About Anseo.net - If I were the Minister for Education
How many times have you said to yourself, "If I were the Minister for Education…?" Well I do! Rather than grumble to myself, I decided to podcast my thoughts on ways I'd change the primary education system in Ireland. Every episode I'll take on a different theme, give some background and hopefully come to some conclusions by the end.
simonmlewis.substack.com (https://simonmlewis.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)
In this episode of If I Were the Minister for Education, I speak with Aoife Hughes, a professional ADHD coach and educator, during ADHD Awareness Month. Aoife shares her story as a late-identified ADHD and autistic woman, her experiences in school and a 20-year teaching career shaped by anxiety, change, and burnout, and how she moved into ADHD coaching after training in the US. She explains ADHD coaching as life coaching through the lens of ADHD, using a strengths-based approach and partnership rather than prescribing strategies. We discuss barriers for neurodivergent teachers, missed ADHD in girls, masking as “bracing” and its impact on learning, and practical classroom supports like movement and thinking tools. Aoife questions tick-box “ADHD-friendly” labels and argues for whole-community neuro-affirming education grounded in neuroscience, and says that as minister she would train policymakers, school leaders, staff, parents and pupils on neurodivergence, trauma, disability, poverty and racism.
* Website: Aoife Hughes Coaching (https://www.aoifehughescoaching.com/)
* Newsletter Subscription link: https://learn-ahc.mykajabi.com/signup (https://learn-ahc.mykajabi.com/signup)
* ADHD Starter Kit for Parents: ADHD Support for Parents | Starter Kit (https://learn-ahc.mykajabi.com/adhd-starter-kit-for-parents) - (adult one launching soon)
* IG / FB @aoifehughescoaching
* ADHD Webinar Series with Wexford Education Centre: April 2027: Welcome to Wexford Education Centre (2) - Welcome to Wexford Education Centre, Ireland (https://www.ecwexford.ie/)
00:00 Welcome and Podcast Intro01:48 Meet Aoife Hughes03:05 From Teaching to Coaching09:10 What Is ADHD Coaching13:45 Neurodivergent Teachers16:43 Masking and ADHD Girls25:02 Making Classrooms Neuroaffirming30:25 Do School Supports Help34:32 Beyond ADHD Friendly Labels37:32 Are Schools Fit for Purpose41:51 Minister for a Day43:21 Where to Find Aoife44:40 Final Reflections and Wrap
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonmlewis.substack.com/subscribe (https://simonmlewis.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)
20 Oct 2026
Interview 40: Ronan McGovern
In this episode of If I Were the Minister for Education, I speak with Ronan McGovern about ADHD and its impact in Irish primary and secondary schooling. Ronan outlines his education and career path from Dublin to accounting, King’s Inns, PwC New York and an MBA at Stanford, where a classmate identified ADHD traits and he later received a diagnosis at age 34. He reflects on being held back in school by inattention, note-taking difficulties, a need to move, and negative experiences including corporal punishment, while also recognising teachers who focused on him as an individual. Drawing on work with Stanford’s Neurodiversity Project, he discusses universal design, the overlooked creativity of neurodiverse people, and internships as a practical inclusion strategy. Ronan shares approaches that would have helped him learn Irish: video, rhythm and sound, plus explicit grammar and structure; and recommends voice-to-text supports and mindfulness, alongside early diagnosis and intervention.
00:00 Welcome and Overview
00:47 Meet Ronan McGovern
01:42 Career Path to Stanford
03:39 Late ADHD Diagnosis
05:59 School Years Revisited
10:23 Coping and Sensory Needs
12:27 Universal Design in Schools
14:22 Why Support Lags Behind
16:23 Stanford Research Takeaways
19:06 Creativity and Neurodiversity
21:27 Famous ADHD Role Models
22:35 Why Leaders Stay Quiet
23:27 Famous Neurodiverse Founders
24:36 Learning Irish With ADHD
25:28 Teach Through Sound First
26:26 Grammar Patterns Matter
29:18 Book And Classroom Fixes
30:55 Early Intervention In Schools
32:07 If I Were Minister
33:09 Tech Ideas For Classrooms
35:00 Where To Follow And Wrap Up
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonmlewis.substack.com/subscribe (https://simonmlewis.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)
16 Oct 2026
Interview 39: Removing Diagnosis for Special Education with Debbie O’Neill
In this episode, I speak with Debbie O’Neill, principal of Scoil Eoin in Crumlin about Department-level proposals to remove diagnosis as a criterion for access to special classes and special schools, replacing it with a needs-based model relying on school-written reports assessed by an unnamed independent body. We discuss the context of a reported 257% rise in children requiring classroom support alongside only a 7% increase in SET hours since 2017, and the implications for resourcing systems linked to diagnosis (SERC). We compare international examples cited in documents (Portugal, New Zealand, Denmark and England), contrasting wraparound in-school clinical supports abroad with limited Irish provision, and warning of New Brunswick’s failed rapid inclusion approach. We outline actions for teachers and principals through unions and patrons, and long-term requirements including smaller class sizes and adequate clinical staffing.00:00 Podcast Intro00:33 Support Needs Surge01:47 Debbie Joins02:43 Removing Diagnosis05:18 How It Works Now06:24 New Needs Model09:34 Resource Reality Check11:37 SERC Allocation Risks13:50 Full Inclusion Push16:36 New Brunswick Fallout19:14 Portugal Done Right23:24 Wraparound Services Gap25:49 In School Therapy Myth29:00 Why Now Money Motive30:47 Inclusion Driven by Money33:04 Patrons Sold a Story34:20 UK Model Falling Apart35:27 Denmark Numbers and Resources38:26 New Zealand Framework Lessons41:52 What Teachers Can Do Now46:20 Making Inclusion Work Long Term49:56 Final Call to Action
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit simonmlewis.substack.com/subscribe (https://simonmlewis.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)
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Spotify
4.6 / 5
35 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 73 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
77
Social presence
0
YouTube
82
Engagement
90
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