A practical parent guide for Irish secondary school
The Secondary School Survival Guide for Parents
Practical answers to the problems every parent will face from First Year to Leaving Cert.
Phones, motivation, homework, friendships, sleep, subject choices, Transition Year, the Junior Cycle, the Leaving Cert and the CAO. Honest, research based help from an Irish educator with 35 years in education, written for the kitchen table rather than the staffroom.
One instant PDF download, with The Parent’s Practical Toolkit of 26 printable worksheets included.- 21 chapters
- 26 printable worksheets
- Checked against Irish sources, September 2026
- Parent wellbeing chapter
Sound familiar?
The questions parents ask me most
Whatever the school, whatever the town, the worries are remarkably similar. This guide answers them honestly, tells you when to relax and tells you when to act.
- How do I get the phone out of the bedroom without World War Three?
- Why won’t my teenager start their homework until ten o’clock?
- Is this lack of motivation normal, or something more?
- How much should they be studying for the Junior Cycle and the Leaving Cert?
- Should my child do Transition Year?
- Which subjects keep the most doors open?
- What exactly are CBAs, AACs and the new Senior Cycle?
- I think my child is being left out or bullied. What do I do first?
- How do I talk to the school without making things worse?
- What if they don’t get the points?
- Why does every conversation turn into an argument?
- Am I getting any of this right?
Who it’s for
Written for every stage of secondary school
Starting First Year
Lockers, timetables, new friends, the homework jump and the famous October wobble, with a calm plan for the first term.
The middle years
Motivation, procrastination, phones, sleep, friendships and the Junior Cycle, without becoming the homework police.
Leaving Cert and beyond
Senior Cycle changes, points, exam pressure, the CAO, apprenticeships, PLCs and the reassurance that there is more than one road.
Contents
What’s inside the guide
Twenty one chapters you can read in order or dip into when you need them, each ending with a short summary and three things to do this week.
- The Big Transition
- The Teenage Years
- The Phone
- Motivation
- Procrastination
- Homework and Study
- Confidence and Self Belief
- Friendships, Peer Pressure and Belonging
- Bullying and Online Bullying
- Sleep
- Choosing Subjects
- Transition Year
- The Junior Cycle
- The Leaving Certificate
- Exam Pressure
- Career Choices
- The Parent and the School
- When Things Are Not Going Well
- Looking After the Parent
- Common Parenting Mistakes
- The Parent’s Practical Toolkit
Plus a year by year map, an Irish education jargon buster, Where to Get Help contacts and a full list of sources.
What you will learn
Practical things you can do tonight
Phones and screen time
What the new school phone rules and online safety code mean, what the research really says, and how to agree a family phone plan your teenager helps to write.
Motivation and procrastination
Why “lazy” is rarely the real story, and small, realistic ways to help a teenager get started without nagging.
Homework and study that works
Study methods with the strongest evidence, how to set up a routine, where grinds help and where they don’t, and a balanced look at AI tools and homework.
Subject choice, TY, Junior Cycle and Leaving Cert
The current system explained in plain English, including the 2025 Junior Cycle grade bands and the Senior Cycle redevelopment.
Friendships and bullying
How to respond calmly when your child is upset, what schools must do under the Bí Cineálta procedures, and how to raise concerns step by step.
Careers and the CAO
The CAO in plain English, HEAR and DARE, SUSI, apprenticeships, PLCs and tertiary degrees, and why a first choice is not a life sentence.
Looking after the parent
You are the captain of the plane
Plan privately. Communicate calmly. Lead reassuringly.
A pilot can feel every bit as uncertain as the passengers. But when the captain speaks over the intercom, everyone needs to hear calm, clarity and a plan.
This guide gives a whole chapter to the person nobody asks about: you. It is not about hiding your feelings. It is about choosing how and when to share them, and looking after yourself so you have something left to give.
The 10 Minute Parent Reset
For the moment you feel yourself about to lose it.
What Can I Control?
Put your energy where it actually makes a difference.
The Parent Weekly Check In
Five minutes, once a week, with a cup of tea.
The Couple Planning Conversation
Teamwork, not blame, before you talk to your teenager.
