In recent years, the primary education sector in Ireland has experienced both change and challenge. During the timeframe of this report, primary schools and special schools responded with agility and commitment to the impact of the pandemic on the wellbeing of children and young people, on teaching and learning, and on school management and leadership. In addition, there were some changes to the demographic profile of primary schools. The projected decline in the number of primary school children in the population was offset by the arrival of children and young people from other countries. 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. 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.
Primary curriculum redevelopment and implementation continued during this period. The implementation of the Primary Language Curriculum progressed for all stages from junior infants to sixth class in primary schools and for all children and young people in special schools. The Primary Curriculum Framework was launched in March 2023. In September 2023, the Primary Mathematics Curriculum was published, with the 2023-2024 academic year being an introductory year for schools to become familiar with that curriculum. These developments were designed to support high-quality learning, teaching, and assessment that is inclusive and evidence-based, recognising the right of all children to make progress in all areas of their learning and development. In parallel with these developments, schools grappled with teacher-supply issues.
This chapter presents data on inspections conducted in primary and special schools between September 2022 and December 2023, main inspection findings in relation to teaching, learning and assessment, as well as some themes emerging from an analysis of the 124 whole-school evaluations conducted during the period.
The Inspectorate uses a range of inspection types to assess the quality of education provision in primary and special schools. Almost all inspection models have a short notice period. This is designed to facilitate aspects of information gathering such as administration of surveys, meetings with members of the school community - for example, children and young people, parents, teachers, school leaders, and the board. Announced inspections, i.e. inspections with a notice period, include the following types:
| Inspection type | Detail | Notice Given | Outcome | |
| Curriculum evaluation | Focuses on evaluating specific curriculum areas and subjects | Normally, five working days in advance of the evaluation | Publication of final report | |
| Whole school evaluation and Whole school evaluation management leadership and learning (WSE-MLL) | Evaluates key aspects of the work of the school – teaching, pupils’ learning, support for pupils’ learning and wellbeing, leadership, management, and school self-evaluation. | Normally, ten working days in advance of the evaluation | Publication of final report | |
| Evaluation of action planning for improvement in DEIS schools | Evaluates how schools devise, implement and monitor action plans for improvement under specific DEIS themes | Normally, ten working days in advance of the evaluation | Publication of final report | |
| Evaluation of inclusive practices and provision for children with special and additional educational needs | Evaluates the provision for pupils with additional and special educational needs in mainstream classes and support settings. | Normally, ten working days in advance of the evaluation | Publication of final report | |
| Child protection and safeguarding inspection | Examines a school's compliance with key aspects of child protection procedures | Between twenty-four- and forty-eight hours’ notice is typically provided. These inspections may also be unannounced | Publication of initial and final reports | |
| Follow-through inspection | Assesses the extent to which a school has implemented recommendations from earlier inspections. | Two working days' notice is given, but these inspections may also be unannounced | Publication of final report |
All announced inspections result in oral feedback to the school about strengths in education provision in the school and, as relevant, aspects of provision that need to be improved. In addition, a written inspection report containing the inspection findings from the announced inspection is published on gov.ie
The Inspectorate also conducts one-day unannounced inspections known as incidental inspections. These inspections allow inspectors to observe and evaluate the quality of teaching, learning, and assessment practices in everyday school situations. Unannounced inspections also result in oral feedback to school leaders and staff about strengths in education provision in the school and, as relevant, aspects of provision that need to be improved.
Both announced and unannounced inspections in primary schools and special schools involve inspectors visiting classrooms and other learning settings in the school and engaging with children and young people, teachers, and school leaders. Certain types of announced inspections, such as whole-school evaluations, also include meetings between inspectors and the school’s board of management and between inspectors and parents. Both announced and unannounced inspections are designed to enhance professional reflection, support self-evaluation, and to contribute to improving educational outcomes for pupils.
On 13 March 2020, primary schools and special schools closed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. They reopened in August 2020 under strict public health guidelines, which limited classroom activities and teaching methods. In January 2021, schools faced further closures because of rising COVID-19 cases. The reopening process in 2021 was phased, with different class groups returning at different times. During these closures, schools demonstrated creativity, commitment, and resilience by adapting to remote teaching and learning. Inspectors supported and evaluated the work of schools during this time through 6126 online advisory engagements with schools and pilot evaluations of remote teaching and learning in 21 schools.
