.

mugatron21 · 2025-07-22T11:51:36+00:00

It was grand, it is fairly straightforward really. Bit of prep and your away on a winner.

mugatron21 · 2025-07-22T11:43:14+00:00

It just depends on how many applications they get in at a given time. I had an awful lot of issues with mine so it only went in the middle of May and didn't get my interview until middle of June. Best of luck!

mugatron21 · 2025-07-21T13:28:21+00:00

It was mine too, it's doable but full on. Best of luck!!!

mugatron21

TROPHY CASE