Developing youth leadership skills at Churchtown
For the past two years, De La Salle College Churchtown has been a partner on the YoungLEAD project with Erasmus Plus. YoungLEAD project aims to aid teachers of children aged 11-16, especially children from disadvantaged and migrant backgrounds, in developing leadership skills and understanding of European values among children.
The project kicked off in September 2023 in Prague, where Principal Siobhan Foster represented De La Salle Churchtown to meet partners from three countries and six organisations including:
The Institute of European Professional Studies from Czech Republic
ZS Stross School from Czech Republic
I & F Education from Ireland
GROWTHCOOP from Spain
Carlos V School from Spain.
In Prague, the partners decided on the goals and objectives of the projects, which include developing the following skills - Communication, Team Work, Decision Making, Resilience, Self Esteem, Conflict Resolution and Empathy. To help teachers promote these skills in the classroom, partners decided to create 21 games aimed at students aged 11-16 to grow leadership skills and interpersonal competencies, including understanding EU values.
Tasked with devising seven of these games, English teacher Ms Madden got to work in February 2025. With the help of her first year Speech and Drama students, the games were ready to go.
In April 2024, De La Salle College hosted the second coordination meeting of the Erasmus+ YoungLead project in the city of Dublin, where we had the opportunity to give a presentation about the Irish education system and discuss upcoming activities to be carried out in the project. The consortium from all three countries had a fruitful two days deciding on next steps, including the creation of a digital platform full of resources and educational materials for the use of teachers and students.
Come September 2025, and it was Spain’s turn to host. The partners headed to Granada to collaborate on creating “learning nuggets.” Unlike larger courses or modules, learning nuggets are bite-sized, interactive lessons designed to make education fun and engaging. Using a variety of formats such as flashcards, quizzes, animations and posters, students can quickly grasp the concepts and skills the YoungLEAD project aims to foster.
Finally in September 2025, Ms Foster and Ms Madden went back to Prague to finalise the creation of the YoungLEAD digital platform. The digital platform is an online space where teachers and students can learn about the project and access easy-to-use resources like interactive learning nuggets, leadership games, and teaching guides, all tailored to help students grow in confidence, teamwork, and communication.
Participating in the project has been an incredible opportunity to collaborate with other educators to ensure future generations feel connected, promote social cohesion, improve their employment prospects, and enrich their cultural understanding.
