Primary education or single-structure education, comprising ISCED Levels 1 and 2, is compulsory for all children. The 8-year primary school (szkoła podstawowa) takes children aged 7 to 15 years. Subsequently, young people continue education in post-primary (secondary) schools or in other settings indicated in the legislation, such as practical vocational training at a workplace combined with theoretical training, or vocational qualification courses. Education in Poland is compulsory until the age of 18. 

Full-time compulsory school education corresponds to the period of education in the primary school (starting at the age of 7 and ending with the completion of primary education). Full-time compulsory education (in school or non-school settings) is for young people who have finished primary school and continue education until the age of 18. 

Children must start full-time compulsory education at the beginning of the school in the calendar year when they reach the age of 7. However, parents may apply for admission of their 6-year-old child to the primary school under certain conditions. 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. 

• Children participate in full-time compulsory education by attending a public or non-public primary school. 

• Education in public primary schools is free of charge for all pupils. Parents may also choose a non-public school. The requirements for compulsory classes to be based on the national core curriculum for general education are the same for all primary schools, regardless of their legal status.

General education in the primary school is divided into two stages:

1. Stage I, Grades I to III of the primary school: integrated early school education,
2. Stage II, Grades IV to VIII of the primary school.

There is no compulsory test or exam between the two stages.

The 8-year primary education cycle ends with the compulsory eighth-grader exam. Together with a primary school leaving certificate, results of the exam provide the basis for admission to post-primary schools. 

In line with the core curriculum for general education in the primary school, general education in the primary school aims to:

• introduce pupils to the world of values, including generosity, collaboration, solidarity, altruism, patriotism and respect for traditions, and the caring for the natural environment, including the climate, on a local and global scale; and identify models of behaviour and build social relationships which support pupils’ development in safe conditions (family, friends);

• strengthen pupils’ sense of individual, cultural, national, regional and ethnic identity;

• develop pupils’ sense of personal dignity and respect for other people’s dignity;

• develop competences such as creativity, innovativeness and entrepreneurship;

• develop critical and logical thinking, reasoning, argumentation and deduction skills;

• demonstrate the value of knowledge as the basis for the development of skills;

• arouse cognitive curiosity among pupils and their motivation to learn;

• provide pupils with a body of knowledge and skills which enable them to understand the world in a more mature and structured way;

• support pupils in identifying their own aptitudes and further education paths;

• ensure comprehensive personal development of pupils by enhancing their knowledge and satisfying and stimulating their natural cognitive inquisitiveness;

• develop open-minded attitudes towards the world and other people, activity in social life and a sense of responsibility for a community;

• encourage pupils to undertake structured and purposeful self-education based on the ability to develop one’s own working methods;

• guide pupils towards values.

Key skills developed as part of general education in the primary school include:

• Proficiency in the Polish language and modern foreign languages

• Efficient use of mathematical tools in everyday life, and development of mathematical thinking

• Searching, sorting out, critical analysis and use of information from various sources

• Creative solving of problems in various areas, with purposeful use of ICT-based methods and tools, including programming

• Solving problems, also with the use of mediation techniques

• Teamwork and societal engagement

• Active participation in the cultural life of the school, local community and country.

Early school education at Stage I aims to support comprehensive development of children. The education process in Grades I to III of the primary school enables children to discover their own abilities and the meaning of activity and gain experience on the way towards the truth, goodness and beauty. Education at this stage is designed to cater to pupils’ natural developmental needs. The school recognises that the pupil is at the centre of the process of building individual knowledge and transition from childhood to adolescence. With such support, children achieve readiness to start education at Stage II.

The aims of education at Stage II (Grades IV to VIII of the primary school) are multi-faceted and relate to individual subjects taught at school. 

Legislation

The basic legislative act for primary/single-structure education is the Act of 14 December 2016, the Law on School Education, as subsequently amended (ustawa z dnia 14 grudnia 2016 r. – Prawo oświatowe, z późn. zm.), which has partly replaced the School Education Act of 7 September 1991, as subsequently amended (ustawa z dnia 7 września 1991 r. o systemie oświaty (z późn. zm.), while keeping in force its provisions concerning, for example, pupil assessment and promotion and financial support for pupils. 

