Cork Schools Face Infant Class Crisis

Parents at Star of the Sea Primary are fighting back against a plan to merge two junior infant classes into one oversized group of 34 students — far above the national average of 22. This isn’t an isolated case; Cork leads Ireland with 135 primary classes exceeding 30 pupils, while 123 teaching posts remain unfilled. Concerned parents fear the strain on young learners’ development, arguing that 5- and 6-year-olds need individual attention, not just classroom management. Compounding the issue, the school is losing a teacher due to departmental ratios — an appeal based on infant-class guidelines was denied. Critics say the Department’s whole-school ratio system ignores classroom realities, and with an autism class now operating in a spare room, there’s no room to accommodate special needs if needed. Support the show:Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/31c62a7c295fbd2f