Looking after yourself is not selfish. It is part of looking after your child.
The Parent’s Practical Toolkit
26 printable worksheets, included in the book
Every worksheet fits on one A4 page, so you can print what you need, as often as you need it, for your own family.
- Weekly Family Planner
- Weekly Family Check In
- Teenager Weekly Planning Sheet
- Homework Planner
- Study Timetable
- Revision Timetable
- Exam Preparation Checklist
- Phone Agreement
- Screen Time Audit
- Sleep Audit
- Motivation Planner
- Goal Setting Sheet
- Confidence Builder
- Subject Choice Worksheet
- Transition Year Decision Worksheet
- Career Exploration Sheet
- Parent and Student Conversation Sheet
- The Calm Conversation Plan
- School Meeting Preparation Sheet
- The 10 Minute Parent Reset
- What Can I Control?
- Parent Stress Audit
- Parent Mental Health Check In
- The Parent Weekly Check In
- Parent and Partner Planning Sheet
- Parent Reflection Sheet
Research basis
Honest about what is fact, research and experience
Official information
Checked against Irish sources including the Department of Education and Youth, the NCCA, Citizens Information, the CAO, Tusla, NEPS, the NCSE and the HSE.
Research findings
Drawn from Growing Up in Ireland, the ESRI, HBSC Ireland, My World Survey and reputable international studies, with the limits of the evidence explained.
Experience, clearly labelled
Enda’s own observations from 35 years in education are marked as experience, so you always know what you are reading.
Every chapter lists its sources, and the guide never invents statistics, testimonials or endorsements.
About the author
Enda O’Doherty
Why Enda wrote this guide
“After thirty five years in education, I noticed that the questions parents ask me are nearly always the same. How much should they be studying? What do I do about the phone? Why won’t they talk to me? And, very quietly at the end: am I getting this right?
I wanted to give parents one honest, practical book that answers those questions, tells them when to stop worrying and when to act, and reminds them that they matter too. Your teenager does not need a perfect parent. They need a steady parent.”
Enda is an educator, not a doctor, psychologist or therapist. The guide offers general guidance and points clearly to professional support when it is needed.
Get your copy
The Secondary School Survival Guide for Parents
€19
- The full colour guide as a PDF, readable on any device
- The Parent’s Practical Toolkit: 26 printable worksheets, included
- Year by year map, jargon buster and Where to Get Help contacts
- Checked against Irish sources in September 2026
Pay securely with PayPal, Apple Pay or card. You go straight to your download page after payment.
FAQs
Questions parents ask about the guide
Parents and guardians of children in Irish secondary schools, from the summer before First Year right through to the Leaving Cert and the CAO. It is equally useful for a worried parent of a First Year and a busy parent of a Sixth Year.
Yes. Official information, including the 2025 Junior Cycle grade bands, Senior Cycle redevelopment, the school phone policy, the Bí Cineálta anti bullying procedures and CAO arrangements, was checked against Irish sources in September 2026. Dates and fees change every year, so the guide always tells you where to confirm them.
No. It offers general educational and parenting guidance from an experienced educator. It does not diagnose, and it points clearly to GPs, schools and Irish support services whenever specialist help is needed.
A full colour PDF you can read on your phone, tablet or computer, with The Parent’s Practical Toolkit of 26 printable worksheets built in, which you can print as often as you need for your own family.
No. The guide is designed to be useful on its own. Study Skills Ireland services are mentioned briefly at the beginning and end, but you do not need any other product to benefit from it.
Yes. A full chapter is about looking after yourself, with practical tools such as the 10 Minute Parent Reset, What Can I Control? and the Parent Weekly Check In. Looking after yourself is part of looking after your child.
Study Skills Ireland
Want more support?
Private study programme
One to one study coaching for secondary students, combining live sessions with video lessons. Find out more
Study Skills Assessment
A detailed look at how your teenager studies now, with practical recommendations. Find out more
The Best Your Child Can Get
Enda’s talk for parents, delivered in schools. Find out more
From Chaos to Calm
A Teacher’s Guide to Positive Mental Health, for school staff. Find out more