The population decline in the number of primary school aged children in Ireland has been offset by the arrival of children from other countries, a new Department of Education report says.
The document highlights changes to the demographic profile of primary schools, and that the projected decline in the number of primary school children in the State, and notes that there is a combined total of just over 18,000 Ukrainian pupils at primary and post-primary level.
According to the Department of Education Inspectorate Report (2021 – 2023), Irish primary schools welcomed children and young people displaced by global crises, including 11,165 Ukrainian pupils, leading to an overall increase of over 3,000 pupils in the sector up to September 2023.
The Department highlighted that, in response, Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) were established to support the inclusion of these children and young people in schools, and to provide additional language and other supports.
The report also notes that Irish post-primary education sector has seen “significant change” in recent years, particularly between 2020 and 2023 including increasing school enrolments and owing to the impact of Covid.
By September 2023, post-primary enrolments had reached 416,631, an increase of over 24,000 students since 2021.
The department said that this growth reflected both demographic shifts and the arrival of students from other countries.
“Schools welcomed students displaced by global crises, including 6,846 Ukrainian students. The establishment of Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) supported the integration of these students into school life, promoting inclusivity and providing additional language and other supports,” the report adds.
This means that there are over 11,000 Ukrainian children now registered in the primary and post-primary sector.
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
While the report recorded many positive findings about the quality of educational provision, it did highlight school attendance as a problem in the wake of Covid lockdowns. According to the report, school attendance among pupils dropped significantly since the Covid crisis, with about 42 per cent of primary pupils in disadvantaged areas missing more than 20 days of school in the 2022/23 school year.
This is a significant increase of 11 per cent for primary school pupils prior to Covid, and marks a 14.5 per cent rise for students at second level in 2018/2019.
Further, the report shows that 30 per cent of post-primary students in schools in disadvantaged areas missed 20 school days or more.
The report notes: “In the UK, researchers have argued that the pandemic has altered the social contract between schools and society fundamentally, and that one of the most notable casualties of this has been regular school attendance.
“These concerns are reflected in Ireland in the most recent data provided by Tusla’s Education Support Service.”
The report says that “school attendance is one of the legacy challenges remaining following the pandemic and there is still some work to be done to ensure that attendance rates continue to improve to pre-pandemic levels.”
However, it notes that the Irish education sector has enacted incentives to boost attendance, including promoting a “learning friendly” environment and offering children prizes and rewards for good attendance. However, inspectors did note that some young people said that such incentives were of limited value.
“It is not yet apparent that strategies to promote attendance, particularly in schools where the attendance of children and young people is a cause for concern, place sufficient emphasis on the critical link between high-quality, responsive, teaching and consistently good school attendance,” the report added.
The findings in the Department of Education Inspectorate Report (2021-2023) and Thematic Review are based on a wide range of research, including 1,231 inspections in early learning and care settings that provide the ECCE programme, 4,362 inspections in primary and special schools, and 1,909 inspections in post-primary schools and centres for education.
Publishing the report, Chief Inspector Yvonne Keating said:
“Our inspections show that there are significant strengths across the Irish education system, spanning early years, primary, and post-primary levels. Important drivers of these achievements are the professionalism, skills, and commitment of those involved in teaching, in leading our schools and early learning and care settings, and in supporting the learning and wellbeing of children and young people. This strong foundation positions us well to make further progress towards educational excellence for all learners.”