Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the delegations for their presentations.

It strikes me that several of the delegations mentioned that the one-cap-fits-all approach was not the solution, as every school is different. However, their solutions to this were somewhat disappointing. They could have equally applied to mental health well-being, obesity or the other challenges facing schools. With respect, referring to classroom sizes and calling for more funding and managerial posts is a little mundane for this particular debate.

While I appreciate the harmonious approach by the IPPN and the INTO to this issue, have they identified best practice elsewhere? I was hoping for that in the presentations today. Talking about decreases in the pupil-teacher ratio and increases in funding is a bit like talking about world peace. We all aspire to it and it is very noble but it is not really as constructive as I was hoping for today. Have the delegations done any research with their own membership into best examples of innovation from the ground up? I recall almost 20 years ago when I was a principal of a four-teacher Gaelscoil, setting up a computer lab in the school fund-raising for the equipment and software.

There are ways and means of doing everything. The provision of block grants by the Department to every school contradicts the thinking that the solution is not to have one cap fitting all. I would prefer to see a reward-led system that recognises innovation in the classroom where there are good examples of best practice. The Department should be flexible enough to recognise, reward and encourage that sort of behaviour. To be fair, none of the staff in a three-teacher school might have IT expertise. To give that school the same block grant as one with considerable expertise will not have the desired effect. Therefore, we must be a little more creative.

Nobody has yet mentioned teacher training. Surely this is essential if we are to tackle this issue. It feeds into what I am talking about, namely, innovation in the classroom, which will ultimately come from the teaching body and principals who are forward thinking. They will differ in what they prioritise. I would like to know the delegates' views, primarily on the research in this area. Are there examples of best practice that could be fed back to the Department? Has the Department any plan to recognise and reward best practice? What are the Department's comments on my suggestion?