Aodhán Ó Ríordáin
Question:705. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education the number of schools in the education system that operate a shorter day for infants' classes than the rest of the classes. [63645/22]
View answerWednesday, 18 January 2023
Questions (705)
Written answers
Under the provisions of the Education Act 1998, the Board of Management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school.
Circular 11/95 “Time in School” paragraph 3 states that a typical school day for Junior classes is 4 hours and 40 minutes and Senior classes 5 hours and 40 minutes with appropriate recreation i.e. 30 minutes.
Children in infant classes may have a school day that is one hour shorter than the length of the normal school day. This is a concession in the interests of young children who may find it difficult to sustain the work of the full day. The decision to apply this concession rests with the Board of Management. The Department does not maintain records as to the number of schools that apply this concession.