This post is to update you on the Department of Education and Youth’s Primary School Survey.

This survey was carried out to understand the types of schools that parents and guardians prefer. Over 200,000 parents and guardians took part nationwide. We are now sharing our school’s survey results with you for your information and review. We would welcome any feedback you may have on the results.

About the survey
The attached survey results show:

• The preferences of parents/guardians of children currently enrolled in our school; and
• The preferences of parents/guardians of children not yet enrolled who indicated an intention to enrol in our school.

The results outline the preferences of parents/guardians for:

• Co-educational or single-sex provision
• Patronage/ethos
• Language of instruction (English or Irish)

How to understand the survey results
The survey results are included in this PDF document. We have also included a guidance document to help you understand the survey results. In simple terms: The percentages in green and gold show what the parents/guardians who took part in the survey prefer.

The red line shows the margin of error. This gives a range around the survey result, showing how much the result might be higher or lower if all parents/guardians of children in our school had responded.
For example:

• if the whole red line is above 50%, this means it is likely that more than half of all parents/guardians prefer that option, even allowing for the margin of error.

What happens next
The Board of Management will now review the survey results and think about what they mean for our school. As part of this, we want to make sure that parents/guardians, students, staff, and the wider school community can share their views with us. Once we have gathered all feedback, we will consider it carefully and then let you know about any decisions we make and next steps.

For example, if there is a clear preference for a change, the school may submit an
‘expression of interest form’ for change to the department. If this happens, the department will provide us with a dedicated contact person and other supports, to help our school in this process.

Next steps
Please read the survey results for our school and guidance document. You can send any comments or feedback to us at schoolsurveyfeedback@rnm.ie by 30 September 2026.

Thank you for your support with this survey and we look forward to receiving your feedback.

Michael White (Chairperson, Board of Management)
Ciara McSweeney (Principal)

For our Réalt na Mara Reads (and Writes!) initiative, some of our students composed beautiful poems.

 

From the classroom window

By Ava and Anna

From the classroom window I can hear

The birds chirping from up high

In the clear light blue sky

 

From the classroom window I can hear

All of the schoolchildren talking

From the corridors teachers come walking

 

From the classroom window I can hear

The leaves rustling in the trees

By the flowers and buzzing bees

 

From the classroom window I can hear

Foxes padding through the wood

Spuing on its prey, its looking good!

 

From the classroom window I can hear

Waves crashing against the shore,

What a beautiful village is Dunmore!

 

 

From the classroom window

By Harry and Harvey

From the classroom window I can hear

A person talking as he is walking.

 

From the classroom window I can hear

A woman’s beautiful singing

Its as nice as the doorbell ringing.

 

From the classroom window I can hear

A bird tweeting

I gave him a worm

And now he is eating

 

From the classroom window I can hear

The trees rustling

Sounds like siblings fussing!

 

 

From the classroom window

By Ellen and Emma

From the classroom window I can hear

The birds chirping – sounds like burping!

 

From the classroom window I can hear

People chatting with a dog by their side waiting for a patting.

 

From the classroom window I can hear

The trees rustling – leaves bustling.

 

From the classroom window I can hear

The bell chiming – each ring is rhyming.

 

From the classroom window I can hear

Cars zooming – music booming.

…