Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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103. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for the phasing out of workbooks in primary schools; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that these workbooks are an unnecessary expense on hard pressed parents and that they are damaging to the writing dexterity of children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10142/14]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I asked my Department to develop Guidelines for Developing Textbook Rental Schemes in schools because of my consciousness of the significant cost for parents of buying textbooks and workbooks.

These Guidelines outline a number of strategies to avoid the need for workbooks or to allow workbooks to be used from year to year. However, it is a matter for the Board of Management of each individual school to decide on its own school policy in relation to the use or not of workbooks.

The Inspectorate of my Department in its work with schools promotes active learning approaches rather than an over-reliance on textbooks and workbooks.