Microsoft in Education and Tara Learning

Our Training and educational services aim to support "The Digital Strategy for Schools 2027", developing and updating  skills needed for the ever evolving digital world.

Tara Learning is a Microsoft Training Partner for the past few years.

Microsoft 365 Support Programme for Schools

Schools need to fully rely and trust on their IT infrastructure. Therefore, Tara Learning has created a Support Programme to help school have a secure and reliable digital environment. The Programme can include the following areas, and will be amended to your requirements.
Microsoft 365 Set-up
  • Set-up of Microsoft 365 with School Domain
  • Addition of Teachers and Students
  • Assignment of user licenses
  • Creation of user groups
  • Support subscription Agreement
  • Managed IT Solutions for Schools
  • Creation of Teams and Groups
Microsoft 365 Support
  • Help desk for Microsoft 365 changes
  • Addition of new users
  • Group creation and maintenance
  • Deletion of accounts
  • Monitoring Security and Compliance
  • Restriction of user rights as required
  • Setting up Groups and Teams
  • Enrolment of all devices to InTUNE
Microsoft 365 Development
  • Further use of Microsoft 365 Services to replace local Server file storage
  • Transfer local server files to OneDrive, Sharepoint and Teams
  • Transfer Server shared files to Sharepoint
  • Addition of user roles and profile information info for organisation charts

Staff Training Services

Tara Learning trainers encourage teachers and school staff to develop their skills to become competent and confident with digital technologies. 
The new "Digital Strategy for Schools" underlines the importance of developing digital competence and places a “stronger focus on the effective use of digital technologies in all teaching, learning and assessment activities and supporting schools to further embed effective digital capacity planning and development.” 
Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027, p. 32 
Educational Training by Tara Learning
  • Primary and Post Primary Teaching Staff
  • Further Education and Training Staff, (to include PLC’s and ETB Training Centres)
  • Higher Education Staff
  • Admin staff in all educational bodies
All training courses are tailored to the specific needs of staff
See our full range of training topics

Full range of training we deliver at Tara Learning

Specialist Training Areas
  • Leading learning and integrating digital learning.
  • Team Coaching at all levels in the Education Sector
  • Specialist Digital Skills Course (creation, delivery and evaluation).
  • Inclusivity and Accessibility tools in Microsoft 365 for SET, ISOL, literacy.
  • eTender and procurement management
  • Record Management for Child Protection and GDPR
  • Freedom of Information and eDiscovery Training
School and FET Staff Training Areas
  • Basic Microsoft 365 for Teachers (including Outlook, One Drive, Teams, Forms, Sway)
  • OneNote and OneNote Classnotebook.
  • Microsoft Teams for teachers and students.
  • Office Microsoft for Schools and FET leaders and administrators
  • Inclusivity and Accessibility tools in Microsoft 365
  • SharePoint for Teachers
  • Moodle for FET Teachers
  • Microsoft 365 and Technology Enhanced Learning.
FET Staff Training For TEL
  • Teaching in Further Education today requires competency in Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)  both in the classroom and for assessment and feedback to learners. (Microsoft 365 Teams, Moodle, etc.)
  • Our training is designed with the teachers immediate needs in mind to support TEL in the classroom (and beyond) and includes training for UDL, Blended Learning and how to progress to completing QQI course requirements entirely online (No paper). 
  • We can design and deliver bespoke TEL
  • Our trainers are all experienced teachers. 
  • “Blended Learning” course using Moodle.
Why book training with Tara Learning?
  • Our training is designed with the teachers immediate needs in mind 
  • We provide specific training for teachers with different roles in schools such as SET, Subject Department leaders, Management teams, school leaders and admin staff. 
  • We have developed unique coaching and training models to help upskill staff in small groups over a whole school day. 
  • Over the past five years Tara Learning has developed  unique coaching and training models  to upskill  staff in small groups during the day.
  • We provide a service to train staff by video conference either individually  or in small groups, at times that are most convenient for staff as a

