Monitoring and reporting for schools
We are here to support your school in reporting your energy data using the M&R system. This will fulfil your obligations and help you towards your 2030 target.
Why schools should report
The School Sector Climate Action Mandate 2023 sets an overall school sector target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51% in 2030 and improve energy efficiency in the overall school sector to 50% by 2030.
As part of this, schools are required to report annually on their energy usage through the M&R system. We make it possible for anyone to access energy data for all public bodies and schools through our Online data portal.
As well as helping to track the school's energy data annually, the online system provides a scorecard that presents a powerful snapshot of the school's progress to date and online access to the school's annual electricity and natural gas consumption data.
What to report and how to report
You need to report annual energy consumption and your pupil numbers for every year from your baseline onwards. Use the information below to gather and prepare your data. Don't forget to keep records for future reference and verification!
Select your baseline
A baseline is the point in time against which you will measure your progress in saving energy. You only need to select your preferred baseline period once. You will need to report data for all years from your chosen baseline period to 2023.
Gathering your data
These are the main data items required from your baseline to 2023:
- MPRNs & GPRNs for your electricity and natural gas. The system then accesses your energy consumption from the meter operators. You can find these on your past bills, usually in the top right-hand corner. Your MPRN will be 11 digits, and your GPRN will be 7 digits or less.
- All other energy types: annual usage of energy (e.g. heating oil, LPG, diesel) by your school in kg, litres, kWh etc. (See Supports section at the end of this page for assistance with measuring heating oil usage.) You must specifically report if your school uses electricity for heating rooms. Most schools only have electricity and natural gas, LPG, kerosene or gasoil for heating. Some schools may own a school bus which consumes road diesel. Staff mileage and staff/student commutes to and from school are currently excluded unless transport is provided by the school.
- Values for pupil numbers, full-time staff and your school's floor area. (For guidance, see downloads and tips at the end of this page.)
- Details of any energy saving projects undertaken and your approach to energy management (see energy management questionnaire in the supports section below).
Click the button below to find out how to access the M&R system as an existing user, new user or as a new school.
Access M&R Access M&R help2024 reporting deadline & key dates
The reporting cycle opened in January 2024. The key cycle dates are as follows (note that these could be subject to change as the year progresses):
| Key cycle stage | Date |
|---|---|
| M&R system open for data entry | 29 January 2024 |
| Final data deadline | 24 May 2024 |
| Final scorecard available | 22 November 2024 |
| Annual Report 2024 on Public Sector Energy Efficiency Performance | Q1 2025 |
A survey of school M&R system users found that 86% agreed that once you compile the data it's easy to report using the on-line system. 75% of respondents spent less than 2 hours reporting (42% spent less than an hour). 72% agreed that having online access to energy data will be useful for managing energy use.
School supports
We offer a range of supports to help you complete your report, including answers to the most frequently asked questions. If you can not find what you need, please contact the M&R Helpdesk at [email protected] or 01 808 2012 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
M&R help wiki
We have prepared a wiki help site to help schools with all aspects of using the M&R system, including software tips, glossary, data input, and data reports.
Access M&R helpAttend a training workshop
SEAI offers M&R training workshops which are held online in March/April each year. Workshops are open to all schools. Trainers are also available for some time at the end of each workshop to provide one-on-one support. Any representative that the school nominates can attend a workshop, such as Board of Management member, staff member, or parent.
The duration of the training workshop is 2.5 hours including comfort breaks, Q&A and optional one-to-one discussion with the trainer at the end of the session.
Contact the helpdesk
The M&R Helpdesk is available between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Email: [email protected] mailto:[email protected]
Tel: 01 808 2012
Tips
The Monitoring & Reporting system tracks your school's energy efficiency on the basis of its annual energy usage per pupil, from a baseline year onwards. 'Energy usage per pupil' is an Energy Performance Indicator (EnPI). A decreasing EnPI over time indicates an improvement in energy performance, and vice versa.
The baseline for most schools is 2013, although you can choose an earlier baseline if you wish to gain credit for any energy saving measures implemented before 2013.
One Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employee corresponds to one full year of work by one person. Your school may have a well-established methodology for calculating this.
For the purposes of the energy reporting system, it is important that your school submits FTE employment data calculated in the same way every year.
The OECD defines FTE employment as follows: "Full-time equivalent employment is the number of full-time equivalent jobs, defined as total hours worked divided by average annual hours worked in full-time jobs."
Ask your architect or consult the school plans; if you do not have accurate drawings or a survey providing floor area, then see if you have a Display Energy Certificate (DEC) which would provide the floor area. Failing that, measure as accurately as you can, and make a note to record the floor area should an opportunity arise in the future to do an accurate building survey. There is a guide to measuring the area of your school further up this page. Be careful to record changes in floor area, e.g. the addition of new classrooms or an extension.
You can estimate the TUFA of your school using the distance/area tool on www.maps.ie.
- Click on 'Distance/Area' on the green bar at the top of the home page.
- Select the 'Satellite' view on the top right hand corner of the map, and the 'Area' function on the left.
- Enter the address of the school and locate it on the map.
- Zoom in and use your cursor to measure the area in m2 by drawing around the outline of the school building(s) and pressing 'calculate'. The result is shown above the map.
- Start by measuring the parts of the school that are single storey. Then measure any parts of the school that have more than one storey and multiply the m2 by the number of storeys, e.g. if any parts of the school are two storey, measure those parts and multiply the m2 by two.
- Be sure not to include outdoor areas, including courtyard spaces. If appropriate, measure these and subtract from the overall measurement.
- If your school has had an extension recently it may not appear on the map, so consult the architect or the school plans to find out the area.
Important notes:
- This method provides an estimate of TUFA for the purposes of submitting data through SEAI's monitoring and reporting (M&R) system only. It should only be used when it is not possible to obtain an accurate measurement. SEAI reserves the right to request an accurate measurement in the future if more robust data is needed for calculations within the M&R system.
- This guidance is provided 'as is'. SEAI does not stand over the accuracy of the calculation by this third-party area calculation tool and cannot guarantee the ongoing availability of the tool. Furthermore, SEAI does not endorse this particular tool, which has been chosen for purpose of example only. There are other similar tools available online which operate in a similar manner.
Evening classes and other formal education classes that occur outside the normal school day involve the consumption of additional energy over and above what should be consumed during a normal school day.
If your school opens outside the normal school day in this manner, then you can optionally report additional data so that your school's performance is tracked on the basis of full time equivalent pupils. The advantage of doing this is that the additional evening time activity is factored into the calculation of your school's energy performance.
To do this you need to:
- Enter the approximate number of hours over the course of the year during which the school is open for the delivery of formal education classes outside the normal school day.
- Enter the average number of students in attendance during the delivery of those formal education classes that are outside the normal school day, e.g. average number of students in attendance at evening classes.
Note that you should seek to operate your school in an energy efficient manner at all times - during the normal school day and during any additional classes, activities etc.