Look into Law 2023 – TY Programme

Look into Law

The Bar of Ireland’s Transition Year programme ‘Look into Law’ returned in 2023. This year we offered schools an additional online course as well as the programme.

The Look into Law TY Programme has now taken place. It was reimagined as a blended offering with one week online and onsite for 100 students who are interested in learning about life as a barrister. It took place between Monday 30th January and Friday 3rd February, with Wednesday and Thursday onsite at our premises in Dublin 7. The online days consisted of live Zoom sessions with barristers and included breakout rooms and quizzes. The onsite days consisted of job shadowing and tours. 

Check back in September 2023 for details of the 2024 programme!

In the meantime, following the overwhelming success of the online version of Look into Law which was open to an unlimited number of students, The Bar of Ireland is delighted to introduce a brand new initiative entitled Look into Law: Bitesize.  This course remains online until the end of May 2023 and can be accessed by teachers when it suits a school’s timetable.

This new online course will be an additional outreach offering to secondary school students. It will be of interest and relevance to all students as it will explain how the law and justice system impacts every citizen of this country. There will be no limits to the number of students who can take part and schools will be able to slot the course into their timetables at a time that suits the school between January and May 2023.  The course will comprise four lesson plans including videos and links to further information, as well as suggestions for quizzes and research projects. Each lesson plan will be sufficient for one class, so this course could be run by a teacher over four consecutive weeks, or alternatively over half a day or over two double periods of class time.

The Bar of Ireland’s TY Team will make the programme available online with all accompanying lesson plans, videos and links in time for the new school term in January 2023.  

The Big Legal Q&A will return for a second time and will be open to all participants of both the Look into Law TY course and Look into Law – Bitesize. It will take place on Friday 3rd February at 9am to 10.30am. All schools and students will be invited to attend and ask questions to a panel of barristers. 

Look into Law: Bitesize

Online Course | Open to students nationwide | Designed for teachers to incorporate into lesson plans

Sign Up

Content is now available in early January 2023.

Please click below to sign your school up.

Sign up to Look into Law: Bitesize

Once processed, you will be sent a link to a webpage which contains the full information.   

Key dates: 

  • Applications open now until May 2023. 
  • Automatic email will be sent to you with the website link you will need.
  • Content available January to May 2023.

Further information: 

Look into Law – Bitesize is not restricted to transition year students and can be used by teachers as part of the CSPE class in third year or as part of English or History in fifth year. No prior knowledge will be required by teachers as they will be given easy-to-follow lesson plans.  

The Big Legal Q&A: bringing law closer to students

Due to last years overwhelming success, the we had Look into Law Big Legal Q&A. Students got the opportunity to engage directly with a panel of barristers, and pose questions about life at the Bar, how the legal system operates, as well as career advice!

Look into Law: TY Programme

Transition Year Programme | Combination of onsite and online learning | Open to 100 students, 1 per school

Look into Law: TY Programme – applications for 2023 are now closed but registration is still open for Look into Law: Bitesize

Transition Year Programme | Combination of onsite and online learning | Open to 100 students, 1 per school

Please contact transitionyear@lawlibrary.ie for any further queries.

“I thought the programme was really beneficial and interesting. I liked the variety of videos and quizzes to keep us engaged, and I loved the faces of the bar aspect where they gave some excellent advice. In general, the programme gave a great insight of what it would be like to work as a barrister.”

 

“I think it was a great programme that provided lots of information. I would recommend it to students who are coming into transition year this year.”

 

 

“I thought it was a very interesting, engaging, and informative module which completely changed my outlook on the justice system.”

 

Application for a lottery place on Look into Law TY Programme 

 

1. I completed the form online and submitted it. Is there anything else I need to do before November?  

No, there is nothing more to do for the moment. We will contact you when the lottery draw has occurred and inform you if you have received one of the 100 places. 

 

2. How many students can one school submit? 

There are only 100 places and the schools who are given a place via the lottery can submit one student each.  

 

3. When will I need to submit the student’s name? 

Each school who receives a place in the programme will require to submit their student’s name by Monday 12th December along with permission forms. 

 

4. When will I send my students’ CVs/email addresses/phone numbers  

As all communications will be through the designated teacher, we will only need the student’s email address when you submit their name. We do not need anything about the student before that. 

 

5. My school tells me that they have already applied 

If your school has already applied, please make sure to let them know you would be interested in the programme. Schools will be notified whether or not their schools have been given a place on the 24th November.  

 

6. My school tells me there are several students interested 

Unfortunately, each school who has a received a place in the programme will need to submit one student only. Schools are encouraged to hold a competition for the place if necessary. 

 

7. We don’t know which student to put forward 

In previous years, schools have held competitions, in the form of essay etc., to determine which student to put forward 

 

8. My child wants to apply 

Unfortunately, we only accept applications from schools, if your child wants to apply, they will need to ask the school to apply on their behalf. 

 

9. The student requires assistance  

Please let us know any assistance your student will require 

 

Registration for Look into Law – Bitesize: 

 

1. I completed the form online and submitted it. Is there anything else I need to do before December?  

No, there is nothing more to do for the moment.  

 

2. I inputted the wrong number of students, how do I change it?  

That’s not a problem. This is only to give us a rough guide of numbers of students taking the course. You do not need to do anything further. 

 

3. We are unable to run the programme in school hours. Can it be accessed by students outside of school?  

Yes. We will send all information and links to you, and you should send them on to each of your students.  

 

4. I am a student and my school does not want to apply.  

For various reasons, we will only liaise with the Guidance Counsellor or TY Coordinator. Please ask your teacher to contact us and we will talk them through the submission process.  

 

Accessing the Look into Law – Bitesize course: 

 

1. I am a teacher, but I don’t know anything about the law, how will I know the answers for the students.  

The lesson plans will have all the information you need to teach your class. Each plan will contain several quizzes to check that students understand the information. You are welcome to create a Kahoot quiz or similar with these questions – we will supply you with a number of wrong answers as well to help you create these quizzes.  We will also supply you with the answers for all the quizzes and a teacher resource page with further information. 

 

2. Do we need to access it daily or weekly? 

Each lesson plan will be sufficient for one class, so this course could be run by a teacher over four consecutive weeks, or alternatively over half a day or over two double periods of class time.  

 

3. How many lesson plans are there? 

There will be four lesson plans. 

 

4. Is there a limit to the number of students that can access the programme? 

There is no limit to the numbers. 

 

5. How much does it cost to take part?  

There is no cost to take part. It is completely free of charge. 

 

6. Will the students receive certificates of completion? 

Yes, there will be a template included on the page for you to personalize and print out if you so wish. 

 

7. Will there be any live components in this course?  

There will be no live components in this course, but teachers are welcome to apply to the Look into Law – Transition Year Programme, there are only 100 places available. All TY classes will also be invited to attend the live Q&A panel discussions in 2023.  

 

8. Will we get a chance to job shadow a barrister?  

Due to the nature of the course, it will not be possible to organize job shadowing at the moment. The Look into Law – Transition Year Programme will have an element of job-shadowing, although due to resource constraints, there are only 100 places on offer. 

 

9. Are there any other opportunities for interaction between schools and between students? 

We would like to encourage as much interaction as possible, within Covid-19 guidelines. If the programme is teacher-led, there will be opportunities for discussion within the class on different topics. There will also be a number of quizzes to check that information has been understood.  

 

10. Social media 

We encourage schools and students to use the hashtag #LookIntoLaw2023 to show them engaged with the programme and to showcase their involvement. 

 

We will be encouraging schools to share photos of the students with their certificates on social media using the hashtag #LookIntoLaw2023.