Primary education in Ireland has undergone sudden and radical change since March 2020. This article looks at how the issues and concerns for primary schools and the education partners supporting them changed dramatically with the closure and subsequent reopening of schools due to Covid-19.

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment published the Draft Primary Curriculum Framework for public consultation in February 2020 as part of its review and redevelopment of the primary curriculum. This article presents the key proposals for a redeveloped curriculum contained in the draft framework, and describes the reconfigured consultation process during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the rapidly changing landscape of early childhood education in Ireland, this article looks at how to develop continuity in curriculum and pedagogy in progressing children’s communication, language, and literacy skills as they transition from early learning and care settings to primary school.

This article looks at primary and post-primary schools’ experience of using digital technologies during school closures. It considers what we have learned and makes proposals on how we can build on this learning in the future.

The pandemic has serious implications for child poverty. There are lessons to be learned from the last economic crash, when child poverty in Ireland soared at the fastest rate in Europe. Will history repeat itself, or will the Irish state take the necessary measures to protect its most vulnerable children? This article explores the issue through the lens of one DEIS school in Dublin.

2020 was a turbulent year for special education at primary level in Ireland, not all of it rooted in the Covid-19 pandemic. With special schools threatened with closure, a frontloading model for allocating special needs assistants, and a failure to open enough classes for children with autism, it has been a troubled year for the National Council for Special Education and a troubling year for pupils with additional needs, who could claim to have been forgotten in all of it.

There are particular challenges and rewards in leading a special school through a pandemic. This article looks at how the staff and pupils of St Paul’s, a special school in Cork, adjusted to the events and found support from the wider school community. It shows the benefits of technologies both new and old, and the importance of clear communication.

The pandemic of 2020 has caused a monumental pivot in Irish education, with physical school closures resulting in a shift of responsibility for educating our children from teachers to parents. This article reflects on the challenges and opportunities presented to parents, children, and schools during distance learning and considers how this has redefined our understanding of education and schooling in Irish society.