Number of children starting school aged four drops to 17%

It is claimed that the drop in numbers is most likely due to the introduction of the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme in 2010, and its expansion to two years in 2016.

The number of children starting primary school at the age of four has fallen by 30% in the past 20 years, according to latest figures.

Four-year-olds now account for 17% of junior infants, a figure that stood at 47% in 2001.

Figures from the Department of Education show that the age of junior infants has been “steadily increasing for the past 20 years, although the trend has accelerated in recent times”.

It is claimed that this is most likely due to the introduction of the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme in 2010, and its expansion to two years in 2016.

Enrolments

The department’s latest statistical bulletin also sheds light on primary school enrolment figures, showing that between 2001 to 2021 there was an increase of 113,723 (25.8%) in enrolments in primary schools.

In terms of locations, the data shows the largest proportional increases occurred within the Dublin area, while the smallest increase occurred in Kerry (0.9%) and Waterford City (0.7%), while Clare and Donegal were the areas that saw the largest decrease by 3.4% and 1.9% respectively.

The report shows that the total number of mainstream primary schools has declined by 55 since 2011, from 3,159 to 3,104 last year.

This includes the closure of 126 Catholic schools and 12 Church of Ireland schools, while the number of multi-denominational schools has increased by 80 in the same period.

The department states these closures are a result of declining enrolments and the amalgamation of schools in close proximity to each other.

Danny Lawson/PA Wire

The rise in popularity of multi-denominational schools is also a factor, with all 27 newly established mainstream primary schools which opened in the last five years having been multi-denominational in ethos.

However, Catholic schools still comprise the vast majority of primary schools at 88.6%. Total enrolments in Catholic schools fell by 8,458 between 2020 and 2021, while enrolments in multi-denominational schools rose by 1,844.

Irish-speaking schools

The report also notes that the number of primary schools with English as the primary medium of instruction has fallen by 62 over the 10 years between 2011 and 2021, while Irish-medium schools inside the Gaeltacht fell by four.

Irish-medium schools outside the Gaeltacht increased from 140 to 151, with enrolments witnessing an increase of 21.3%, while Gaeltacht schools have seen their enrolments fall by 473 (6.3%) over the last decade.

There has been little change in average class size in the last 20 years, reaching its lowest point in 2021 at 22.8, though the number of pupils in classes of 35 or more fell sharply between 2001 (13,844) and 2021 (2,748).

More than 12% of pupils in Catholic schools were in classes of 30 pupils or more, compared with just 9.3% in multidenominational schools.

Average class size in Catholic schools was 22.7, compared with 24.3 in multidenominational schools, while DEIS schools have by far the smallest classes with 89.1% of pupils in classes of fewer than 25.

There’s been little change in average class size in the last 20 years.

Rural schools also have a high proportion of small classes, with more than half of pupils in classes of fewer than 25.

Small schools with four mainstream class teachers or less comprise a large proportion of primary schools in Ireland at 41.8% currently, with many located in the west of Ireland.

Teachers

The pupil-teacher ratio has fallen consistently from 18.4 in 2001 to 13.7 in 2021.

Figures show that although the total number of teaching posts has almost doubled over the 10-year period (from 23,935 to 405401 ), the number of mainstream classroom teachers has risen by just 34.1% (from 17,576 to 23,572).

The number of special education teachers, English language support teachers, administrative principals, and Home School Community Liaison (HCSL) teachers, as well as any other full-time teaching staff, has risen from 6,359 to 16,968.

The report shows up to 25,000 pupils change primary school annually and enter into a grade other than junior or senior infants from another school in Ireland or abroad.

Last year, 19,797 pupils changed school while a further 3,593 arrived from outside Ireland. The peak year for entrants from abroad was 2007, with almost 7,000 arrivals.

Meanwhile, the number of pupils who repeat a year in primary school has seen a dramatic fall since 2001, when almost 5,500 pupils repeated compared with just under 2,000 in 2021. Pupils are most likely to repeat junior or senior infants compared to other grades.