Clare Fm - Podcasts

10% of pupils in Clare primary schools are in oversized classes. New figures published by the Department of Education show average class sizes in schools have hit their lowest level in more than 25 years, with the average class size now 22.2 pupils, down from 22.5 in the 2023/2024 school year. The biggest class size in this county is at Gaelschoil Michil Ciosóg in Ennis, which had 37 pupils in one classroom, while Parteen and Tulla National Schools each have 96 children learning in classes of over 30 pupils. The reduction in numbers nationally is a result of almost 18 thousand fewer children in first level education and Chair of the Oireachtas Education and Youth Committee, Meelick Fianna Fáil TD Cathal Crowe has been telling Clare FM's Daragh Dolan that the way in which transient pupils such as travellers and refugees are counted is posing complications.