Voluntary Sec. Schools Grants List

The Standard Capitation Grant is €345 per pupil. The grant is currently paid in three instalments of €115 per instalment and is based on current enrolment. The timelines indicated below are subject to change.

September 2024: €115 per pupil; January 2025: €115 per pupil; April 2025: €115 per pupil.

N.B. Where the school’s enrolment increases or decreases, the September and January payments are calculated on 2023/2024 enrolment and the full adjustment for current year enrolment is applied to the April payment.

(DEIS Schools only): Schools included in the School Support Programme under DEIS receive a grant which is based on the level of concentrated disadvantage in each school and the school’s enrolment. Queries in relation to the DEIS grant should be directed to Social Inclusion Unit in the Department of Education.

The Support Services Grant is €224.50 per pupil. The minimum grant payable is set at €44,900.

Grants for Secretaries applies to those schools that employ secretaries who did not transfer to the Department’s payroll in September 2023.

a) Basic Secretarial Grant – €40 per pupil. The maximum grant payable is set at €14,000.

b) SSSF Secretary Grant – €26.50 per pupil. The minimum grant payable is set at €5,300 and the maximum grant is set at €9,275.

• School secretaries employed under the 1978 scheme are paid directly by the Department of Education and therefore any such school is not entitled to the secretarial grants above regardless of its enrolment figure.
• School secretaries employed in approved posts funded by monies provided by the Oireachtas and who are covered by the terms of the 2022 Workplace Relation Commission (WRC) agreement and the terms of Circular 0036/2022: Work is ongoing to identify a method of standardizing the reduction to the support services/ancillary grants for the longer term where school secretaries are being paid on the Department payroll.

For the purpose of preparing the school budget for the school year 2024/2025 where a school secretary has moved to the Department of Education payroll, we have based the calculation of the grants on the arrangements as set out in the letter to schools from the Department of Education 20th December 2023  .

These schools will have the ancillary grant due reduced to reflect the fact that schools are no longer paying these staff directly.

• Grant: Support Services Grant (SSSF) Grant
• Less: Annual grant funded salary plus Employers PRSI

a) Basic Caretaker Grant – €34 per pupil. The maximum grant payable is set at €11,900.

b) SSSF Caretaker Grant – €20.50 per pupil. The minimum grant payable is set at €4,100 and the maximum grant is set at €7,175.

To qualify for the Basic Secretary or Caretaker Grants a school must have an enrolment figure of at least 200 pupils. The grant is calculated by multiplying the enrolment figure by the rate per capita up to a maximum of 350 pupils. If a school subsequently falls below the 200 enrolment figure the grant is paid on the enrolment figure x rate.

The SSSF Caretaker/Secretary Grants are paid to schools receiving either of the above mainstream grants. A school in receipt of the Secretary Grant will receive the SSSF – Secretary Grant and a school in receipt of the Caretaker Grant will receive the SSSF – Caretaker Grant. Each eligible school will receive a minimum grant based on 200 pupils up to a maximum based on 350 pupils. Schools with enrolments between 200 and 350 will be paid on a pro rata basis.

Schools that have never reached a minimum enrolment figure of 200 pupils, and therefore are not in receipt of the Caretaker or Secretary grants, are still entitled to the SSSF Caretaker (€20.50 per pupil) and SSSF Secretary (€26.50 per pupil) grants at the minimum grant of 200 x Rate.

a) Transition Year Grant: €95 per pupil in Transition Year

b) Leaving Certificate Applied Grant: €151 per pupil in LCA. This is based on pupil enrolment in 5th and 6th year of LCA programme

c) Junior Certificate Schools Programme: €60 per pupil in First Year JCSP

d) Physics and Chemistry: €13 per pupil taking Physics and/or Chemistry in 5th and 6th

Existing Book Grant Scheme under Circular 0046/2013: for pupils enrolled in senior cycle years in the 2024/25 school year, €24 per pupil in non-DEIS schools and €39 per pupil in DEIS schools.

New Free Schoolbooks Grant and Administration Support Grant: for pupils enrolled in junior cycle years in the 2024/2025 school year, €309 per pupil.
An administration support grant of €160.62, plus an additional 11.05% (to cover employer) PRSI will be provided. The number of days allocated are based on the enrolment size of the school and are as follows;

Guidance on the scheme can be found here.

Grant Special Needs Class: A grant of €201 per pupil is payable in respect of pupil psychologically assessed as having a mild or moderate learning disability and who participate in National Council for Special Education (NCSE) approved special classes.

Irish and Bi-Lingual Grants: €122.26 per pupil where all subjects are taught through Irish and €24.45 per pupil per subject where a maximum of four subjects are taught through Irish.

Grant for Traveller pupils: A grant of €213.50 is payable for each traveller pupil 

Where a teacher has opted out of Supervision and Substitution Scheme, an amount equivalent to the supervision and substitution allowance has been allocated to the teacher’s school for the provision of supervision and substitution duties. This grant cannot be used to pay full-time teachers or teachers who have opted out of the Scheme for supervision and substitution on a casual/ non-pensionable basis.

The school will receive €1,769 per annum for teachers employed pre – 1 January 2011 and €1,592 for teachers employed post- 31^st December 2010 who opted out of the scheme.

With prior Trustee approval, the Board of Management may seek capital funding from the Department of Education under the following categories:

• Major Projects
• Additional Accommodation
• Emergency Works (See Circular 0068/2020)
• Remediation Programmes
• Summer Works Scheme

Application forms for Major Capital Works (Form SLE) and Additional Accommodation
(Form ASA) should be downloaded by clicking here.

Post-primary schools requiring emergency works to be undertaken must apply under this scheme by completing the online Emergency Works Application Form available through the Esinet system under the tab labelled ‘Devolved Projects’.