National Learning Network Portlaoise

🌲🔥 Skills for Life Survival Adventure! 🔥🌲
Our Skills for Life work students recently stepped out of the classroom and into the forest for an exciting survival training experience with Survival Training Ireland.

Throughout the day, students developed valuable practical skills, learning how to:
✅ Build emergency shelters using natural materials
✅ Create and safely manage fire in outdoor environments
✅ Source and purify drinking water
✅ Work as a team to overcome challenges in the wilderness
✅ Build confidence, resilience, and problem-solving skills

This hands-on experience gave students the opportunity to learn essential life skills while enjoying the great outdoors. A huge thank you to the team at Survival Training Ireland for delivering such an engaging and educational session.
Experiences like these help our students develop confidence, independence, and the skills needed to thrive in everyday life.
🌿🏕️🔥

☀️Summer Celebrations at NLN Portlaoise! ☀️

What a fantastic way to finish up the term! Our students at NLN Portlaoise are making the most of their final week before a well-deserved summer break, enjoying lots of fun activities, laughter, and great memories with friends and staff.
This week has been full of smiles, with everyone treating themselves to delicious ice cream cones and pizza as part of the celebrations. 🍕😋🍦
We are so proud of all that our students have achieved this year and are delighted to see everyone enjoying some well-earned downtime before the college closes for the summer.
Wishing all our students, staff, and families a wonderful, relaxing, and safe summer break. We look forward to seeing everyone back refreshed and ready for another exciting year!
☀️😊🎉

🧺 Picnic Adventures at Cathole Falls! 🌿🌊

Today, students from NLN Portlaoise made the most of the beautiful sunny weather with a relaxing picnic at the stunning Cathole Falls. 🌞
The group enjoyed a wonderful day outdoors, taking in the scenic surroundings, sharing great conversations, and spending quality time together in nature. Experiences like these are a fantastic way to promote wellbeing, build friendships, and appreciate the beauty of our local environment.

A big thank you to Anna who helped make the day such a success. 😊
🌿☀️🧺💙

☀️🌊 NLN Portlaoise Annual Centre Trip 2026 🌊☀️
What an incredible day our students and staff enjoyed on our annual Centre Trip to Salthill, Galway last week!
On what felt like the sunniest day of the year, the group set off for a fun-filled day of adventure, laughter and great memories. Our first stop was the fascinating Atlantaquaria, where everyone had the opportunity to explore Galway's amazing marine life and learn about the creatures that inhabit our oceans.
From there, the excitement continued with a visit to the Salthill Funfair, where students and staff enjoyed the rides, games and plenty of fun. The day was rounded off with a relaxing stroll along the beautiful seafront, soaking up the sunshine and enjoying the fantastic atmosphere.
It was wonderful to see everyone having such a great time together, building friendships, creating lasting memories and making the most of a truly amazing day.
A huge thank you to all the staff who helped organise and support the trip, and well done to all our students for making it such a memorable occasion.
📸☀️🌊 A fantastic day, great company, and memories to last a lifetime!

We are delighted to share that Dylan competed in the Special Olympics this past weekend and achieved an outstanding result, winning a Gold Medal in Bowling.
This is a fantastic achievement and a true reflection of Dylan’s dedication, hard work, and commitment to his sport.
If you see Dylan around the centre, please take a moment to congratulate him on this incredible success.
Well done, Dylan — we are all very proud of you! 🎉

Work has the power to change a life, not just through a payslip, but through purpose, confidence, connection, and opportunity.

Because for many of the people we support, the right education can remove barriers and transform their future.

Join us for our free webinar on 3rd June, Paths to Employment with NLN, and hear directly from NLN graduates who've gone on to build meaningful careers.

Register today: 5cb31f18-bef6-41aa-94a2-d8a23ad784a9@5e70b29f-d5ea-45af-8a0d-9d8f596877be" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/5cb31f18-bef6-41aa-94a2-d8a23ad784a9@5e70b29f-d5ea-45af-8a0d-9d8f596877be

🎓✨ Exploring Future Pathways at TUS Athlone! ✨🎓

Our students from NLN Portlaoise recently had the fantastic opportunity to visit TUS Athlone, where they took part in an insightful campus tour designed to explore pathways into higher education.

This visit, made possible through a strong partnership between NLN, LOETB, and the TUS Athlone Accessibility Team, gave students a valuable look at how they can progress from vocational training into third-level education 📚

The day was filled with engaging discussions, helpful guidance, and a real sense of what student life at TUS Athlone has to offer. It provided inspiration and practical insight into the next steps on their educational journey.

A huge thank you to the team at TUS Athlone Access Team for such a welcoming, informative, and engaging experience 👏

Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board Technological University of the Shannon, Athlone

🤖✨ STEM in Action at NLN Portlaoise! ✨🤖

A huge well done to our incredible students at NLN Portlaoise who recently completed an engaging STEM Robotics Workshop! 🚀

From the ground up, students designed and built their very own robots 🔧🤖—developing problem-solving, teamwork, and creative thinking skills along the way. The excitement didn’t stop there… once the builds were complete, it was time to put their robots to the test and have some fun bringing them to life! 🎮

This fantastic hands-on workshop was delivered by NLN in partnership with LOETB, highlighting the power of collaboration in opening up new learning opportunities and future pathways for our learners.

👏 Well done to everyone involved—you should be very proud of your achievements!

All Abilities are getting ready for their NeuroArt Festival coming up on the 22nd August 2026.
They need Volunteers in order to make this event happen as well as Volunteers on the day. This is a great charity to volunteer with, Please see the list of volunteering roles below.

Administration Volunteers
https://www.i-vol.ie/volunteer-opportunity/?ID=a00WS00000U4l2M

Event Management Volunteers
https://www.i-vol.ie/volunteer-opportunity/?ID=a00WS00000U4dKw

Marketing Volunteers
https://www.i-vol.ie/volunteer-opportunity/?ID=a00WS00000U4czv

Social Media Content Volunteer
https://www.i-vol.ie/volunteer-opportunity/?ID=a00WS00000U50Sj

Website Management Volunteer
https://www.i-vol.ie/volunteer-opportunity/?ID=a00WS00000U4msq

To apply or for more information please click the link.