A Department of Education report has found that immediate attention is required to address problems with the building of an Ennis National School.
Over 600 pupils attend Bunscoil na mBraithre, where classroom conditions have been described as cramped and uncomfortable.
This newly-published whole school evaluation of Bunscoil na mBraithre found it’s current building, on the New Road in Ennis, is poor in quality and that some matters there require ‘immediate attention’.
This includes poor facilities available to staff, the poor access to toilets for some pupils and the condition of classrooms, which have been described as cramped and uncomfortable in some instances.
Inspectors also found that ‘necessary strategic planning’ to provide accomodation for the school’s growing population has not been in evidence.
Enrolment has increased significantly in recent years to 628. The school’s board of management says it has taken action to address issues regarding facilities, and is persuing an application made in 2007 for a new building.
The report also found there had been a high turnover of teaching staff in the two years before the inspection last May, including the retirement of three deputy principals.
And while the report praises the quality of teaching in maths, pupil’s behaviour and the wide range of extra-curricular activities, it also found the standard of teachers’ planning ranges from weak to very good.
