Smart schools: can they really make a difference to a child’s learning?

We love seeing construction projects that are bringing schools in the north and south of Ireland into the twenty-first century. And we don’t even mean that in technological terms: we mean it in very basic terms. Roofs that don’t leak, windows that don’t let drafts in, and paint that isn’t crumbling. 

Competent, capable teachers are working in buildings that aren’t fit for purpose. They’re under-resourced, and have increasing pressure placed on their shoulders by both parents and the educational powers that be. 

In January, the Department for Education (DOE) in Northern Ireland released its five year education budget strategy. Although budget cuts are on the horizon across a number of areas, the strategy sets out that £20million of funding is ring-fenced for school maintenance.

A key area of investment for the DOE for school maintenance in Northern Ireland is the modernisation of infrastructure for schools. The strategy recognises that ‘too many buildings are in poor condition and ill-equipped to deliver a modern curriculum’. 

A friend of mine wasted hours of teaching time recently putting paper towels on her classroom window sills after a leak… That’s not exactly the classroom experience children or teachers deserve.

In the Republic of Ireland, €30million of minor works grants were issued to schools in December 2025. Alongside that, €35million of ICT grants were issued to schools in January 2026. Uses for these grants can be found here.

We won’t pretend that we know exactly how funding for building work is managed for schools, but we do know that spending that funding wisely is key for long-term return on investment. 

We’re firm believers that investing in smart technology could be a catalyst for not only better educational infrastructure on a macro scale, but better classroom environments and therefore better learning outcomes. 

A better way?

Much like our blog on the hidden cost of putting off your smart technology install, there’s a risk that schools see the cost of smart building integration and are put off. We understand - budgets are scarce, hard-fought for, and have to be justified.

There’s a school beside my house that leaves the assembly hall lights on over the weekend at least once a month. That’s not a cheap mistake when budgets are tight. If those lights could be turned off remotely, or switched off automatically when there’s no presence detected in the room, that’s money and energy saved that can be redirected elsewhere. Sensor-based lighting isn’t only for bathrooms. 

We tend to think of school technology as whiteboards, projectors, and iPads. It is that (you don’t need to tell us how important AV is). But it can be so much more.

If energy efficiency for a school building is the goal, automating systems like lighting and heating can help to manage costs extremely effectively, and require zero input from the school’s staff to work as they should. 

Daylight responsive lighting, for instance, reduces energy consumption when there’s enough natural light in a room. Controlling lighting by zones also avoids using excess energy in unused areas of the building. And when the weekend comes and everyone just wants to get home, automated schedules ensure the lights stay off all weekend, without staff needing to retrace their steps to turn lights off.

For heating, room-by-room temperature control can be based on occupancy and time of day. Heating can also be set to follow an automated schedule, so there are no empty buildings being heated during the holidays. And if a facilities manager does need to change or check on the temperature of the building, they can do that remotely through an app. 

Pupil participation

Real-time dashboards can also be integrated to help staff and pupils track the energy consumption of their school. Identifying inefficiencies and making quick changes could therefore be made into challenges to encourage pupil participation in sustainability initiatives. 

We mentioned the Green Schools Initiative in our blog on the energy efficiency grants that are available in Ireland in 2026. Schools all over the country are doing their very best to educate children on just how important it is to look after the planet. The infrastructure around them could play an important role in that learning. 

And not only do pupils become exposed to - and actively engaged with - the sustainability goals of their school, the distractions of cold classrooms, stark lighting, and dated technology are removed. Without those, pupils have more of their teachers’ focus as they aren’t retrieving paper towels for their window sills from the canteen every time it rains. 

You can read more about the technology we offer to schools here.