Over 300 Principals and Deputy Principals gathered in Galway from across Ireland’s Education and Training Boards for an event which saw 200 of them identify high stake exams and curriculum overload as the biggest limits on students’ positive school experience.

An event hosted by Galway & Roscommon ETB heard the almost all surveyed also agreed that student needs have become more complex in the last five years, and three quarters feel the education system is not adapting fast enough to those needs.

The poll was carried out at Education & Training Boards Ireland’s Annual Conference of Principals & Deputy Principals who gathered in Galway to contribute to the National Conversation on the Government’s upcoming Convention on Education, which is seeking the views of educators, students and parents on the future of Ireland’s education system.

While two thirds of Principals and Deputy Principals polled believe the current education system is serving most students ‘fairly well’, 80% do not believe current system structures support teacher and school leader wellbeing.

The two-day conference, held in Galway, also saw delegates explore AI, School Buildings, Curriculum Reform, Irish language in Schools and the links between Schools and youth services.

Pictured: Tom Flanagan; GRETB CEO David Leahy; Sonya Naumova; Cllr Michael Maher, Sinead Farragher and Brian Melia attending the ETBI Post-Primary Principals & Deputy Principals Conference 2026 dinner. Photo: XPOSURE.ie