The Irish Education system comprises formal, informal and non-formal lifelong learning opportunities. State funded education is available at the following levels:
Early Years and School Aged Care settings are funded via a combination of public investment and parental fees as set out in Partnership for the Public Good: A New Funding Model for Early Learning and Care and School-Aged Children (2021) (PDF 18.4 MB).
Formal compulsory education is from the age of 6 to 16 years. Private schools and colleges are also available at all levels.
The Irish education system comprises provision for early childhood, primary, post-primary, further education and training and higher education.
The Early Start programme was introduced in 1994 as a one-year pre-school preventative intervention scheme offered in 40 schools in designated areas of disadvantage. The objective of the pre-school programme is to tackle educational disadvantage by targeting children who are at risk of not reaching their potential within the school system. The programme is managed and funded by the Department of Education and the operation of the programme was designed at a national level in consultation with the education partners.
The programme is a one-year initiative to meet the needs of children, aged between 3 and 5 years, who are at risk of not reaching their potential in school. The programme involves enhancing the child’s overall development, helping to prevent school failure and reducing the effects of social disadvantage.
Since the inception of Early Start, the early learning and care sector has changed immensely. The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme has become the main early years education programme given that it can be accessed for 2 years and also provides specialised supports to children through the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) and Equal Start.
Early childhood education and care services are delivered outside the formal education system, by a diverse range of private, community and voluntary interests and are described variously as crèches, nurseries, pre-schools, naíonraí (Irish language pre-schools), playgroups and daycare services. Government investment in such provision is primarily implemented by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY). Budget 2024 allocated over €1.109 million of early learning and childcare, representing a €83 million (8%) increase on last year’s allocation.
The Early Childhood Care and Education Programme (ECCE) is a free, universal two-year preschool programme available to all children within the eligible age range funded by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth (DCEDIY). It provides children with their first formal experience of early learning prior to commencing primary school. The universal ECCE programme that will benefit more than 108,000 children in 2024.
The goal of The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is to create a more inclusive environment in pre-schools, so all children, regardless of ability, can benefit from quality early learning and care. The model achieves this by providing universal supports to pre-school settings, and targeted supports, which focus on the needs of the individual child, without requiring a diagnosis of disability.
AIM commenced in 2016, since then, it has helped tens of thousands of children with a disability to access and meaningfully participate in the ECCE (Early Childhood Care and Education) programme in pre-school settings nationwide. The model has been recognised internationally and has won awards for both excellence in practice, and inclusive policy.
Equal Start is a funding model and a set of associated universal and targeted measures to support access and participation in early learning and care (ELC) and school-age childcare (SAC) for children and their families who experience disadvantage.
Equal Start consists of a series of measures to support children, settings and families. The goals of the Equal Start are that:
Ireland has a centralised school system which is administered by the Department of Education but with significant localisation in terms of school ownership, trusteeship and management. The Department of Education makes provision for school education through the medium of the state’s two official languages; Irish and English. Participation in formal education is compulsory for children in Ireland from the ages of six to sixteen or until students have completed three years of second-level education, typically, the completion of Junior Cycle/Lower Secondary.
While the Department of Education is responsible for the overall direction of school education, responsibility for the development of national curricula and assessments has been devolved to aegis bodies including the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and the State Examinations Commission.
The Teaching Council is the professional standards body for the teaching profession, which promotes and regulates professional standards in teaching. Initial teacher education programmes for primary and post-primary teachers are facilitated through a range of concurrent (undergraduate) and consecutive (postgraduate) programmes. All initial teacher education programmes (primary, post-primary and further education) in Ireland that lead to registration must have professional accreditation from the Teaching Council in accordance with Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education.
Primary education in Ireland consists of an eight year cycle; junior infants, senior infants and first to sixth class. Grades 2/3 in Ireland are considered to be 2nd and 3rd class. The end of primary education in Ireland is considered to be the end of 6th class or the end of the eight year primary cycle.
Post primary education in Ireland consists of a three year junior cycle (lower secondary), an optional transition year, and a two year senior cycle (upper secondary).
The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) is responsible for policy, funding and governance of the Higher and Further Education and Research sectors. Provision of education programmes in further and higher education are the remit of individual HE and FET institutions. The Higher Education Authority is an agency of the DFHERIS with statutory responsibility, at central Government level, for the effective governance and regulation of higher education institutions and the higher education system.
Supporting inclusion is a strategic goal of DFHERIS through student supports and diversification of progression pathways for learners e.g.
The Department of Education provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential.
The DEIS programme is a key policy initiative of Government to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level in a targeted and equitable way across the primary and post-primary sector.
DEIS supports 1,193 schools and approximately 260,000 students. One in four students are now supported in the programme.
The 2022 expansion of the DEIS programme, benefited 361 schools at a cost of €32 million. Annual total cost is now over €180 million.
For the 2024/2025 the total primary schools in DEIS is 961 of which 506 are rural primary, 149 urban band 2 and 306 urban band 1. Total post-primary schools in DEIS is 232.
The Minister for Education invited the OECD Strength Through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies project to review Ireland’s current policy approach for the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage. In July 24 the OECD published ‘Review of Resourcing Schools to Address Educational Disadvantage in Ireland'.
The OECD review team engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, including government departments, teacher unions, community groups, and schools (DEIS and non-DEIS), through online interviews and in-person visits to gather insights on inclusive education.
Review finds: Ireland has an education system that consistently outperforms many other OECD countries but also exhibits relative socio-economic fairness, making it one of the stronger performers globally. It recognises the positive impact of resources provided universally to all schools, as well as the additional resources provided to schools in the DEIS programme, in addressing educational disadvantage.
The review highlights continued improvements over the past decade in retention and attainment levels between children and young people in DEIS and non-DEIS schools. It notes that important differences in outcomes persist between DEIS and non-DEIS schools and for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and Travellers and Roma.
The OECD review sets a number of recommendations for future policy, to bridge gaps, improve equity and ensure every child and young person at risk of educational disadvantage is supported to achieve their potential in education. Recommendations are on: governance, resourcing, capacity building, school-level interventions, monitoring and evaluation
Over the coming months the department will work with other government departments and agencies, the education partners, and stakeholders across the education sector to develop tangible actions informed by the recommendations. These actions will aim to build on the success of the DEIS programme through the development of a dynamic resource allocation model that can respond to changing levels of need and ensure that all children and young people in both DEIS and non-DEIS schools are supported to achieve in education.
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