School principals are being put under an “unmanageable administrative burden” with the free schoolbooks scheme, according to a new survey.
The scheme was first introduced to primary schools in 2023 and expanded into secondary schools in 2024.
It provides a grant to schools to buy textbooks, workbooks, copybooks and other essential resources, but does not include digital devices.
Individual schools buy the books themselves from suppliers and decide what their students need. Children are expected to return the books at the end of the school year.
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However, a new survey by the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD), which received 300 responses from members, found 90 per cent of school leaders felt the administration of the scheme was creating a major burden on principals and deputies.
While every school receives an administrative grant to support them in organising the scheme, some 78 per cent of respondents said this was not enough support to implement it.
Despite this, over half (51.4 per cent) of school leaders said the scheme was a positive step in assisting families with back-to-school costs.
These principals and deputies believe the scheme should continue, but the majority (62.8 per cent) said it should be managed off-site.
President of the NAPD, Brian Doran, said: “This survey shows that school leaders recognise that reducing costs to parents is an important and worthwhile objective. However, we are losing sight of what is important in our schools when we continue to ask our educational leaders to prioritise admin.
“Principals and their staff are being asked to manage procurement, budgets, deliveries, stock, storage, book returns, recycling and distribution. This is in addition to their core responsibility of leading teaching and learning within their schools.”
Director of the NAPD, Paul Crone, said: “Without meaningful changes, there is a real risk that schools will struggle to find people willing to take responsibility for administering the scheme in future years and our students will continue to be disadvantaged while school leaders are distracted by admin work.”