The following key regulations of the minister responsible for school education set out more specific organisational and curriculum-related arrangements for primary education: 

• Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 14 February 2017 on the core curriculum for preschool education and the core curriculum for general education in primary schools, incl. for pupils with a moderate and severe intellectual disability, and for general education in stage I sectoral vocational schools, general education in special schools preparing for employment, and general education in post-secondary schools, as subsequently amended (Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 14 lutego 2017 r. w sprawie podstawy programowej wychowania przedszkolnego oraz podstawy programowej kształcenia ogólnego dla szkoły podstawowej, w tym dla uczniów z niepełnosprawnością intelektualną w stopniu umiarkowanym lub znacznym, kształcenia ogólnego dla branżowej szkoły I stopnia, kształcenia ogólnego dla szkoły specjalnej przysposabiającej do pracy oraz kształcenia ogólnego dla szkoły policealnej, z późn. zm.)

• Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 22 February 2019 on the assessment of pupils and learners, eligibility for assessment and promotion in public schools, as subsequently amended (Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 22 lutego 2019 r. w sprawie oceniania, klasyfikowania i promowania uczniów i słuchaczy w szkołach publicznych)

• Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 3 October 2019 on the approval of textbooks for the use in school (Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 3 października 2019 r. w sprawie dopuszczania do użytku szkolnego podręczników, z późn. zm.)

• Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 25 August 2017 on pedagogical supervision, as subsequently amended (Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 25 sierpnia 2017 r. w sprawie nadzoru pedagogicznego, z późn. zm.)

• Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 11 August 2017 on the requirements for schools and other educational institutions, as subsequently amended (Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 11 sierpnia 2017 r. w sprawie wymagań wobec szkół i placówek, z późn. zm.)

• Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 9 August 2017 on the rules for the organisation and provision of psychological and educational support in public nursery schools, schools and other educational institutions, as subsequently amended (Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 9 sierpnia 2017 r. w sprawie zasad organizacji i udzielania pomocy psychologiczno-pedagogicznej w publicznych przedszkolach, szkołach i placówkach, z późn. zm.)

• Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 20 May 2024 on the outline timetables for public schools, as subsequently amended (Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 20 maja 2024 r. w sprawie ramowych planów nauczania dla publicznych szkół, z późn. zm.).

Special regulations were adopted to provide access to education to Ukrainian citizens enjoying temporary protection in Poland in accordance with the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 of 4 March 2022 establishing the existence of a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine within the meaning of Article 5 of Directive 2001/55/EC, and having the effect of introducing temporary restrictions. These include Articles 50 to 59 of the Act of 12 March 2022 on the assistance for citizens of Ukraine in connection with the armed conflict on its territory, as subsequently amended (ustawa z dnia 12 marca 2022 r. o pomocy obywatelom Ukrainy w związku z konfliktem zbrojnym na terytorium tego pańatwa, z późn. zm.), and the Regulation of the Minister of Education and Science of 21 March 2022 on the organisation of education and care for children and young people who are Ukrainian nationals, as subsequently amended (rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z dnia 21 marca 2022 r. w sprawie organizacji kształcenia, wychowania i opieki dzieci i młodzieży będących obywatelami Ukrainy, z późn. zm.).

As regards funding for schools, the key legislative act is an annual Regulation of the minister responsible for school education on the distribution of the so-called amount for school education needs (a State-budget subsidy for school education tasks) among local government units, including communes (the lowest-level local government unit) which administer most primary schools. (The most recent one is the Regulation of the Minister of Education of 18 December 2024 on the distribution of the total amount for school education needs among local government units in 2025 / rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji z dnia 18 grudnia 2024 w sprawie podziału łącznej kwoty potrzeb oświatowych między jednostki samorządu lokalnego w 2025 r.). Annual Budgetary Acts set the total amount for school education needs for all local government units.

Primary schools administered by private entities receive grants from local government budgets (with the state budget being indirectly involved through the subsidies provided). Relevant provisions are included in the Act of 27 October 2017 on the Financing of School Education Tasks, as subsequently amended (ustawa z dnia 27 października 2017 r. o finansowaniu zadań oświatowych, z późn. zm.) and resolutions adopted by communes.