This article covers the organisation of compulsory, full-time education for pupils aged 4 up to the age of 11 (ISCED 1). This stage of education is divided into three stages:

• the Foundation Stage, Years 1 and 2, for pupils aged 4 to 6
• Key Stage 1, Years 3 and 4, for pupils aged 6 to 8
• Key Stage 2, Years 5-7, for pupils aged 8 to 11.

Geographical accessibility 

Primary schools are distributed nationally across both urban and rural areas in Northern Ireland. A 2013 research paper on rural schools estimated that over half of Northern Ireland’s primary schools were in rural areas.

Providing school places 

There is an oversupply of schools and school places in Northern Ireland. This is the result of a school system which includes denominational schools and single-sex schools, and of the rural nature of much of the country.

The Government is addressing this oversupply through its ‘Sustainable Schools Policy’ and 'area planning' process. The purpose of the policy is to ensure that children and young people have access to high quality education that is delivered in schools that are also educationally and financially sustainable. Accessibility is one of the sustainability criteria used – ‘Is the distance to school and the travel time for pupils reasonable?’.

The Education Authority, as statutory planning authority, is leading the implementation of the Sustainable Schools Policy through Providing Pathways, a strategic area plan for 2017-2020. This covers the whole of Northern Ireland. It is intended to ensure that all pupils have access to a broad and balanced curriculum in sustainable, fit-for-purpose schools. A number of Action Plans have been published alongside Providing Pathways, setting out the key issues to be addressed in each local government district area for a period of a year or more.

Home to school travel

Transport is regarded as an important factor in achieving equality of opportunity and access.

The Education Authority (EA) is required to make arrangements to facilitate the attendance of pupils at grant-aided (publicly funded) schools, and must provide assistance with school transport where a child meets the eligibility criteria. This is required under Section 52 of The Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, as substituted by Section 23 of The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997.

A child is entitled to assistance if there is no suitable school within statutory qualifying distance of his / her home, or if he / she has been refused a place in all suitable schools within statutory qualifying distance. This is two miles (3.2 kilometres) for primary pupils. Guidance is provided.

A review of home-to-school transport policy took place between December 2018 and June 2019, with the aim of ensuring that future policy is fit for purpose and sustainable in the long term. The review team is creating a shortlist of potential options to be analysed in greater detail, prior to any future full public consultation on any proposed changes. The earliest any revised policy would come into effect would be September 2022-23. The review was informed by a previous independent review, the findings of which were published in 2015 and highlighted that approximately 11% of primary students received assistance with school transport.

The Department of Education’s home-to-school transport page provides further information on statutory provisions and safety standards.

Admission requirements and choice of school 

School starting age 

Children attain compulsory school age depending on the date of their fourth birthday. They start school in September if they reached the age of 4 by 1 July of that year.

There is no legislative provision for deferring the normal age of starting primary school. When a child reaches compulsory school age, he/she is due to attend the first year of primary school (P1), unless a statement of special educational needs (SEN) states that he/she should remain in a pre-school setting.

The Department of Education (DE) consulted in 2014/15 on proposals to allow parents to defer their child’s school starting age in exceptional circumstances. The results of the consultation are available on the DE website. The then Minister decided that legislation to bring forward a process of application for deferral of school starting age would not proceed at that time, and any change would be for a future Minister to decide.

Admission arrangements and oversubscription criteria 

The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 sets out the statutory requirements for the admission of pupils to grant-aided primary schools.

Parents have the right to express a preference for the primary school they wish their child to attend. They complete an application form and may list as many schools as they wish on the form in order of preference. They are recommended to list at least four. When the form is complete they submit it to their first preference school. If that school has more places available than applications, the child will be admitted. If it has more applications than places available, it will apply its admissions criteria. It then passes on the form for children who did not obtain a place, to the Education Authority (EA). The EA then sends it to the next school named on the form. 

The Primary Schools Admissions Guide explains the admissions process in greater detail.

Responsibilities 

The Department of Education (DE) determines the admissions and enrolment numbers for each school. A school’s ‘enrolment number’ is the maximum number of pupils which may be enrolled in any school year. The ‘admissions number’ is the maximum number of pupils which may be admitted in any one school year in the normal age group for the admission of pupils to the school.

The Education Authority (EA) manages the procedures for the enrolment of children in primary school and provides guidance and support to parents.

The board of governors is responsible for drawing up and applying a school’s admissions criteria.

In drawing up a school’s admissions criteria, the board of governors should also take into account any representations made by the Education Authority (EA) or, if it is a Catholic-maintained school, representations made by the Council for Catholic-Maintained Schools (CCMS).

