More than one in six Offaly primary students in classes of 30 or more

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation, the trade union for more than 40,000 primary school teachers and principals in Ireland has launched a campaign to reduce class sizes in Ireland in the forthcoming budget.

Ireland’s classes are the largest in EU and well above the European average of 20 pupils per class. Ireland’s average class size is 25 pupils, but the reality is that one in five children in Ireland is taught in a class of 30 or more.

Keeping an adequate distance between children, or even groups of children, in the average Irish classroom, when you have more than 30 children in that room, is a near impossible task. The OECD stated this month that “countries with smaller class sizes will find it easier to comply with the new restrictions on social distancing”. Ireland is so far outside comparable country norms that distancing is severely compromised. Our supersized classes hindered our ability to reopen schools and may well challenge Micheál Martin’s great intentions to keep them open.

In Offaly, 17% of pupils learn in classes of more than 30 children.

INTO General Secretary John Boyle said:

“As we approach this year’s budget, it seems we may have to live with this pandemic in our communities well into the future. If we want to keep our schools open, we simply have to lower our class sizes and that needs to happen in the budget.

The INTO is asking the government to commit to reducing class sizes by one pupil per class per year over the lifetime of the government, starting in the forthcoming budget. The government must, now more than ever, deliver on its commitment to tackle supersized classes. Great effort has gone into getting our schools opened safely. Let’s now ensure that we can keep them open.”