Dear parents,

At the beginning of the school year, many parents with children in the EN section in Primary school discovered that the ESTM was closed. The lack of information caused for them many problems and chaos in September.

It is important to stress that the ESTM found existed only in EN sections; in all other sections, each class/parent buys the books for itself/himself already for years. It is why parents from other language sections did not understand the problem.

After discussions with the relevant stakeholders, we understood that having a unique account for all the EN sections was causing different problems:

  • Difficulties for the two parents who managed the account to follow up who paid for what, which class had what amount left.
  • Difficulties for the two to send reminders, they did not know the contact details.
  • Difficulties linked to the delivery: the books cannot be delivered at the school.
  • Long procedure to reimburse teachers, a little discouraged therefore to advance big amounts.
  • Due to the difficulty in the management of the fund, sometimes unfair situations were identified and were difficult to settle.

Therefore, in order to have an easier management of the parents’ money, not to involve the school (delivery), and to harmonise the system of buying books, it was suggested that each class in the Primary school should have one account to cover the costs of school materials, including the books if needed/wished.

We would like to avoid this stressful situation for the next years, it is why we propose following solution:

  • Each class (or the entire year) elects one treasurer before the end of the year. This treasurer will open a bank account on the name of the class and ask the parents a contribution for buying the books for the following year.
  • The EN teachers will publish the list of books for the following school year on the school website before the summer holidays.
  • The teachers will choose, if possible, Irish books in order to make the shipment easier, and to avoid duties.
  • The treasurer will set a deadline for payment, then he will order the books. The delivery cannot be at the school.The books must be delivered to the chosen parent(s).

To avoid problems with books for the next years, we invite you to discuss this issue with your class teacher.

Francesca Flego & Agata Gorska, APEEEL1 VPs Primary