Starting in August 2020, following the initial reopening, the Inspectorate began a phased approach to resuming inspections. The focus was initially on providing advice and support to schools, in line with public health advice. Early inspection activities included incidental visits to support teaching and learning, as well as inspections focused on the Safe Provision of Schooling (SSPS) and child protection and safeguarding inspections. Inspectors also supported schools through online advisory visits and pilot evaluations of remote teaching and learning in 21 primary schools.
Image: Primary insights 1
As 2021 progressed, inspection activities gradually expanded. From September 2022, there was an incremental return to the more typical programme of evaluations in schools while inspectors’ advisory work in schools continued. In September 2023, the Inspectorate fully resumed its standard programme of school inspections in primary schools.
Between September 2022 and December 2023, inspectors conducted 1323 evaluations in primary and special schools, with 581 announced and 742 unannounced inspections. Of the schools inspected, 135 were either special schools or mainstream schools with special classes.
Image: Primary insights 2
The overall quality of teaching was found to be good or better in 97% of the schools. Pupils’ learning was also found to be good or very good in 96% of the schools. Findings in relation to assessment practices were not as positive as those for overall teaching and learning. Assessment was found to be good or better in 83% of the schools inspected.
Image: PRIMARY INSIGHTS 3
In the unannounced incidental inspections, the findings in respect of the overall quality of teaching and learning, and the quality of assessment were slightly less positive than the findings emerging from the announced inspections.
During the reporting period, a total of 742 unannounced incidental inspections were conducted in primary and special schools. Of these, 234 inspections took place in schools in the DEIS programme, while 508 were in schools not in the DEIS programme. The overall quality of teaching was found to be good or better in 82% of the schools inspected during unannounced inspections. The pupils’ learning was found to be good or better in 83% of the unannounced incidental inspections carried out in primary and special schools.
Image: PRIMARY INSIGHTS 4
Whole School Evaluation - Management, Leadership and Learning (WSE-MLL) is an evaluation model used to evaluate the quality of education provision, focusing on key areas such as teaching and learning, management and leadership and support for pupils’ wellbeing. The process involves inspectors conducting various activities including meetings, document reviews, classroom observations, and surveying children and young people, parents, and staff about their perspectives. Each WSE-MLL results in a published report that highlights strengths, identifies areas for improvement, and offers specific recommendations to enhance educational provision.
A total of 124 WSE-MLLs were conducted in primary and special schools during the period January 2023 to December 2023. An analysis of the findings from these inspections provides some insights into the quality of teaching and pupils’ learning, and the quality of school management and leadership.
The role of skilled, committed, and agentic teachers is particularly important during a period of crisis, change or curricular reform. Teachers need to have an expert knowledge of educational theory, curriculum content and processes, and a deep understanding of child psychology and development. This enables the teacher to design imaginative learning activities, and child-centred teaching processes that can respond meaningfully to the different learning needs and interests of each child.
Teaching approaches and interactions with children must be fair, democratic and guided by a strong ethical framework. Learning activities should be rooted in the environment of the child; with the teacher skilfully drawing on imagination, emotional intelligence and empathy in framing engaging learning tasks that will expand the child’s knowledge, skills and ideas. In this, teacher-pupil dialogue and engagement are critically important to support individual and collaborative learning. These teaching competencies, taken together, offer the prospect of leading children to a new understanding of their learning activities; and ultimately towards a fuller understanding of themselves.
Findings in relation to the overall quality of teaching and pupils’ learning in the 124 primary and special schools were positive. Teachers in almost all of the schools were well prepared for the lessons observed. They created inclusive learning environments and used interactive and enquiry-based teaching methods and resources to support the pupils’ learning.
Where practice was most effective, teachers reflected collaboratively on pedagogy and shared expertise in relation to approaches to curriculum enactment in their classrooms. They made effective use of group projects and collaborative tasks for pupils in order to support integration of learning across the curriculum, thereby fostering teamwork, communication, and the pupils’ critical-thinking skills. Pupils described how these experiences helped them to develop skills and competencies that could be applied to other aspects of the curriculum. In such schools, effective use was made of both formative and summative assessment methods, including the use of pupil self-assessment techniques and teachers’ provision of written formative feedback.
Another feature of effective practice in several of the schools was the positive use of digital technologies in classrooms. Inspection reports noted how such schools supported the pupils’ readiness for a digital world through enabling the pupils to engage with digital platforms to support project work, creativity, and critical thinking through both collaborative and independent learning activities. In the best examples, inspectors noted that pupils were enabled to be both digital content users and content creators.
