On this week's programme Natalie Hogan, Youth Worker with Carlow Regional Youth Service, joins me to discuss school refusal and avoidance. I share a recent visit to Kilkenny Employment for Youth and catch up with Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board’s director of schools, Pauline Egan.

We're at the half-way point of the series, and this week, we get reaction to today’s strike action. We hear about Cyberbreak, a national digital detox initiative, that’s happening this Friday. We learn of the educational programmes that KASA in Kilkenny run and we talk about the challenges of transitioning from second to third level education.

On this week's programme we attend the launch of Music Generation Kilkenny's new mobile recording studio, which will bring recording, songwriting, and performance opportunities to young people all over Kilkennny. We pay a visit to Kilkenny Model School to chat to fifth class students. And we celebrate World Teachers' Day with two local teachers.

On this evening's programme, Una heads to O'Connor Music to chat to Ciara O'Connor about Ceol Cliste, a schools music programme. She meets Denis Carrigan, a teacher of Home Economics who was recently appointed as one of Ireland's first ever financial literacy ambassadors. And she speaks to Nicky Reed, Creative Director and Festival Co-ordinator of Bookville Kilkenny.

On this week's programme, we speak with CEO of the KCETB, Dr. Lindsay Malone, from last week's Student of the Year Awards. We get advice on maintaining those healthy, new-school-year-eating-habits, and, we meet Casey Nolan, a tool-making apprentice, who is currently competing at World Skills Ireland.

The new academic year has begun and Learning Local is back for season two. This week we head to the KCETB Student Of The Year awards, we learn about tertiary degrees, and family learning opportunities, that are available locally.

In the final episode of this series of Learning Local we celebrate Jessie Buckley’s big Oscar win by going backstage at St. Kieran’s College and Loreto Kilkenny’s recent joint production of Across the Barricades. We get details of a free, online cyber-safety & digital health talk. First years offer advice to 6th class students who may be starting to feel a little anxious about their transition to secondary school. We get tips that may help us to be more mindful as we learn and we hear about a website that provides help with CAO choices and picking subjects for Leaving Cert . With thanks, as always, to Kilkenny Carlow Education and Training Board.

On this week’s episode of Learning Local, teachers answer your questions ahead of the Leaving Cert foreign language orals, which are coming up at the end of March. We hear about Kilkenny Steiner School’s alternative and holistic approach to learning, arm you a few phrases that can be used as Seachtain na Gaeilge continues and we find out about upcoming Taster Days that are happening in Carlow College. With thanks to Kilkenny Carlow Education and Training Board.