Syllabus planners are conscious of the need to avoid over frequent changes, primarily in order to minimise increases in the cost burden for parents. Apart from a small number of prescribed texts at second level, mainly in the case of language subjects, school books are not approved or prescribed by my Department at first or second level. Decisions on which books to use are taken at school level.
School authorities have been advised that books should be changed only to the extent that is absolutely necessary. However, textbooks have to be changed periodically to enable teachers to keep their own and their students' work educationally stimulating and to ensure that content and methodology are kept up to date.
My Department operates a grants scheme towards the cost of providing school textbooks for pupils from low-income families in schools at first and second level. For the purposes of these grants, a needy pupil is a pupil from a family where there is genuine hardship because of unemployment, prolonged illness of a parent, large family size with inadequate means, single parenthood or other family circumstances, such as substance abuse, which would indicate a similar degree of financial hardship. Principal teachers administer the book grant schemes in schools in a flexible way under the terms of the schemes based on their knowledge of particular circumstances in individual cases. Many schools operate book rental schemes and second-hand book exchanges.
I have no plans to conduct an analysis of the financial impact on pupils, parents and schools of changes to school curricula and any associated changes to text books and materials used for new curricula.
