While most people working in the primary sector are delighted with the new curriculum, which they say presses all the right buttons, there is considerable concern that progress will be hampered due to a lack of funding. The Minister for Education is adamant that initiatives taken in recent years are sufficient to enable the smooth, phased introduction of the curriculum. Just two weeks ago, the Minister announced £5.7 million funding for secretarial and caretaking services and infant and science equipment grants. Earlier in the year, £2 million was allocated to the school planning initiative. Meanwhile, average class sizes have been reduced to 30 and every school now boasts information and communication technology (ICT) capacity.
While the range of initiatives is most welcome, they are simply not enough, teachers say.
A major problem for the sector is that it is starting from an extremely low base. Primary schools have been under-funded and neglected for so long that the catching up to be done is enormous. "We need more music, art mathematical and science equipment for senior children and more large format books for English," comments one teacher. "If you look at other countries - Britain, Scandinavia or New Zealand for example - they have far greater resources. We are always scrounging."
"We welcome the in-service support (£5 million) but we want part three," declares a school principal. "We need far more equipment. We need to able to replace and upgrade things regularly, and we don't want to be forced to fundraise to make it happen. We're still asking children to pay for textbooks which are freely available in other countries." Teachers, too, are concerned, that despite the lower pupil-teacher ratio at primary level, it's still not enough. The new curriculum involves children being much more active in school, moving about and engaging with the local community. "Just from a safety point of view, we need smaller classes if children are going to be moving about," is one teacher's comment. "I would like to see a teacher-pupil ratio of one-to-20 in the infants' classes. Classes of 30 are far too big." Unless extra measures are introduced immediately, the new curriculum will be inhibited by class size, lack of space and lack of resources, teachers predict. "We need sustained and increased Government investment," argues a principal.
The primary years are the most significant and vital years in any child's life, he says. Get them off to a good start and you increase their chances of remaining within the system. There's a very real fear that - despite the work, effort and commitment of hundreds of dedicated teachers - without considerably increased resources the revised curriculum will fall flat on its face.
It's worth noting that back in 1900, Ireland introduced a radical, Froebel-inspired, child-centred primary curriculum, which included experimental science, art, local history and PE. While some teachers and schools did remarkable work, the curriculum floundered due to a lack of equipment and qualified teachers.
