Top marks for PE but old computers score badly
The children at eight primary schools who spoke to ESRI researchers for a study on school design demonstrated how older buildings made learning more difficult. In three older schools, for example, pupils commented on variations in temperature during the school year and even within individual weeks.
“Even on a warm day in March the room gets really stuffy... kinda hard to concentrate if it is really stuffy,” said a child at one older school.
Children favoured working in pairs and groups, because it helped them pick up ideas or get others to help them, but those at older schools reported problems. “I’d prefer if we had, like, square tables so we could all talk among ourselves,” said one pupil.
Children were critical of the small size of the hall for PE, a subject the pupils were generally very positive about because they “get fit” and can “have fun”.
“When you get to fifth or sixth it gets a bit cramped, and if you have a big enough class like ours you don’t get enough time — teams of four get about four to five minutes and that’s all,” said a child at an older school.
Pupils also reported limited use of computers in day-to-day learning, even in newer schools where one child said there should be more computers.
An Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN) survey of almost 1,000 members has found that 87% of primary schools rely on fundraising to support technology in the classroom and one-in-three funds most of their IT needs from sources other than the Department of Education.
“More than 2,000 schools are still using fixed line broadband, almost 1,000 have satellite and 760 have wireless, so high-speed broadband is still only a dream for most schools. The much-heralded satellite broadband solution has been a disastrous experience for schools without another option. This is unimaginable considering the spending during the boom years, said IPPN president Pat Goff.
Tánaiste Mary Coughlan last night announced that €21 million for a teaching computer and digital project for every class will be given to almost 700 second level schools in the coming days. The funding, due to have been received earlier this year, is available for all except recently-completed schools which have such equipment already, and is also being given to fee-paying schools, although it was unclear last night if they would receive the same grants as other schools.
