School Reports

At the end of the school year, you receive your child's end-of-year report card. Based on classwork, standardised test results and teacher observations, this provides a formal written report of your child's progress in all areas of his or her school life. These reports are written to This year, our report cards have been amended so that they meet the Department of Education and Skills’ (DES) new requirements for school reports in all primary schools in Ireland. Our new report card is based on a template from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). Below is an explanation of the different headings and terms used in our updated report cards.

There are many similarities between our former report card and the new one. However, to ensure that you are comfortable with what information the new report cards contain, below offers explanations of what the different sections and sepcific terms refer to and will help you to understand what the new report's different sections mean.  The report cards cover the following areas:

  • - How your child likes learning in school
  • - How your child works with other children, or on his/her own
  • - How your child keeps trying at work, even when it is hard
  • - How well your child works in school or at home

  • - If your child appears happy in school
  • - How he/she behaves
  • - How he/she gets on with other children in the classroom and in the playground

  • - How he/she is getting on in English, Gaeilge, mathematics and all other subject areas
  • - Whether he/she needs a little or a lot of help with school work
  • - Whether your child needs a little or a lot of help with homework

  • - How you might be able to help your child to do well in school
  • - Things you can do at home to help with your child’s learning

  • - How your child is doing from his/her teachers point of view
  • - A comment on some aspect of the report or perhaps drawing your attention to something

Depending on which class your child is in, you will see a range of terms to describe your child’s progress in all areas. Here is an explanation of what these terms mean.

Listening and understanding – the ability to understand what is said by others. Oral Expression – the ability to speak and talk to others in a clear and effective way. Reading – how fluently your child is reading and how well he or she understands what is being read. Written expression – the ability to write with meaning and for a specific purpose. Early writing activities – the skills required before writing on his/her own. For example, pencil grip, forming and naming the letters of the alphabet, learning that letters represent sounds etc. Early reading activities – the skills required before reading on his/her own. For example, developing an awareness of letter sounds, understanding that words and sentences go from left to right, understanding that pictures in a text add to the meaning etc. Penmanship – how well your child’s handwriting is developing.

Understanding and recalling – the ability to show understanding of a maths idea and remember important facts. Using procedures – the ability to use clear and appropriate steps to answer a sum or solve a maths problem. Reasoning and problem solving – the ability to use knowledge of maths to work out problems. Explaining and communicating – the ability to share thinking about why a problem was approached in a particular way.

Further information about the report card can be found here at the NCCA's website. However, as always, if you have any questions, we would be delighted to answer these.

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