Primary school students could soon be learning coding, as Minister for Education Richard Bruton asks curriculum advisers to find room for teaching the skill to children in the classroom.

A review of the primary school syllabus is currently underway and lessons in the basics of writing computer programs could be brought in as part of the new maths curriculum.

The amount of time to be allocated to maths is also to be examined.

At the moment three hours a weeks are set aside for maths, with two and half hours allocated to religion.

The National Council for Curriculum Assessment (NCCA) will make a recommendation to the Minister on the issue of coding later this year, after Bruton wrote to NCCA chief executive Dr Anne Looney asking them to examine it.

Coding is already set to be introduced for some secondary school students as part of wider Junior Cycle reform from September.

The NCCA has also recently been given the green light to make Computer Science a Leaving Certificate subject.