Primary or single-structure education is compulsory for all pupils, including pupils with a disability. Only children with a profound intellectual disability follow full-time compulsory education in the form of so-called rehabilitation and education classes.

The minister responsible for school education sets national standards for education in schools (for example, core curricula), whereas communes (gmina) are the lowest-level local government units which administer, in organisational and financial terms, primary schools in their jurisdiction (as so-called school administering bodies). Communes take decisions concerning the network of schools, their staff and equipment, and manage them in administrative and financial terms. 

Primary schools can be public or non-public, but public schools can also be established or administered by private entities (natural persons or legal entities) under certain conditions. However, all primary schools, regardless of their status, are authorised to issue state certificates. Non-public schools are administered by legal entities (corporate bodies) (for example, associations, foundations, religious organisations) or natural persons. Public primary schools do not charge tuition fees; non-public schools may charge fees based on agreements for the provision of educational services. 

Geographical accessibility

As primary or single-structure education is compulsory, primary schools are evenly spread across the country. Due to the demographic factors, rural schools are, on average, smaller than those in urban areas in terms of the number of pupils.

Based on the preliminary data published by the Polish Central Statistical Office for the school year 2024/2025, 3.2 million pupils attended 14,000 primary schools for children and young people; this indicates an increase of 205,700 children compared with the previous year. The overwhelming majority of pupils attended public schools, which represented 88.4% of all primary schools. Children and young people attending primary schools in urban areas represented 64.5% of all pupils of the full-time compulsory education age, as compared with 35.5% in rural areas (Education in the 2024/2025 school year (preliminary data)). 

Catchment areas ensure access to public schools. These are areas designated by law within the jurisdiction of a given commune (one or more localities or their parts). Children living in the catchment area of a primary school have a statutory right to attend it, and this is taken into consideration in the regulations on the admission process (see below).

If the distance between the public school and the pupil’s place of residence (in rural areas) exceeds 3 km (Grades I to IV) or 4 km (Grades V to VIII), the commune is required to provide free transport or pay fares for public transport. 

Admission requirements and choice of school

Primary or single-structure education is compulsory for all 7-years-old children. At their parents’ request, children may start primary education if they reach the age of 6 in a given calendar year. The school head may admit 6-year-old children if they attended preschool education classes in the school year preceding the school year in which they should start primary education or have a school readiness statement issued by a counselling and guidance centre. 

At parents’ request, the head of a public primary school in the catchment area where the child lives may defer the child starting full-time compulsory education for one school year. In such cases, together with their request, parents are required to submit an opinion from a counselling and guidance centre indicating the need for deferred entry in a given school year. If a child has a disability confirmed by a special educational needs statement, entry may be deferred for a longer period, but only until the end of the school year in the calendar year in which the child reaches the age of 9. A child whose entry into full-time compulsory education has been deferred continues preschool education in a nursery school, a preschool class in a primary school or an alternative preschool education setting. 

The Act of 14 December 2016, The Law on School Education (ustawa z dnia 14 grudnia 2016 r. – Prawo oświatowe) requires that heads of public primary schools monitor participation in full-time compulsory education, which covers children and young people aged 7 to 18 years. Thus, heads of public primary schools keep a register of children living in their catchment areas and send an admonition letter to parents (legal guardians) of children who are not enrolled in a school or do not attend school classes. A commune applies administrativesanctions for failure to participate in full-time compulsory education despite such an admonition letter. 

Communes are divided into catchment areas in order to provide even access to schools. The division into catchment areas is based on a plan for the network of public primary schools administered by a given commune (Article 39, section 5, of the Law on School Education). Any change in the boundaries of a catchment area involves a change in the school network, which requires a positive opinion from the Head of the Regional Education Authorities (REA) (kurator oświaty).

Primary schools are required by law to take children living in their catchment area. If places are available, the school can additionally take children living outside a given catchment area at their parents’ request. Admission criteria for vacant places in primary schools are defined locally by a resolution of the council of the commune, based on general provisions of the law (Article 133, sections 2 and 3, of the Law on School Education). 

Age levels and grouping of pupils

A class (also referred to as ‘division’ in the national legislation) is the basic organisational unit in the primary school (and in schools at higher levels of education) in Poland. It (nominally) groups pupils of the same age who jointly follow the same national core curriculum under the supervision of teachers. Roman numerals are normally used to designate classes.

