General Information on School Accommodation
INTO has campaigned for a number of years to secure the provision of appropriate school accommodation for all pupils and teachers. The campaign has yielded positive results and some welcome achievements have been secured.
These include:
- an increased allocation of funding for the Primary School Capital Programme;
- a major increase in the number of capital projects in the primary school sector;
- the launch of an initiative to devolve control of planning and construction projects to boards of management in the case of smaller construction projects;
- the introduction of a Summer Works Scheme;
- the introduction of multi-annual budgeting which should enable the DES to plan projects more effectively.
- publication of details of building programmes are available on the DES website.
Despite these gains it will take many years of sustained investment to bring all school accommodation to an appropriate standard. INTO press releases regarding school accommodation are available from the archive of press releases on this website.
Details of building programmes are available on www.education.ie (School Planning/Building Section).
DES Guidelines on the Protection of School Building Services Systems
In Novemeber 2011 the Department of Education and Science issued guidelines on the protection of school building services systems in cold weather.
Role of Planning and Building Unit – Department of Education and Skills
The Planning and Building Unit is responsible for planning education accommodation provision and managing the capital funding allocated by the Government each year for upgrading, replacing and expanding school and third level college buildings and infrastructure. This includes the purchase of sites, provision of new buildings, (including furnishing and equipping) and extending and refurbishing existing buildings.
For further information contact The Planning and Building Unit, Department of Education and Skills, Portlaoise Road, Tullamore, Co Offaly.
Tel: 057 93 24300
Contact details for all sections are available on www.education.ie (School Planning/Building Section)
Email: Planning Unit: school_planning@education.gov.ie
Building Section: school_building@education.gov.ie
Website: www.education.ie (Click on the 'School Planning/Building' link on the left side of the DES website homepage.)
A Freephone no for queries regarding Small Schools Scheme, Permanent Accommodation Scheme or Summer Works Scheme is usually made available on application forms for these schemes.
Information available from School Planning/Building section of DES website
The following information is available from the School Planning/Building section of www.education.ie.
- Details of the DES Building Programme.
- Details of grants available for building projects.
- Contact details for Planning and Building Unit.
- Application Forms for grant aid.
- Information regarding devolved schemes.
- Criteria in relation to prioritisation of school building projects.
- Information regarding advertisement of school building projects.
- Details of Grant Scheme for Minor Works.
- Design Guidelines for Schools Buildings: TGD-020 General Design Guidelines for Schools and TGD-022 Primary School Design Guidelines.
- Technical guidance documents.
- Information regarding recognition of new primary schools.
The following documents are also useful and are included in the Technical Guidance area:
- TGD 021-1: Guidance on the Specification of Windows.
- Templates in relation to tendering for projects.
Prioritisation Criteria
Following consultations with INTO and the other education partners in relation to prioritisation criteria for building projects to ensure that they have the optimum precision and are fully tuned to meeting priority accommodation needs, prioritization bands were agreed with DES and published on the DES website.
Inventory of School Accommodation
The Department of Education and Skills has developed an online inventory of accommodation that is accessed through the Department's Esinet portal (from 31 May 2010).
This online facility will enable schools to provide information about their accommodation to the DES. The absence of such an inventory and lack of detail relating to school buildings have been the subject of much negative comment from INTO in recent years. INTO Congress 2010 also passed a resolution which called on the DES to publish a comprehensive inventory of primary schools and their building needs.
Asbestos Remediation Programme
This programme commenced in 1999 and is managed for the DES by the Office of Public Works (OPW). The programme involves the testing of all schools for asbestos and carrying out, where appropriate, remediation works. The programme is 100% funded by the DES.
If a building project is planned for your school it is important that this survey has been carried out beforehand.
Management of Asbestos
A Code of Practice for Management of Asbestos Materials in Schools has been published by the Office of Public Works. Click here to download
Radon Remediation Programme
In 1998 the DES commissioned the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) to conduct a survey of radon levels in all primary and post-primary schools. The objective of the survey was to assess the distribution of radon in Irish schools and to identify those requiring remedial work to reduce radon exposure and children and staff. A workplace Reference Level of 400 Bq/m3 is set down in national legislation. However, in the case of schools, the RPII recommended that, wherever possible, radon concentrations should be reduced to below 200 Bq/m3. The programme is 100% funded by the DES.
All of the schools which participated in the original programme have been monitored and, where excess radon levels were located, fully remediated. Follow-up monitoring is now taking place to ensure remediation action has been successful. Information regarding radon is available on www.rpii.ie
In relation to the provision of new accommodation for schools, the Department's Building Unit ensures that radon barriers are included in the design of all such buildings.
Management of Mould
As part of ongoing Health and Safety management in schools the State Claims Agency commissioned a survey of mould in a sample of school buildings. The primary purpose of the survey was to quantify the extent of building contamination by mould and to recommend appropriate action. Using the survey findings, the State Claims Agency has prepared guidelines for school management authorities, principals and school maintenance/clearning staff. These guidelines are available on the DES website at www.education.ie.
See Circular 0088/2006 for more details.
Energy Rating Certificate
Since January 1st 2009 all non-domestic buildings being constructed, rented or sold require a Building Energy Rating Certificate which is based on the building's potential energy performance assuming standard occupancy. Public Buildings are dealt with slightly differently. These buildings require a Display Energy Certificate (DEC) which is based on the operational performance of the building as recorded by meter readings.
The metered performance is then compared to benchmark data for school energy use. This benchmark figure is adjusted for location, hours of use and period of measurement and subsequently converted to primary energy figures. The ratio of the primary energy required by the school to the primary energy required by this benchmark building is the source of the DEC rating.
Full details are available on http://www.energyeducation.ie/dec/BER.aspx
Schools granted funding under the Summer Works Scheme are required to sign up to the Department’s energy website, www.energyeducation.ie (if not already done) and submit energy data for future years via the Display Energy Certificate (DEC) process.
Updated: December 2011