Press release
Preliminary enrolments in Primary and Post-primary schools announced – Minister McHugh
Published on
Last updated on
Published on
Last updated on
The Department of Education and Skills today published the first results on enrolments in Primary and Post-primary schools in September 2018.
The data showed that the total number of pupils being enrolled in both primary and post-primary schools rose by 9,799 for the 2018/2019 school year to 922,458.
Total enrolments in primary schools rose to 559,569 in September, an increase of 4,318 or 0.8 per cent on September 2017.
Enrolments in primary-level multi-denominational schools increased by 7.7 per cent while in Catholic schools they increased by 0.4 per cent.
Total enrolments in Catholic schools stood at 505,053 in September 2018, representing 90.3 per cent of all pupils, down from 90.6 per cent in 2017. Enrolments in primary level multi-denominational schools stood at 32,060, accounting for 5.7 per cent of the total (up from 5.4% in 2017). Church of Ireland schools had enrolments of 16,514 representing 3.0 per cent of all pupils. Other faiths accounted for 5,942 pupils, or 1.1 per cent.
At post-primary level, total enrolments stood at 362,889 in September 2018 – an increase of 5,481 pupils, or 1.5 per cent, on September 2017.
Enrolment in multi-denominational schools increased by 4,443 pupils, or 2.8 per cent while in Catholic schools enrolments went up by 758 pupils, or 0.4%.
Total enrolments in Catholic schools stood at 185,963 pupils in September 2018, followed by multi-denominational schools with 162,624 pupils. There were 12,478 in Church of Ireland schools.
Commenting on the data Minister McHugh said:
“I welcome the early publication of this report on enrolments in primary and post-primary schools. The numbers highlight the rise in the school-going population, with an increase at both primary and secondary level enrolments. They reflect the important changes taking place in the patronage of our schools, with more choice available to parents."
“At secondary level the number of multi-denominational schools has increased almost by 9 per cent in the last 10 years from 321 in 2009 to 349 in 2018. At primary level the the number of multi-denominational schools has risen from 73 to 119 – an increase of 63 per cent. There is also a move towards larger schools in our post-primary system as enrolments increase each year."
“These numbers provide essential data to enable the department to plan and to implement the change processes underway to provide for greater diversity and choice in our education system.”
The research also found that small schools remain a distinctive feature of the primary education system in Ireland, with 708 schools having 60 or fewer pupils enrolled for the 2018/2019 school year.
These schools accounted for 22.8 per cent of all schools yet represented just 4.4 per cent of the total enrolments.
ENDS
Please see Statistical Bulletin attached.
The data is preliminary in nature and final data will be published in June 2018.
Primary
Post-primary
There is room for a number of different multi- and non-denominational patrons to respond to different parental wishes through the different processes now in place. There is no one model that provides a universal answer to the complex issue of providing greater choice for parents regarding school patronage and a number of different approaches have been adopted in the context of an expanding population and increasing demand for multi-denominational education. The Schools Reconfiguration for Diversity Process, which involves voluntary reassignments of patronage under Section 8 of the Education Act, 1998, will be implemented alongside a number of existing approaches. This includes the Patronage Divesting Process and the Patronage Process for New Schools, which includes consideration of parental preferences for different types of school patron.
New Schools:
In April 2018, the government announced plans for the establishment of 42 new schools over the next 4 years (2019 to 2022). This announcement follows nationwide demographic exercises carried out by the department into the current and future need for primary and post-primary school places across the country.
This announcement included 26 new schools at primary level and 16 new schools at post-primary level.
For each new school announced to open, a patronage process takes place. A new Online Patronage Process System (OPPS) has been developed by the department making it a lot easier and more efficient for parents to register their preferred patron and their preference as to whether the new school should operate through Irish or English.
The patronage process for the four post-primary schools to be awarded in 2019 has recently been completed with Educate Together announced as the successful patron for the four schools to open in the following locations.
| Donaghmede_Howth_D13/Belmayne/Clongriffin | 1,000 pupils | 2019 |
| Galway City and Oranmore (Regional Solution) | 1,000 pupils | 2019 |
| Laytown and Drogheda (Regional Solution) | 600 pupils | 2019 |
| Wicklow | 600 pupils | 2019 |
The patronage process for 12 primary schools announced to be established in 2019 is currently underway (December 2018) with the OPPS currently open to those parents of children who reside in the following school planning areas:
| Booterstown_Blackrock | 8 classrooms | 2019 |
| Donaghmede_Howth_D13 | 16 classrooms | 2019 |
| Dublin6_Clonskeagh and Dublin_6W (Regional Solution) | 16 classrooms | 2019 |
| Dunshaughlin | 8 classrooms | 2019 |
| Glasheen_CorkCity/Pouladuff | 8 classrooms | 2019 |
| Goatstown_Stillorgan_DLR | 16 classrooms | 2019 |
| Kilcoole/Newtownmountkennedy | 8 classrooms | 2019 |
| Killester_Raheny_Clontarf | 8 classrooms | 2019 |
| Leixlip | 8 classrooms | 2019 |
| Maynooth | 8 classrooms | 2019 |
| Swords/South | 8 classrooms | 2019 |
| Swords/North | 8 classrooms | 2019 |