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The Catholic Education Partnership (CEP) has welcomed the results of the Department of Education and Youth’s Primary School Survey, which assessed parental preference on school patronage, language and co-educational provision in over 3,000 primary schools.
The survey asked households with children in primary school, or planning to send their children to primary schools, what their preferred ethos was, almost 60% said they were happy for the school to remain denominational while 40.2% would prefer a multi-denominational option.
Currently, 88% of all primary schools have Catholic patronage and the Department of Education has said the purpose of the survey was to measure demand for change among parents and guardians of children currently in primary school or whose child has yet to begin school.
The survey is the largest of its kind ever carried out in Ireland and 41.3% of all households with children under the age of 13 responded, with more than 200,000 valid responses.
Parents were also asked for their preference when it comes to the primary language of instruction in the school – and regarding co-education.
LANGUAGE
Nationally, of responses from households with children in primary school, 91.5% (133,428 out of 145,702) were from households with children attending schools which teach through English. Of these, 13.3% (17,740 out of 133,428) expressed a
preference for their school to teach through Irish.
Among households with a child not yet in school, 12.3% selected a school which teaches through Irish as their intended future school. For the 87.6% of households with a child not yet in school that selected a school which teaches through English as their future school, 15.8% expressed a preference for the school to teach through Irish.
Combining the preferences of parents with children in schools that teach through English (who have expressed a preference for Irish) with the preferences of parents English (who have expressed a preference for Irish), the overall demand for change to Irish from these parents is 13.9%.
CO-EDUCATION
Nationally, amongst responding households with children attending single-sex primary schools, 73.5% (15,300 out of 20,794 households) expressed a preference for co-education. Amongst households with children not yet in school, who indicated that they intend to enrol their children in a single-sex school in the future, 76.6% (4,204 out of 5,487 households) selected co-educational as their preferred option.
Dr Marie Griffin, CEP chairperson, said that: “The key finding of this survey is the significant support for a movement from single-sex to co-ed schools. The definitive nature of this finding stands in sharp contrast to the more tentative results with respect to divestment. Over 240 single-sex schools had a majority in favour of change, and even allowing for the full margin of error, the figure was over 210.
“This is a significant expression of parental preference,” Ms Griffin said. “While local consultation may reduce this figure, it is clear that significant investment will be required from the Department to support this process. CEP calls upon Minister Hildegarde Naughton, Minister for Education and Youth, to provide details of the resources her Department will make available to schools undertaking this change.”
Ms Griffin continued, “The results from the surveys in multi-denominational schools is interesting, with a minority of parents indicating a preference for denominational schools.”
“This may be a result of the Education (Admissions to Schools) Act 2018, where Catholic families may have been displaced from Catholic schools because of its provisions. Under this discriminatory legislation Catholic schools alone cannot prioritise families of the same faith as the school. It certainly is deserving of investigation to understand parental motivations on this matter,” she said.
CEP Chief Executive, Alan Hynes-Cendrzak, said, “Given the role of parents as the primary educators of their children, we recognise and respect this DEY survey as having an important role in informing future developments in the Irish primary sector.
“While the national results do not support a simple claim that there is a national mandate for widespread divestment, the survey results demonstrate clear area-clusters where support for divestment may be found. A simple reading of the results shows majority support for change in a little over 14% of schools.
“However, this figure falls to just under 7% once schools with a low response rate (below 40%) are excluded.
“It is notable that the Department’s own guidance to schools repeatedly suggests that a result where the full range of the margin of error is over 50% as signalling a likely majority of parents being in favour of change. Only 77 schools nationally meet these particular criteria, of which 51 are in Dublin or Cork.
“If you exclude schools with a response rate under 40%, that figure falls to around 40 schools. It is important to note that other schools, not meeting these criteria, may commence a process of engagement with the Department to explore the possibility of divestment.”
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE CRITICAL FOR CHANGE
Mr Alan Hynes-Cendrzak continued saying, “The pattern of support is uneven with stronger support for change concentrated in particular urban, suburban and larger-town settings, including Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Galway, and parts of Wicklow and Kildare, rather than being evenly spread across the country. Within Dublin, there are clear localised clusters of support. Limerick is a notable exception among the larger urban centres, with support significantly below the national figure. There are also a noteworthy number of small rural schools with a majority in favour of change.
“The headline figures must, according to the Department, be read while taking the response rate for each school and the margin of error into account. A school’s knowledge of their own local context and community will also be critical to any future change.
“One of the interesting findings of the survey is the general preference among DEIS school communities to remain within the Catholic sector. Only a very small number of DEIS schools fall into the strongest evidence categories for change. This finding is important and confirms the wonderful work of Catholic schools in supporting diversity, inclusion and social disadvantage.
“Catholic patrons continue to recognise the State’s responsibility to provide greater diversity of school choice, and they remain willing to assist where there is clear community support for change. However, any process must involve consultation at community level. A survey result may identify a signal for discussion, but it does not, by itself, constitute a decision to transfer patronage. Catholic patrons will work to support school communities and the Department where there is a credible basis for engagement, while also protecting the rights of families who continue to seek Catholic education for their children.”
Hr Alan Hynes-Cendrzak concluded, stating, “The survey’s language results show little national pressure for change but there are a number of local cases requiring further consideration.”
Schools received their results in the first week of June, initiating a process of consideration with respect to engaging consultation on divestment, or moving to co-ed where relevant. This began with an initial sharing of the results, with further engagement and consultation at the commencement of the 2026/2027 school year.
The Department of Education has said the data provides “a robust and reliable foundation for subsequent analysis at national, regional, local and school level”.Hildegarde Naughton said it was ‘a starting point for conversations about the future’
A statistical dashboard with a breakdown of the data is expected to go live today. It will allow parents and others to examine the findings in detail, including drilling into the data at county and local area.
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