Minister for Education Norma Foley announced a significant investment of €9 million to provide school resources and materials for the new primary curriculum.
This initial funding will ensure that schools have essential resources and materials to deliver a modern, dynamic curriculum that meets the needs of today’s learners.
This is in addition to over €2 million additional investment has been provided in this school year for programme costs and to increase team numbers in Oide in order to support schools in implementing the redeveloped primary curriculum.
“I am delighted to announce this €9 million investment in school resources and materials to help implement the new primary curriculum. This will enable hands-on, interactive learning, allowing teachers and pupils to engage deeply with the curriculum’
This funding for 2024 builds on the foundation of previous investments made by the Department of Education to ensure the successful delivery of the primary curriculum. These include:
- sustained professional learning opportunities
- curricular support materials, including toolkits
- curriculum documents provided to every teacher
- free textbooks scheme
- €20 million in 2022 for literacy resources
- ongoing Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) grants for schools, with €50 million distributed this year
- Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) grants for schools
- STEM grants for schools
- Creative Clusters grants
The current funding is specifically aimed at supporting the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Arts curriculum areas.
The investment for these areas will enable schools to purchase essential resources such as learning resources and materials to support active, hands-on learning. It will also help create more inclusive and engaging learning environments for all pupils, particularly those with special educational needs.
Guidance outlining the criteria for the grant scheme will be issued to schools in the coming weeks.
Carpets & Mats