Smaller class sizes expected soon due to sharp drop in primary school enrolments

The number of children attending primary school is projected to drop by almost a fifth, or 100,000, over the next ten years, according to Department of Education projections.

The falling demographics predicted between 2023 to 2042 will bring Irish classrooms closer in line to the EU average. The average in Irish primary school pupil-teacher ratio is 23:1 compared with the EU average of about 20 pupils per class. About one in seven pupils here are learning in so-called “supersized classrooms” of more than 30 pupils.

raise the prospect of an oversupply of teachers at primary level in the coming years which, in turn, could allow for smaller class sizes and lower pupil-teacher ratios.

The report says peaks are due to be reached in the number of primary school enrolments this year and post-primary enrolments in 2026.

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) says smaller classes allow for more focused attention on every individual pupil, and so would make the Government’s goal of establishing one the best education system in Europe more feasable.

The number of pupils in primary school is likely to decline from about 558,000 this year to about 533,000 in 2026 and to about 499,000 in 2030.