Although the overall quality of teaching and learning was found to be good or better in almost all of the 124 schools evaluated through WSE-MLL, there were some common themes in inspection report recommendations. For example, inspection reports referenced the importance of complementing teacher-led instruction with opportunities for pupils to engage in discussion and in problem-solving and discovery-based activities.
Reports also highlighted the importance of ensuring that pupils were appropriately challenged in their learning and that the needs of all learners are met through provision of appropriately differentiated learning experiences and activities informed by relevant assessment information. In a number of schools, inspectors identified a need for greater attention to be given to the development of pupils’ oral language skills, particularly in Irish, and for increased opportunities for learners to engage in creative and independent writing in both Irish and English.
Highly effective leadership and management are critically important in the work of every primary school. The leadership role can inspire a whole-school community through articulating a compelling vision for the school which is rooted in a shared mission to create the best possible educational experience for every child and young person. School principals and others in leadership roles can create a collegial and welcoming school context that fosters positive relationships with parents, staff and others in the community.
Excellent leadership builds the capacity and commitment of teaching staff, and the wider community, to create a positive school culture in which children are supported to achieve their ambitions in classrooms; where children actively participate in their learning and are supported to express their own views and to have voice in decisions that affect them.
Analysis of the findings of the WSE-MLLs indicates that the quality of school leadership and management was good or better in the great majority of the schools. In the schools where this was most effective, various elements of school leadership – leadership of the board of management and principal, in-school leadership, and leadership of individual teachers - were contributing positively to the realisation of a shared strategic vision for the benefit of the pupils. Inspection reports on such schools frequently referenced the effectiveness of strong in-school leadership teams that collaborated to implement school policies and advance improvement initiatives.
Inspectors also noted that many schools actively involved parents and the community in governance and decision-making processes through active parents’ associations and effective home-school communications.
Many schools were also found to be proactive in creating formal and informal opportunities for children and young people to express their views and participate in decision-making processes. Examples of where this occurred on a whole-school basis included the creation of formal pupil committees such as Green Schools committees, Amber Flag committees, and pupil councils. Other positive practices in this regard included opportunities for children and young people to co-create classroom behaviour contracts and have choice in project work and other decisions about their learning.
Professional development and collaborative practices are essential for maintaining high standards in teaching. Inspectors noted positive school environments were fostered in schools that prioritised staff development, supported ongoing training opportunities, and facilitated collaborative planning and teaching to enable teachers to share expertise.
Strategic allocation of human and physical resources to support teaching and learning were highlighted as strengths in several schools. These schools ensured that teaching posts, including special education teaching posts, were deployed effectively; they maintained school facilities to a high standard and used technology and instructional materials that supported innovative teaching practices and enhanced pupil learning.
In the small number of schools where leadership and management were less effective, inspection recommendations related to issues such as a need for school leaders to strengthen their oversight of whole-school approaches, to enhance stakeholder engagement, to optimise resource allocation (including special educational needs resources), to strengthen pupil participation in decision-making and to foster a collaborative culture in their schools.
Overall, it is clear that many in leadership positions in primary schools guided their schools effectively through the challenges they faced in the 2020-2023 period, particularly the turbulence of the pandemic. A sense of collective responsibility, effective cross-school policy implementation, along with coherence and consistency, were evident in many schools, despite the challenging context.
An important area for attention, however, highlighted previously in the Chief Inspector’s Report (2016-2020) relates to the system of governance across primary and post-primary schools. There is still considerable reliance on volunteerism in the operation of boards of management; and there is a compelling case for more robust support for boards, given the complexity of the legal and governance matters that a voluntary board must address. The school governance architecture for boards of management requires renewal to bring greater coherence to the work of boards while balancing the vital importance of local decision-making and community involvement in the work of schools.
This analysis highlights many strengths in the work of primary and special schools. It is evident that the great majority of schools are delivering a high-quality education for their pupils and that the quality of school leadership and management in the schools is a key enabler of this success. It is clear that teachers, special needs assistants and school leaders in primary and special schools are hugely committed to their professional work and mission; and they are eager to share their expertise with others, within their own school, and as members of teacher professional networks.
As the Primary Curriculum Framework is enacted, there will be a need for ongoing effective and inspiring leadership in schools to ensure that children and young people are equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills and dispositions to engage successfully with the world around them, and to support them in the creative and ethical use of digital technologies. Such leadership will also be key to promoting school environments where the wellbeing of every child and young person is promoted, where all are included, and where all feel they belong.
