Mr. Pairic Clerkin:

Funding is a key issue from which there is no getting away. As school leaders, our responsibility is to create a vision in schools, but we also need adequate funding to plan for this. In addition, we need to be able to plan for how we will incorporate this vision on a multi-annual basis. We must be able to put in place the necessary infrastructure, after which we can plan for the professional development that is required and maintenance. It is true that children do not wait and if the technology does not work, the opportunity is lost and the lesson will be a disaster.

To address the issue of the social digital divide, parental support is key in this regard. Fantastic supports are provided for many schools by parents' bodies. I refer, for example, to the infrastructure they are able to put in place. Connectivity with local industry is also a factor and many schools receive maintenance support from the parents body. This, however, is also a funding issue in that schools cannot be dependent on what is available to them at local level. Funding must be provided if we are to plan effectively for connectivity and ensure everything works when it is meant to.

What I was referring to in the context of school clusters was smaller schools. There is an onus on us in larger schools to develop leadership at local level and ensure we use all the talents available to us. Schools are networking very effectively, certainly much more than they did ten years ago. There is an onus on us to ensure we are using the best of the abilities available locally to help to promote the use of all aspects of teaching and learning, especially information and communications technology, where we can do so. This is especially important for smaller rural schools which may need to network to create this expertise.

Tablets are increasingly being used in schools to great effect. However, schools depend on the availability of a good Wi-Fi network to use tablets most effectively. While white boards are widely used in schools, every school fears the day they need to be replaced. Providing them is one thing but replacing them will be highly challenging for schools.

The computer trolley is, in effect, the laptop trolley. Schools will have eight or 16 tablets that are transported using a user-friendly trolley. The tablets can then be synchronised locally. These types of trolley are being increasingly used in schools.

On the issue of maintenance, schools have been very creative in how they put in place technology to support children. Different types of model are in place in schools, many of which have bought computers from industry at a reasonable price. A school may have one computer station or eight computers in a classroom. Some schools have purchased tablets, while others have a computer room.

Maintenance is an important issue. A school with a second-hand computer framework in place needs a different type of maintenance programme than a school that is trying to maintain a modern IT system. It is a little like trying to keep a ten year old car on the road. Having a different individual visiting a school every second week simply does not work. Our experience shows that the same individual must come to the school and that he or she must know the system and be able to support the model in place. Ideally, maintenance services need to be provided on a weekly basis, which is costly and a drain on school resources. Some schools are struggling to pay their ESB and gas bills. It is, therefore, very challenging to fund ICT provision.