On 4 November 2025, my department published a 'Framework and action plan for delivery of increased choice for parents on education provision at primary level'. The main focus of this framework and action plan was an online, school-specific survey. The survey ran from 4 November to 16 December 2025.
Through the survey, my department is obtaining clear information on the preferences of parents and guardians about the primary schools which their children currently attend, or will attend in coming years, on a number of important areas of primary school provision, including patronage/ethos, co-education or single-sex school provision and language of instruction (English or Irish).
The results of the survey will help my department to plan how education at primary level is provided.
I recently announced the high-level national and county summary results in respect of the preferences of parents with children currently in primary school.
My department is continuing its detailed analysis of the survey data and is preparing finalised school-specific reports. These school reports will also include the preferences of parents and guardians of children who are not yet in primary school and will be issued to all primary schools soon. This is in line with the commitment for school-level data to be provided in Q2 2026.