To be the best in Europe we must first get back to basics and tackle the major issues facing schools

The simple truth is that spin may fool the media but you can’t spin away a lack of school places forever ... policy needs to be driven by evidence and data, rather than spin, soundbites and fake news

LAST June, a spokesperson for Education Minister Richard Bruton told ‘The Irish Times’ “there was no evidence of a shortage of school places and the Department of Education carefully monitored supply and demand across the country”.

The minister’s smooth-talking spin doctor was responding to the argument made repeatedly by the Catholic Primary School Management Association that, despite what the minister claimed, the only barrier keeping children out of schools in Dublin was a buildings barrier.

We knew we were right, and we had the evidence to prove it – that resources, not religion, were the real issue keeping children out of local schools.

We had surveyed our schools, talked to our school principals – the people who, more than anyone else, knew the real situation on the ground. They could tell us not only what was happening in their own schools but in all the schools in their locality.

We kept on hearing the same story from them: “It’s not just us, all the schools in the area are oversubscribed.” We painstakingly mapped the results of our research to show the pressure points across the city.

The evidence was clear and compelling. You didn’t need to be Hercule Poirot or Philip Marlowe to figure it out, Dublin was short of primary schools in areas of rapid growth.

The official response, though, was still that there “no evidence of shortage of school places”.

Doubting Thomas had nothing on the minister.

However, in the last year, the Department of Education has conducted a belated and much-needed analysis of where the need for additional primary and secondary school places is greatest.

Last week, finally, the minister gave in to reality, accepted the overwhelming evidence of a shortage of school places in Dublin and announced 16 new primary schools for the city.

The simple truth is that spin may fool the media but you can’t spin away a lack of school places forever. Facts are, by their nature, stubborn.

I am delighted the minister is finally tackling the buildings barrier by providing more school places. Hard-pressed principals, who have had to cope with the official denial of reality and the anger of concerned parents, will be even more delighted.

Ultimately, more school diversity and more school places will give parents and children access to local schools of their choice, and that’s a good thing.

HOWEVER, this episode should also serve as a warning to both the media and politicians. Policy needs to be driven by evidence and data, rather than spin, soundbites and fake news.

Ireland has a very good primary education system, mainly due to the high quality and commitment of the people who teach in and lead our schools and those who serve as volunteers on boards of management with no recompense but the satisfaction of a job well done.

However, the primary system faces some major challenges. There is now clear evidence that Irish education is under-funded. There is clear evidence that the subs crisis is real and is affecting our children’s education. There is emerging evidence of initiative overload.

If we want to keep our primary system working well, we need to invest.

We need to solve the subs crisis, so that children always have a qualified teacher for their class.

We need to fund schools properly so that principals can focus on improving teaching and learning rather than on ceaseless fund-raising.

We need to slash the burden of admin so teachers can focus on pupils rather than form-filling.

In short, we need to get the basics right.

There is no reason we cannot have the best educational system in Europe. To do so, however, we must focus on addressing the real challenges facing education.

Politicians and policy-makers need to stop embracing every fad from Finland, Silicon Valley or the letters page of ‘The Irish Times’.

Shocking as this may seem to some of Ireland’s leading opinion writers, we are not “simply the worst” and there is a lot other countries who could learn from our schools and our teachers. We need to be confident enough to build on our very real strengths rather than thinking we always have to copy others.

Finally, as a country, we all need to understand that a course in primary school is not the solution to every social ill. Primary education is about identifying and developing the talents of our young people, not solving every real or perceived social ill.

If we focus on supporting teachers to do just that we will create the best educational system in Europe. Our children deserve no less.