Louise O'Reilly
Question:509. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Education what options and funding streams are available to a school that wishes to start a school library and stock it with books. [16849/23]
View answerTuesday, 18 April 2023
Questions (509)
Written answers
My Department acknowledges that a library of books, audio books and other material to increase the literacy (in English, Irish or other languages) and numeracy resources in a school, can play an important part in a school’s teaching and learning.
In 2022 my Department made once-off funding of €20 million available to all recognised primary and post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme to purchase books, audio books and other media for the purposes of improving their existing literacy-resource banks. Assistance was also provided by my Department, with the support of the Public Library Service, to the schools on how best to use the funding, through a guidance note, webinars and support from local libraries, that support is still available to schools.
Following on from this funding, as the Deputy is aware, in Budget 2023, my Department announced over €50 million to provide free schoolbooks to primary school pupils within the free education scheme from September 2023. At a minimum the scheme will provide free schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks for all pupils in recognised primary schools and special schools and will eliminate the cost of these items for parents of children and young people enrolled in these schools. Any surplus grant can be used to purchase shared books, audio books and other material to increase the literacy (in English, Irish or other languages) and numeracy resources in a school. Funding should only be used for this purpose, however, where all other schoolbooks, workbooks, copybooks and related classroom resources costs have been met. Alternatively, the surplus can be carried forward to the next school year. Schools should consider the need to replace or purchase new schoolbooks in the following year when deciding how to use any surplus grant in the current year.
Separately, under the Junior Certificate School Programme (JCSP), the JCSP Demonstration Library Project was set up. Introduced in 1996, the JCSP is a social inclusion programme that is aimed at students who are identified as being at risk of being socially or academically isolated or at risk of early school leaving. The Demonstration Library Project has established high-quality school libraries in 30 schools with 32 professional librarians based in these schools. Librarians are responsible, together with key school staff, for drawing up and implementing library strategies to tackle the literacy difficulties experienced by many JCSP students. Each year, every library receives a grant from JCSP which funds literacy and numeracy initiatives, book buying and resources for the library. Currently there is a review of the JCSP being undertaken and therefore the programme is closed to new applicants while the review continues but current provision is continuing for the present.
I hope this information is of assistance to the Deputy.