Oversubscription criteria 

Schools apply their published admissions criteria if they receive more applications than places available. Criteria commonly used to allocate places for an oversubscribed school include:

• having a sibling currently attending the school, or being the eldest child in a family
• residing in a named parish
• residing in a geographically defined catchment area
• being a looked after child.

Admissions criteria referring to a child’s ability or aptitude, or performance in a test or examination held by, or on behalf of, the board of governors may not be used, as stated in the Primary Schools (Admissions Criteria) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997.

Parents are informed of the outcome of their application for a primary school place via a ‘placement letter’, usually received in late April or early May in the year a child is due to start school. They have a legal right of appeal if a place is not offered at the school of their choice.

Where parents appeal the decision, the Education Authority is required to make arrangements to facilitate the establishment and operation of Independent Admissions Appeals Tribunals. These tribunals decide whether or not a school has correctly applied its admissions criteria in deciding to refuse a child admission.

The Department of Education provides guidance for school principals and boards of governors on primary school admission arrangements; see in particular, Circular 2016/17 which summarises the statutory requirements which they must meet.

Age levels and grouping of pupils 

Classes are normally organised so that children of the same year group are taught together. A year group usually consists of all the children whose birthdays fall within the same academic year, i.e. the period from 1^st July to 30^th June.

The Northern Ireland Curriculum is divided into four key stages and primary schools cater for the following year groups and key stages: 

Class sizes in P1–4 (ages 4 to 8) are limited to a maximum of 30 pupils under Section 16 of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998, and Regulation 4 of the Class Sizes in Primary Schools Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000.

In 2018/19, the average class size in primary schools (Years 1 to 7, ages 4 to 11) was 25 pupils (Table 4 of Annual Enrolments at Schools and in Funded Pre-school Education, 2018/19).

Apart from the class size limit for P1-4, the organisation of classes and teaching groups is determined by the school. Mixed-age classes are used in some schools, particularly small schools.

Most children are taught in mixed-ability classes, with one teacher in charge. The teacher normally stays with a class for the school year, before pupils progress to the next class.

Pupils typically have the same teacher for all or most subjects, but schools may choose to employ additional teachers for particular subjects, such as foreign languages or music.  Primary schools also make extensive use of teaching assistants, working in the classroom in a direct, but usually informal, instructional role with pupils on a small group and one to-one basis.

Organisation of the school year 

The school year begins in early September and finishes at the end of June. There is a long summer break of around nine weeks, with shorter breaks of around ten days at Christmas and Easter, and two-day breaks in October and February.

The dates of terms and holidays are agreed each year by a group representing all school sectors (Catholic maintained schools, controlled schools and integrated schools), and take account of the availability of school transport and school meals services. That said, individual school principals and boards of governors retain the flexibility to vary their operational dates to meet their own circumstances.

Schools are required to be in operation for 200 days a year. Teachers are required to be available for work on 195 days, of which no more than 190 days should involve teaching children in the classroom. The five ‘non-contact’ days are used for training purposes.

Schools are able to close for up to five school development days. These were introduced in the 2011/12 school year under the ‘Every School a Good School’ policy for school improvement. These days must be devoted to school improvement and staff development matters and, where schools decide not to use all or some of the available five days, they must be open as normal to pupils. The Department of Education website provides detailed guidance.

In addition, five optional closing days may be taken as an extension to the Easter, Christmas or summer holidays, or to cover closure in exceptional circumstances. Such circumstances may include, for example, the death of someone connected with the school, or a planned event such as a move to new premises, building work, or a religious holiday. For further information see DE Circular 2013/09 and Circular 2017/14.

The number of days that pupils are taught in the classroom may vary from 185 to 190 days, when teacher training, school development days, and optional closing days are taken into account.

Organisation of the school day and week 

Classes normally take place five days a week, Monday to Friday.

DE Circular 2013/09 sets out official minimum requirements for the school day:

• three hours per day for pupils under the age of eight
• four and a half hours each day (in two sessions, separated by a period of not less than half an hour) for pupils aged eight years and over.

Schools are also required to allow sufficient time to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum that meets all legal requirements, so may provide a longer school day than the official minimum.

In addition, The Primary Schools (General) Regulations Northern Ireland 1973 state that there must be religious education instruction of at least one half hour per day or two-and-a-half hours per week.

Primary schools are generally open between 9.00 a.m. and 2.00 / 3.00 p.m., with approximately one hour for lunch. There may be a break of around 15 minutes during the morning and afternoon sessions. The organisation of time within the school day is determined by the board of governors advised by the principal.

Article last reviewed April 2021.