The recruitment of teachers to cover substitution needs is expensive and ineffective, Richard Bruton says.

More than one third of primary schools have been unable to hire a substitute teacher at least 10 times since September, a survey has found.

More than half of primary school principals say they are still forced to ask parents for voluntary contributions, and 40% of them are running financial deficits.

An Oireachtas committee will assess whether homework should be scrapped in schools today.

Extra middle-management posts being created from next autumn should allow school leaders give more time to improving education and other work, Education Minister Richard Bruton has told primary school principals.

Difficulties getting teachers to apply for principal jobs may be eased by a new course destined to prepare them for the challenges.

Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan says her department will continually review policy on keeping data on primary pupils, which it intends to hold until they reach the age of 30.

The behaviour of teachers, parents, and students towards principals makes them three times more likely than other adults to be bullied and twice as likely to suffer violence or threats, a major survey has found.

Primary school principals are calling for two hours of PE classes per week to fight childhood obesity.

A fund of €3m is to be made available by the Department of Education to expand supports for principals and teachers aspiring to the role.

Schools will continue to turn to parents for financial support as another 1% cut to day-to-day funding goes ahead — despite an economic upturn that was not expected when it was flagged three years ago.

Close to half of all primary school principals could leave the job in the short or medium term, a survey has found.

Exhausted principals are being prevented from stepping back from school leadership because they risk having to move schools as a result, TDs and senators have been told.

Technology should open up the world to curious young minds — but crawling broadband speeds mean a Waterford primary class can not make best use of their fancy gadgets.

Schools attended by almost 100,000 children will benefit from improvement works which are to be funded over the summer holidays.

Schools with large infant intakes may be allowed extra staff to avoid putting them into larger classes later this year.

Primary schools are being overloaded with changes to curricular emphasis without proper guidance, training or other supports from the Department of Education, the head of their principals’ body claimed.

Simplifications to school rolls and registers are just steps in the right direction towards keeping all pupil records online instead of on paper, principals said.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has been forced into a second embarrassing U-turn and reversed a 10% cut in resource teaching hours to schoolchildren with special needs.

Professional bodies representing principals and deputy principals are to consider alternative representation because they do not believe their trade unions did enough to protect their members’ interests in the Croke Park II discussions.

A few times a week and at the end of every month, primary school deputy principal Paul Harrington complies with education law by writing pupil attendance figures from his computer into a book like those used by his 19th century predecessors.

The Department of Education says the number of retired teachers being given work by schools is unsatisfactory as it emerged dozens are on paid contracts while thousands of graduates seek work.

The President, Michael D Higgins, has urged young people not to get involved in cyberbullying or ganging up on vulnerable classmates.

President Michael D Higgins has joined primary school principals in calls to reduce the red tape that holds them back from teaching the arts.

The body representing primary school principals in Ireland is calling on the Government to ease the workload of its members.

A growing number of children in most primary schools are showing the effects of family trauma and emotional disturbance, their principals have said.

Food poverty is hindering some primary-school pupils’ ability to learn basic literacy and numeracy, according to the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN).

Irish 10-year-olds are above average at maths, reading, and science but their scores fall short of the top-performing children in the world.

The Irish Primary Principals' Network is calling on the Government not to cut school capitation grants any further in December's Budget.

Lugging stuffed schoolbags is uncomfortable and could even damage your child. Deirdre Reynolds gets some practical advice on lessening that load.

Only a quarter of parents with dependent children would opt to send them to a Church-run primary school, a poll has found.

Only a quarter of parents with children would opt to send them to a Church-run primary school.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has been accused of robbing Peter to pay Paul after cutting budgets for all primary schools in order to fund a U-turn on teacher cuts in the most disadvantaged schools.

New teachers lack the social skills needed to cope with large classrooms of children, partly because they are chosen for teacher training courses on their academic achievements alone.

The director of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) has told Education Minister Ruairi Quinn it would be fairer to spread education cuts across all schools instead of targeting those in disadvantaged and rural areas.

Principals should be allowed return to full-time teaching after a set number of years, most primary school leaders believe, as workload and stress are forcing them to retire early.

Primary school principals are meeting today in Dublin, at the biggest conference of its kind in Europe.

Primary pupils may have less access to new learning materials as dwindling funds are being used to pay rising bills.

Three-fifths of schools are financially worse off now than they were when the recession began, according to a survey by the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN).

A group representing primary school principals has called on the Government to exempt schools from paying VAT.

PROBLEMS like leaky roofs, backed-up toilets and missing slates may become a major issue for primary school principals following a decision to axe a special “repairs” grant from the end of this month.

PRINCIPALS have called for an overhaul of how primary school boards are structured as figures show that almost half are still chaired by priest or other religious person.