020. Replace small schools with “hubs”
This idea is probably going to be the one where I’m hung out to dry! Yes, it looks like I’m advocating for amalgamating small schools. However, read on, before you accuse me of killing rural Ireland! Rather than killing rural communities, my proposal is to build them. Having 3 schools with less than 30 pupils […]
031. Each enrollment to a school should come with a grant for miscellaneous items
Schools get a number of grants for the running of various things. The capitation grant is the largest of these and is supposed to cover all utility bills and all the running costs of the school. It is never enough. Rather than providing a capitation grant for utilities, the capitation grant should be given to […]
030. No more Teaching Principals
How anyone can now do the job of a Teaching Principal, given the changes in the job over the last decade, is beyond me. The job has changed beyond recognition. Not only does a Teaching Principal have to do a full time teaching job, they also have to take on the relentless extra work of […]
029. Principal Benchmarking Should Be Awarded
Back in 2008, a review of all public sector pay came to the conclusion that everyone was being paid fairly except for a small proportion of university technicians and all 3,200 primary school principals. The principal allowance was to be upped significantly in some cases. Below are the figures from an old INTO Eolas leaflet. […]
026. Ban Fundraising
That’s easy for you to say! Indeed it is easy simply to say ban fundraising in schools, but who is going to plug the hole that is left from the lack of money given to schools to keep going? Who is going to fund the costs of teachers’ materials. Where is the money going to […]
025. Free School Lunches for All Pupils
There is a School Meals Programme for a number of years, which provides schools (generally DEIS schools) with a €1.40 per pupil grant, which the school can use to provide each pupil with a sandwich, piece of fruit and a drink. The school receives a maximum of 90% of the money they apply for (seriously, […]
023. The DES should develop curriculum content
Ireland is a funny country. The Department of Education has a large selection of quangos that do loads of different jobs but none of them make curriculum content. If an Irish teacher is looking for an ICT resource to compliment a lesson, it’s almost certain that the teacher will visit a different country’s content and […]
067. Cleaners should be contracted by the DES and paid directly by them
Cleaning Staff are paid from an ancillary grant, which is given to all schools by the Department of Education each year based on the number of pupils enrolled in the school the previous year. This grant is also supposed to cover the wage of all ancillary staff including secretaries, etc. but, in general, it doesn’t […]
040. Secretaries to be paid a standard wage directly from DES
School secretaries are paid from an ancillary grant, which is given to all schools by the Department of Education each year based on the number of pupils enrolled in the school the previous year. This grant is also supposed to cover the wage of all ancillary staff including caretakers, cleaning staff, etc. but, in general, […]
064. Caretakers should be paid directly by the DES
Caretakers are paid from an ancillary grant, which is given to all schools by the Department of Education each year based on the number of pupils enrolled in the school the previous year. This grant is also supposed to cover the wage of all ancillary staff including secretaries, etc. but, in general, it doesn’t cover […]