Sharepoint & Teams Solutions offered by Tara Learning

Teams set-up and Training
We can guide you through the optimum set-up of Teams for your School.
  • Create Class teams to provide best interaction with pupils and teachers.
  • Manage workflow and communications in Teams
  • Use Teams to engage all students
  • Create Assignments and Forms within Teams
  • Use built-in OneNote notebook
  • Teams training for Teachers and Admin Staff
Administration
  • Sharepoint Cloud Storage for school admin staff (to replace all local file storage).
  • Reduce  the risk and costs of multiple local storage locations.
  • Store all admin files safely in the cloud (Sharepoint and Teams).
  • Manage access with Sharepoint and Teams
  • Access from any device
  • Connect Cloud Storage to Teams.
(School Secretary, Principal and Deputy)
School - Teams for:
  • Staff – one team for all staff  collaboration
  • Board of Management team
  • Administration team – School leaders and  Admin Staff team
  • Programme and special sites (TY, LCUP, WELLNESS, SEN)
  • Whole School Student Team – Students Information – Whole School and Year Head Assembly on line
  • Class Team – For every teacher, for every class
Supporting your Digital Transformation Journey with Microsoft Office 365
  • Sharepoint Intranet for FET Services
  • Team sites for local FET teams
  • Custom Teams Apps to add additional functionality to Teams
  • Create online Workflows using MS365 to simplify your existing business tasks, for Example:  Using Forms to collect information currently done with paper forms and automating the processing of these forms for approval and feedback to Staff

SELECTION OF COURSES ON OFFER

For Teachers (Groups of 10 Teachers)

Teams basics -  Teams for Live and recorded sessions - Teams for assessment
Teams to support wellbeing - Leading Blended Learning in 2020 - Supporting Student and Staff Welfare

For all staff

Blended  Learning self-evaluation tool kit
CLICK HERE to book a “Teams” meeting with a member our our staff to discuss your training requirements for the coming year. (Just pick a suitable time for yourself and we will send your a meeting link.

Educational Consultancy and Advisory Services

Educational Consultancy Services

Since 2015, Tara Learning has built up an impressive track record of working with clients in a consulting and advisory role at school, regional, national and international levels. Our education consultants have worked in a range of national and international educational contexts, and all are former teachers, school and college leaders, system administrators, school inspectors and policy makers who have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of all sectors within the Irish Educational system.

Tara Learning provides consultancy, advisory and research services to our clients in a wide range of educational areas such as:

Policy development and operationalisation
System and organisation needs analysis in areas such as Organisational and Functional Design
Learner and stakeholder voice capture
Project design, management and evaluation.
Academic Supervision within projects and programmes
Digital innovation, digital leadership and project implementation
The introduction of new digital technologies and platforms which support teaching, learning, assessment and administration within educational settings, underpinned by robust and user-friendly data analysis tools
Evaluation of provision and support for teaching, learning and assessment across all education sectors, both within national and international contexts
Research and Reporting on the structure and functioning of Learning Organisations
Sustainability, agility and resilience within Learning Organisations in the context of changing national and international educational environments
Evaluation of provision and support for teaching, learning and assessment across all education sectors, both within national and international contexts
Research and Reporting on the structure and functioning of Learning Organisations
Sustainability, agility and resilience within Learning Organisations in the context of changing national and international educational environments

Education Coaching Services

Tara Learning offers a personalised and customised education coaching services to school and college leaders, team leaders and to leadership teams within Learning Organisations across all education sectors.

 

Our education coaching philosophy for School and Team leaders is informed by the BASIC coaching model, developed by Andy Buck, 2020:
‘A one-to-one conversation that focuses on the enhancement of learning through increasing self-awareness and a sense of personal responsibility, where the coach facilitates the self-directed learning of the coachee, through questioning, active listening, appropriate challenge and, when needed, practical guidance in a supportive and encouraging environment that leaves the coachee feeling clearer and more optimistic about the future’.
Our education coaching philosophy for School and Team leaders is informed by the BASIC coaching model, developed by Andy Buck, 2020:
‘A one-to-one conversation that focuses on the enhancement of learning through increasing self-awareness and a sense of personal responsibility, where the coach facilitates the self-directed learning of the coachee, through questioning, active listening, appropriate challenge and, when needed, practical guidance in a supportive and encouraging environment that leaves the coachee feeling clearer and more optimistic about the future’.
…while our Team Coaching method is informed by Peter Hawkins, 2014:
‘Enabling a team to function at more than a sum of its parts, by clarifying its mission and improving its external and internal relationships. It is different therefore from coaching team leaders on how to lead their teams, or coaching individuals in a group setting’.