Grouping into classes is based on the age of pupils as the basic criterion and, where applicable (at the education stage comprising Grades IV to VIII), on the promotion of the pupil to the next grade. Each class is supervised by a class teacher or tutor. As a rule, the class teacher/tutor holds this function throughout an education stage, that is separately for early school education (Grades I to III) and for subject-based education (Grades IV to VIII).

In general, the legislation does not define the minimum or maximum size of a class, but in some cases provides for an exception to the rule; for example, the number of pupils in Grades I to III is, as a general rule, limited to 25. Regulations for special and integration primary schools (which take pupils with disabilities or socially maladjusted pupils) may provide for exceptions; for example, the maximum number of pupils per class in integration schools and classes should be 20, including up to 5 pupils with a disability.

For some school activities or classes, pupils are further divided into groups. In Grades IV to VIII of the primary school, this is obligatory in the following cases:

• For compulsory computer science classes, where classes have more than 24 pupils; the number of pupils in a group may not exceed the number of computers in the computer lab.

• For compulsory modern foreign language classes, where classes have more than 24 pupils, with the level of proficiency in a foreign language to be considered in grouping pupils; classes can be taught in a class group, cross-class group or cross-grade group of up to 24 pupils.

• For up to 50% of compulsory general education classes which, based on curricular contents, should comprise practical classes (including lab classes): in classes which have more than 30 pupils.

• Compulsory physical education classes can be run for a class group, a cross-class group or cross-grade group, as well as for an inter-school group in the case of a school compound that has up to 26 pupils. If a class group, cross-class group, cross-grade group or inter-school group includes pupils with a disability who have a special needs statement and attend an integration class or pupils who attend special classes, the number of pupils in a group may not be higher than the number of pupils in an integration class or a special class, respectively, as specified in the regulations based on Art. 111 of the Act of 14 December 2016, The Law on School Education (ustawa z dnia 14 grudnia 2016 r. – Prawo oświatowe). 

Detailed arrangements should be based on the statutes of a given primary school.

Organisation of the school year

The school year in Poland starts on 1 September and ends on 31 August in the next year (Article 94 of the Law on School Education. It includes the period when classes are taught and holidays or summer and winter breaks and other breaks.

Classes in a school year run from the first working day of September until the first Friday after 20 June. Classes are divided into 2  semesters, separated by the winter break of two weeks.

The summer break begins on the Saturday following the final day of classes and ends on 31 August.

The dates of the winter break vary between the provinces. The break is set between mid-January and the beginning of March and lasts 2 weeks. After consultation with the province governors and the Heads of the Regional Education Authorities (kurator oświaty), the minister responsible for school education publishes the start and end dates of the winter break in each province. Schools in Poland also have two public (or religious) holiday breaks: Christmas and Easter breaks of a few days.

Detailed information on the organisation of the school year (start and end dates of the school year, dates of summer holidays and winter breaks with geographical variations, as well as public or religious holidays) is available in the annually updated Eurydice publication ‘School calendars in Europe 2025/2026’. 

Organisation of the school day and week

Pursuant to the Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 28 February 2019 on the detailed organisational arrangements for public schools and nursery schools (rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 28 lutego 2019 r. w sprawie szczegółowej organizacji publicznych szkół i publicznych przedszkoli), the head of a school providing full-time programmes (that is, programmes where classes should be taught on 3 or 4 days per week) determines the number of weekdays on which classes are conducted. The Regulation also states more precisely that schools providing full-time day programmes should conduct classes on 5 days per week. Primary schools normally conduct classes from Monday to Friday (inclusive). The school head decides in such matters after consultation with the competent school governing bodies, including the teaching council (composed of the head and all teachers) and the school council (composed of teachers, parents and pupils).

Classes in upper grades usually start at 8 a.m. and finish around 2-3 p.m. if the school works in one shift (they last longer if the school works in two or three shifts). Each lesson (period) lasts 45 minutes. However, in Grades I to III of the primary school, the teacher conducting classes determines the duration of each class, with the total class time per week complying with that set in the weekly timetable. Breaks usually last from 5 to 25 minutes. The duration of the school day also depends on the available facilities: the size of the school building, the number of classrooms and other facilities available for after-school activities.

The school head establishes the weekly timetable, which shows when and where classes are conducted, after consultation with the teaching council.