Minister Naughton thanks parents and primary school communities for engagement with the Primary School Survey as almost 50% of households respond

49.5% of eligible households have their say on primary school survey, with 241,301 responses*.

Minister for Education and Youth Hildegarde Naughton TD has thanked parents and guardians of primary school children and/or younger children and primary school communities for taking part in the primary school survey.

The primary school survey, which was launched on 4 November, closed on Tuesday 16 December.

The survey – the largest of its kind ever undertaken in Ireland – was school specific and, through its results, aims to enable the department to assess demand and preferences for different types of primary school provision including patronage/ethos, co-education or single-sex school provision and language of instruction (English or Irish).

Initial responses indicate the county with the highest rate of responses was Galway, where 56.9% of eligible households had their say*.

Minister Naughton said:

Continuing, Minister Naughton said:

There were 241,301 responses from parents and guardians to the survey representing 49.5% of eligible households*. There were 32,181 responses to the primary school staff/Board of Management members survey, representing 38.1% of primary school staff/Board of Management members.

*The number of responses and response rate are initial overall figures and have yet to be fully validated. Arrangements for validating survey returns operate after survey returns are received as this facilitates ease of use for survey users.

The department has robust arrangements in place to ensure the integrity and security of the primary school survey process.

The department is currently validating the survey responses. As part of this validation, the Eircodes are being checked against the department’s Primary Online Database in respect of primary school children and Child Benefit data in respect of younger children to ensure that the responses are from households with primary school children or younger children. The department’s validation process also involves checks for duplicate responses. PINs unique to each school were provided to each primary school for dissemination to all staff and all Board of Management members.

The department will use the survey results to input into its analysis of national, local and school-specific data to help the department in respect of planning at primary school level. The department will work with relevant stakeholders on actioning the outcomes from the surveys in the context of future school planning. This survey is not a final step. Where there is clear support from parents and guardians for change to be considered, a further process of inclusive dialogue will begin.

Initial high-level summary results (focussing on response rates) will be published in early 2026, with a Q2 2026 timeframe for school-level data.

How are the initial survey response figures validated?

The number of responses and response rate are initial overall figures and have yet to be fully validated. The arrangements for validating survey returns operate after survey returns are received as this facilitates ease of use for survey users. The Eircode parents and guardians provide to the primary schools their children attend is a key aspect. Submitted Eircodes are checked against the department’s Primary Online Database in respect of primary school children and Child Benefit data in respect of younger children to ensure that the responses are from households with primary school children or younger children. The department’s validation process also involves checks for duplicate responses.

What is the Primary School Survey?

The Primary School Survey asks parents, guardians, school staff and boards of management members their preference about the primary schools in which they work, or in which their children currently attend, or will attend in coming years. The Department of Education and Youth will use the results of the survey to plan how we provide education at primary level, and to ensure that schools meet the needs of their local communities.

Why is the Department of Education and Youth undertaking this survey?

School communities are reflective of the rich and diverse society we live in. In the context of the evolving environment within which schools are operating, the availability of up-to-date data and in particular, clear data on the preferences of parents and guardians in respect of the primary schools which their children currently attend, or will attend in coming years, is very important. The results of the survey will help the department in planning education provision at primary level.

What did the survey ask?

The short, online, school-specific, survey asked a small number of questions, including the following:

• Would you prefer your primary school to be a co-educational school or a single-sex school?
• Would you prefer your primary school to operate under a denominational (religious) patron or to operate under a multi-denominational (non-religious) patron?
• Would you prefer your primary school to provide education primarily through the English language or through the Irish language?

What was the survey duration?

The survey opened on 4 November and ran to 16 December 2025.

Who was the survey aimed at?

The survey was for:

• Parents and guardians of children who have not yet started primary school
• Parents and guardians of children currently attending primary school
• Primary school staff
• Primary school Board of Management members

What security was in place on the survey?

The department has robust and multi-layered arrangements in place to ensure the integrity and security of the primary school survey process. These arrangements for validating survey returns operate after survey returns are received as this facilitates ease of use for survey users.

This validation process can deal with any scenarios of multiple returns and it operates in the background after survey returns are received and is being done on a real-time basis.

The Eircode parents and guardians provide to the primary schools their children attend is a key aspect for those undertaking the survey. Submitted Eircodes are checked against the department’s Primary Online Database (POD) in respect of primary school children and Child Benefit data in respect of younger children to ensure that the responses are from households with primary school children or younger children. The department’s validation process also involves checks for duplicate responses. Measures are taken to ensure only one submission is counted. In cases where a pattern of multiple submission is detected, the Eircodes are flagged and appropriate actions can be taken to deal with same.

The survey process has been peer reviewed by the Central Statistics Office who are the State’s experts in undertaking survey processes.

When will the survey results be available?

Initial high-level summary results will be published in early 2026.

What will happen with the survey results?

The department will use the survey results to input into its analysis of national, local and school-specific data to help the department in respect of planning at primary school level. The department will work with relevant stakeholders on actioning the outcomes from the surveys in the context of future school planning. This survey is not a final step. Where there is clear support from parents and guardians for change to be considered, a further process of inclusive dialogue will begin.

Information on key terms included in the survey

The survey asked a small number of questions, including on the following areas:

1. co-education or single-sex school
2. patronage/ethos
3. language (education through English or through Irish)

We explain each of these areas below.

Co-educational/single-sex schools

About 90% of primary schools in Ireland provide education to boys and girls across all classes. We call this co-education. The remaining 10% or so are single-sex primary schools and provide education to boys only or girls only in some or all classes.

School Type

Approx. percentage of primary schools

Co-educational primary schools (boys and girls educated in the same school)

90%

Single-sex primary schools

10%

Patronage/ethos

All recognised primary schools (irrespective of patron):

• follow the national curriculum
• follow the Department of Education and Youth rules and regulations
• have a school patron.

The school patron appoints a Board of Management to manage the school on their behalf. Under the Education Act, 1998 the patron also decides on the ethos of the school.

Ethos of Primary Schools

Denominational – Catholic

88.3%

Denominational - Other religions, mainly Church of Ireland

6.2%

Multi-denominational

5.5%

Children in multi-denominational schools learn about all faiths and belief systems as part of the school day. They use multi-denominational programmes, like:

• Education and Training Board Community National School’s Goodness Me! Goodness You!
• Educate Together’s Learn Together
• An Foras Pátrúnachta’s Croí na Scoile.

Language (education through English or through Irish)

92% of primary schools provide education through English. The remaining 8% provide education through Irish.

Language of Instruction

Percentage of primary schools

Education through English

92%

Education through Irish

8%