National Primary School Survey

Information on the Primary School Survey

The Department of Education and Youth carried out the Primary School Survey to find out what type of school parents and guardians prefer. These include:

• Co-educational or single-sex provision
• School ethos/patronage
• Language of instruction (English or Irish)

Over 200,000 parents/guardians took part. Each school has received results based on the views of parents with children in the school, or those who plan to enrol a child.

 What happens if there is demand for change

If a school ‘expresses an interest’ in change the department will assign a dedicated point of contact to support the school throughout the process of considering and implementing a change in configuration. A range of additional supports will also be made available. 

 Co-educational schools

• About 90% of primary schools are co-educational. This means boys and girls are taught together in all classes.
• About 10% of schools are single-sex, meaning they teach only boys or only girls, in some or all classes.
• If a school wants to become co-educational, the Department of Education and Youth will consider this request through its Planning and Building Unit.
• When looking at these requests, the department will check things like whether there are enough school places for boys and girls in the area, and the timing of any changes would reflect this.

Multi-denominational schools

• About 95% of schools have a religious (denominational) ethos.
• About 5% of schools are multi-denominational. In a multi-denominational school, children learn about different religions and beliefs. These schools do not provide religious instruction during the school day.
• If a school wants to become multi-denominational the department will support the school to becoming a multi-denominational school.
• When a school changes to multi-denominational, most things in the school stay the same, for example the school remains open and operating from the same school building, and the department provides the same support, like grants, inspections, regulations, curriculum, and staff.
• A change of ethos to multi-denominational can take place all at once, or gradually, starting with younger classes over time.

Schools that teach through Irish (Gaelscoileanna)

• About 92% of schools teach through English
• About 8% of schools teach through Irish
• Children in schools that provide education through Irish follow the same curriculum as those in other schools but are taught all subjects (except English and other languages) through Irish.
• If a school wants to change and teach through Irish (gaelscoil), the department will support the school to transition to a school that teaches through Irish.

Read additional information at: www.gov.ie/primaryschoolsurvey

Click this links below to access results of the 2026 survey, the results report and a community guidance document:

National Primary School Survey – School Community Guidance Document

National Primary Survey 2026 Results Report

St. Corban’s NS National Primary Survey Results 2026