A new survey to assess demand for different types of primary school provision is a “major step in expanding parental choice in education”, the Department of Education has said.
Parents and guardians of current and future primary school pupils, alongside school staff, have been asked to take part in the survey which was launched on Tuesday.
It aims to assess demand for different types of primary school provision, including patronage, coeducation and teaching through Irish.
It is the largest survey of its kind and aims to obtain up-to-date data on school preferences “in the context of the evolving environment within which schools are operating”, the department said.
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Participants will be asked a small number of questions, including whether they would prefer a coeducational or single-sex primary school.
They will also be asked whether they would prefer their school to operate under a denominational patron, such as Catholic or Church of Ireland, or a multi-denominational patron, whereby children learn about all faiths.
The department said it will work with relevant stakeholders on actioning the outcomes from the surveys “in the context of future school planning”.
About 88 per cent of primary schools are Catholic while 5.5 per cent are multidenominational. The remaining 6 per cent are Church of Ireland schools.
Some 8 per cent of primary schools, meanwhile, provide education through Irish with the remaining 92 per cent teaching through English.
Launching the survey on Tuesday, Minister for Education Helen McEntee said Ireland’s education system “must reflect our society but more importantly, it must respond to what parents want for their children”.
In areas where respondents express interest in an alternative provision to what is currently in place, the department said it will provide direct support to schools, including the appointment of a facilitator to work with boards, staff and parents.
One-off funding of up to €5,000 will also be available to each participating school to assist with the “practical aspects of reconfiguration” such as updating signage, stationery or websites, it said.
The survey has been welcomed by Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI), the patrons of community national schools, which are coeducational and multi-denominational.
Paddy Lavelle, general secretary of ETBI, said while people are “naturally cautious about change”, it is a chance to ensure schools “reflect the diverse society we now live in”.
Educate Together, the representative body for 97 multi-denominational primary schools, said the survey represents a “unique chance for parents to directly influence how their local primary schools are run”.
It said education “continues to be dominated by patrons with a religious ethos”, noting that Census 2022 showed a decline in the number of people identifying as Catholic to 69 per cent, down from 79 per cent in 2016.
Catholic patrons, meanwhile, have also welcomed the survey, with Marie Griffin, chair of the Catholic Education Partnership, an umbrella body for Catholic schools, encouraging those eligible to take part.
Ms Griffin said the choice of school ethos and how it can fully realise the potential of each child is of “paramount concern to parents.”
“Catholic education is about nurturing the whole child – mind, body, and spirit – in an environment where every child is valued and included,” she said.
Ms Griffin said Catholic patrons look forward to working with the department when the survey is completed.
The survey started on Tuesday, November 4th, and runs until December 16th. The results will be published in early 2026, though responses will be confidential and anonymous.
