Department of Education inspectors have raised concerns about health, safety standards and the poor state of school buildings in the latest set of inspection reports.
However, in a comment criticised by the INTO last night, one school, Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh, Roxborough, Limerick, was described by inspectors as being "fortunate to have a permanent, spacious and well-maintained building at its disposal".
General secretary John Carr said the statement, published yesterday, represented a "shocking indictment" of the general state of school buildings. All children should have permanent, spacious and well-maintained school buildings , he said, and they should not be considered "fortunate".
At second level, the report on Patrician Academy in Mallow, Co Cork, said the current facilities fell short of catering for the present student enrolment of 391, even without taking into account the projected building of 10,000 extra houses in the area by 2020.
The school was widely praised but the inspectors said the practice of timetabling unqualified personnel to teach subjects needs to be reviewed.
Some of the best-known schools received glowing reviews from the inspectors.
At Loreto College, St Stephen's Green, Dublin, the leadership and management of the school "are carried out effectively and in a caring and co-operative way by the leadership teams and by the staff in general".
Clongowes Wood College is said by inspectors to be "truly living out its mission statement. The pursuit of excellence, the active participation of students and the mutual respect between students and teachers were clearly evident over the course of the evaluation".
At Coláiste an Chraoibhín in Fermoy, Co Cork, the inspectors praised the school's "truly open admissions policy", and the high quality of teaching.
Primary schools: selected extracts
Shannon No 2, Shannon, Co Clare: "A very small staff room is also used by the learning support teacher four days a week. The paths surrounding the school building and the small play area are in a poor state of repair and have been identified as a health and safety hazard."
Gusserane NS, New Ross, Co Wexford: "A principal's office is shared with the school secretary and some ancillary storage accommodation. The school does not have a staffroom or a learning support room."
St Joseph's NS, Hacketstown, Co Carlow: "The original school building dating back to 1937 is in a bad state of repair."
Vicarstown NS, Vicarstown, Co Cork: "The original cloakroom now accommodates the secretary's office. A separate building, which was refurbished with the support of parents, serves as a learning support-resource room and staff room."
