A further 33 inspection reports published by the Department of Education yesterday highlighted the positive work of schools amid continuing overcrowding of classrooms and the lack of resources for physical education.
The publication of 18 Whole School Evaluations (WSE) on primary schools and 15 subject inspection reports in second level schools brings to 154 the number of inspection reports the department has published online.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin said they provided a balanced and fair assessment of the work of schools.
"We have already seen the unprecedented interest in the release of school inspection reports, when 121 were released for the first time last week.
"By parents and school management having access to the full inspectors report and response by the school they can see for themselves what is happening not only in their own school, but in other schools," she said.
Ms Hanafin added it would be apparent to parents and teachers which areas in their schools needed to be addressed as the reports highlighted both strengths and weaknesses of primary and post primary schools.
Inspectors visiting the primary school of Scoil Naomh Muire, Belturbet in Co Cavan found it was implementing a restricted physical education programme in the absence of a general purpose room.
Instead, the school occasionally uses the facilities of the local railway station to host some of its physical activities.
Likewise department inspectors noted that Clonown National School, Athlone, Co Westmeath, is without a general purpose room while in Scoil Bhríde, Lackagh, Monasterevin, Co Kildare, the limited resources available have affected the implementation of a broad and balanced physical education curriculum. In St Paul's National School, Borris Road, Portlaoise, Co Laois, inspectors wrote that the presence of old-style desks and small classrooms militated against the collaborative learning methodologies central to the new primary school curriculum.
Last night, general secretary of the INTO John Carr said inspection reports showed the impact of the "Government's failure to reduce class size".
"This Government made a commitment to reduce class sizes in Ireland to below international best practice of 20 pupils to one teacher. That promise has been broken and some of these reports make that clear," he said.
Themes of increasing pupil absenteeism and the existence of hazards while pupils exit the main school building to access the main road were noted in the report of Scoil Phádraig, Letterkenny in Co Donegal.
The inspection report also found that the school population had outgrown the current facilities available to the school community, adding that the major building programme due to begin at the school was now essential.
In other instances of WSE in primary schools, inspectors wrote of a lack of structure in some lessons which provided limited explanation and demonstration, in addition to inadequate differentiation in terms of differing levels of ability among pupils.
The 15 subject inspections conducted in post primary level generally commended the work of school authorities in reflecting the curriculum and making subjects both interesting and challenging to students.
Questions regarding the availability of necessary technical and software resources were raised in a number of schools including, including St Brigid's Vocational School, Loughrea in Co Galway where there is no computer provision for materials technology (wood) and construction studies.
Instead five old computers are available in a separate room, none of which works.