Reaction:Minister for Education Mary Hanafin yesterday denied that the newly-published inspection reports were bland, insisting they provided important information for parents and schools alike.
Following the online publication of 121 school reports, Ms Hanafin said the reports were fair in highlighting the positive work of schools and any evident weaknesses.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, she maintained some inspection reports had highlighted a deficit in the hours allocated to maths teaching, the failure to use available resources and undertake proper school planning.
"Our schools provide a top quality education and the reports celebrate that but they also highlight areas which need to be addressed," she said. Ms Hanafin also defended her decision not to publish details concerning State exams and grades as they would not reflect the overall performance of a school.
"It's [whole school evaluation] a very, very fair process and I think it's a very good day for schools and for education because it is the first time that people are getting objective information in relation to schools when in the past they had absolutely none," she said.
INTO general secretary John Carr described the reports as very positive and said they revealed the scale and variety of good work ongoing in schools.
However, he reiterated his opposition to the publication of the reports on the internet as opposed to simply making them available to parents and the school community at local level.
Mr Carr criticised the reports for failing to show the State's failure to invest in primary education and questioned why inspectors had failed to recommend building improvements. "Praise for parents and teachers who fundraise for school essentials is code for government is under-investing. There was no mention of class sizes which are the second highest in the EU and how these impact on teaching and learning," he said.
Fionnuala Kilfeather, of the National Parents' Council (post primary), said parents would welcome publication of the reports.
"However, in different reports, different language was used. It ranged from quite lyrical in places to very matter of fact in other reports," she said. While the reports provided a "partial picture" of school workings, Ms Kilfeather said she was confident future reports would provide an "honest and open appraisal".
A spokeswoman for the association of secondary school teachers said the reports showed how accountable and transparent schools have always been, adding that the union would be monitoring all future reports to ensure they are fair and balanced.