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Primary Level
News and advice covering the primary level education system.
Most primary and secondary students refused to go to school at least once last year
Anxiety, difficulties engaging with lessons and friendship problems cited as reasons in Barnardos study
‘I’m officially retiring from my primary school - and I’ve had a good run’
It’s the ultimate cliche, but it’s the kids I’ll miss the most, and their ability to say it as it is
Starting school means parents must ensure children are prepared - that includes being toilet-trained
Beginning formal education is about arming children with the skills to be more independent
Photographing the first day of school will freeze the moment but not the memory
Remembering is an active process. Each time we revisit an event, we reconstruct it
‘Sending just one secondary school child back to school could cost more than €1,000′
Conor Pope’s guide to surviving the September squeeze on your finances
Back-to-school costs: the €285 allowance and other ways of savings hundreds of euro
To hard-pressed parents, it can feel as if extra busyness and unnecessary expense are intentionally built into the start of the school year
Recruiting and retaining teachers: Department of Education could act on existing report
Some might reasonably question whether a review is what is now required
Catholic education sector recognises greater plurality of choice is required
Political will is needed to adequately invest in publicly funded services
The Irish Times view on school patronage: a realignment is needed
A system funded almost entirely by the State must reflect the needs of those it is supposed to serve
Back-to-school issues: the best starting age, PE problems, school refusal and teenage vapes
Conversations with Parents: A panel of experts convenes to discuss the big issues of modern schooling and parenting
Which Irish primary schools have the highest demand for change to religious ethos? Find out here
Find out where your school ranks using Irish Times search tool
Could primary school hours be changed under a new review by the Department of Education?
Current circular document, which dates back to 1995, details how many days each year schools must be open
Why do people in Ireland speak so few languages?
Worldview: Language competence is now just as much part of Ireland’s competitive infrastructure deficit as poor planning
Plea for religiously mixed schools bound to fall on deaf ears
Family experience in Co Down brings Monty Python to mind
Northern Ireland’s education system fails children from disadvantaged backgrounds
Professor Vani Borooah of the University of Ulster, who died this month, provided vital evidence for policymakers on tackling poverty
‘More crowd management than education’: 39,000 children in class sizes of 30 or more
Two largest classes sizes, at 38 pupils for one teacher, found in counties Tipperary and Mayo
Majority of parents say back-to-school costs are a financial burden, survey shows
More than one-quarter of respondents say they will go into debt to cover price of returning children to school
Back-to-school allowance 2026: Here’s what you need to know
State is set to provide more than €60m towards the scheme in advance of new school year
Former Christian Brother convicted of sexual abuse of boys in Offaly school in 1980s
Liam Coughlan (90) is currently in prison for sexually abusing former pupils in Kilkenny in the 1970s
Kildare school claims it is being ‘punished’ by department after enrolling extra class
St Corban’s National School in Naas says it may have to cancel enrolled class ‘formally requested’ by department over refusal to allocate additional teacher
‘Poverty in itself is a trauma’: The Dublin school taking new approach to help pupils from deprived areas
Regular meals and an ability to regulate moods gives Darndale pupils a better chance
Facing the music: St Patrick’s Cathedral Choir School struggles to attract boy singers
A decline in the number of boy choristers at St Patrick’s Cathedral Choir School in Dublin has led to a recruitment drive
Majority of parents with children in single-sex primary schools want change to coeducational
Data shows county-by-county breakdowns on the preferences of parents on several areas relating to primary level
How the lives of primary schoolchildren changed during and after Covid
Irish children became less accomplished in reading and maths after the pandemic, with the gap between poor and affluent children wider than before
Irish children’s reading and maths got worse after pandemic, study finds
Gap between the reading scores of children in Deis versus non-Deis schools widened after pandemic, report says
U2’s Adam Clayton and others on their boarding school days: ‘Being separated from the age of 8 was a trauma’
How do famous former boarders view their time at school now?
Paris gripped by widening sexual abuse scandal in schools
First public trial opens in sprawling abuse scandal with more than 100 schools, kindergartens and daycares under investigation
Jen Hogan’s end-of-year school report: B in cake sales, C+ in WhatsApp, E in lunches
Another school year is almost over. How would you score in your parenting end-of-term report card?
How Irish schools are combating the decline in reading
Boys especially are reading for pleasure less than they used to. It’s a global trend. But there are ways to fight back
How many would prepare for the Eucharist on their own time?
Let’s use school time to educate children
Summer camps for children: The best and most popular non-sports camps in Ireland
From singing or learning a language, to archaeology and cookery, here are some of the camps on offer this summer
‘My husband wants our child in mainstream schooling, but I want to look at alternatives’
Ask the Expert: She’s quite artistic, funny and highly emotionally intelligent, but struggles academically at school
Enrolments in primary schools set to fall significantly, Department of Education says
Student numbers at first year in second level also starting to decline but there will be significant local variations, briefing document says
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