Education Support Centres are statutory bodies and bodies corporate established in accordance with section 37 (1) of the Education Act 1998 and entered on the register of Education Support Centres maintained by the Minister for Education and Skills:
“…a place in which services are provided for schools, teachers, parents, School Boards of Management and other relevant persons which support them in carrying out their functions in respect of the provision of education which is recognised for that purpose by the Minister……..”
Over forty years ago, a group of primary and post-primary teachers adopted the first constitution for the Drumcondra Teachers’ Centre. Since its inception, the Centre has been a leader in the development of the national Education Centre Network and in the design and delivery of professional development initiatives both at a national and local level. It has a strong tradition of innovation and excellent service and has firmly established networks, both educational and business, to assist it in the service it provides to its education community. It is now one of the largest in the national network of twenty-one Centres and caters for the catchment area of Dublin north city and county: over 250 primary schools, 75 post-primary and Further Education school communities and approximately 5,000 teachers who form its main client base. The Centre offers ease of access and a full range of modern facilities for meetings and programme administration.
Centre staff have a broad range of experience in the organisation and execution of education and professional development projects. Over the years the Centre has administered initiatives at national, regional and local level. It has an excellent in-house / external communication system comprising:
Up-to-date Networked Administration computers system
VOIP phone system / Web texting / Email / Broadband
Centre Website
Interactive online teacher CPD booking system
Moodle online learning platform
Facebook / Twitter
all of which enable easy access to and dissemination of information both nationally and internationally.
