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Press release

Minister Foley announces the establishment of the Senior Cycle Redevelopment Programme Delivery Board and deferral of planned move of Paper One in Leaving Certificate English and Irish Examinations

Minister for Education Norma Foley today announces the establishment of the Senior Cycle Redevelopment Programme Delivery Board and the Senior Cycle Redevelopment Partners’ Forum. In March 2022, Minister Foley announced ambitious plans for a reimagined Senior Cycle of education for post-primary students, where the student is at the centre of their Senior Cycle experience. The reform programme was informed by the Senior Cycle Review Advisory Report prepared by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), which was published on the same day.

As part of this announcement, Minister Foley highlighted the need for strong implementation structures to be put in place to support her ambitious programme for Senior Cycle redevelopment.

The Senior Cycle Redevelopment Programme Delivery Board will have responsibility for overseeing the Senior Cycle redevelopment work and it will report regularly to the Minister on its progress. Dr Harold Hislop, former Chief Inspector of the Department of Education, has been appointed as the independent Chair of the Delivery Board.

In addition to the Chair, the membership of the Programme Delivery Board includes:

  • John Curtis, former General Secretary, Joint Managerial Body
  • Bernie Gray, Better Boards / Chair, Coillte / Member, Civil Service Accountability Board
  • Tanya Ward, Chief Executive, Children’s Rights Alliance

Relevant officials from the Department of Education and its agencies will also attend Programme Delivery Board meetings.

Minister Foley said:

“I am delighted to welcome the new Delivery Board members on their appointment and thank them for giving their time and expertise to the important work ahead on the redevelopment of Senior Cycle. I would like to thank Dr Harold Hislop for agreeing to become Chair of the Programme Delivery Board.

“It is vital that this important work has strong implementation and oversight structures in place to progress the implementation of my vision for a redeveloped Senior Cycle for all.

“I look forward to working closely with the Programme Delivery Board to deliver this important reform agenda.”

In addition to the Programme Delivery Board, the Minister is also establishing the Senior Cycle Redevelopment Partners’ Forum. This is a representative stakeholder engagement group that will underpin the collaboration necessary to support implementation and, where appropriate, further developments under the Senior Cycle redevelopment programme.

Minister Foley said:

“This new Senior Cycle Redevelopment Partners’ Forum will underpin the collaboration necessary to support implementation of the Senior Cycle reform agenda. Both the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment’s Advisory Report and our experiences of COVID showed the need for strong stakeholder engagement on progressing vital education issues.

“Over the coming days, I will be inviting our education partners, as well as organisations representing young people and the inclusion sector, to nominate representatives to participate in this important forum.

“The forum will play an important role in underpinning the collaboration necessary to support the implementation of the ambitious programme of change that I set out last March.

“I want to encourage our partners to join and engage with this forum, and I look forward to hearing reports on its progress.”

The Partners’ Forum will include representatives of students, parents, teachers, school leadership and management bodies, the State Examinations commission (SEC), the NCCA, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and other relevant organisations, including the inclusion sector.

The Partners’ Forum will be chaired by the Chair of the Senior Cycle Redevelopment Programme Delivery Board. The Chair will also serve as the Forum’s representative to the Programme Delivery Board.

The secretariat to both the Programme Delivery Board and Partners’ Forum will be provided by the Senior Cycle Redevelopment Programme Management Office of the Department of Education.

The first formal meeting of the Programme Delivery Board is expected to take place in March. The first formal meeting of the Partners’ Forum is expected to take place shortly after the first meeting of the Programme Delivery Board.

Deferral of planned move of Leaving Certificate English and Irish Paper One

Minister Foley today also confirmed that the interim plan to have the first of two papers in Leaving Certificate English and Irish examinations taken in Fifth Year has been deferred.

In her announcement in March 2022, the Minister noted that having to rely on a single written examination can be very stressful for students. In order to spread the assessment load, the Minister announced that as an interim measure one of the papers in Leaving Certificate English and Irish would be taken at the end of Fifth Year, starting with students beginning Fifth Year in September 2023.

Following significant stakeholder engagement by the Minister and her department regarding concerns about the implementation of the proposed changes, the Minister has decided to defer this measure.

Students beginning Fifth Year in September 2023 will sit these exams at the end of sixth year, as in previous years.

Minister Foley said:

“The move of Paper 1 was intended as an interim measure to respond to a broad consensus for spreading the assessment load.

“My officials and I have engaged with student representatives, teachers’ unions, parents’ representatives and subject teacher organisations over the last number of months to understand their concerns about this change.

“Key concerns outlined included that, given the significant disruption that students who will enter fifth year this September have experienced to their education as a result of the pandemic, this change should be deferred rather than being implemented in the coming school year.

“Having reflected on the views provided by stakeholders, I have decided to defer the introduction of this planned change so that those entering fifth year this coming September will sit both of the papers in each of the subjects in Irish and English in sixth year.

“Students and teachers need clarity ahead of the new school year, and they need adequate time to prepare for when these changes are introduced in the future. Today’s announcement provides them with that clarity. Over the next few months I and my officials will examine further when and how to implement this change in light of the concerns that have been highlighted.”

Notes for Editors

Background

On 29 March 2022, the Minister for Education announced an ambitious programme of work for a reimagined Senior Cycle where the student is at the centre of their Senior Cycle experience.

Between 2016 and 2020, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (the NCCA) undertook an extensive review of senior cycle programmes and vocational pathways, to include Transition Year (TY), the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA), Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) and the Leaving Certificate Established (LCE). The NCCA’s document Senior Cycle Review: Advisory Report was published on the same day.

The NCCA’s review involved a very extensive range of research, consultations and communications with a wide range of stakeholders on all aspects of review and redevelopment over a number of phases over the period of the review. The NCCA also commissioned external expertise to support the process, including the ESRI and the OECD.

For more information on the NCCA’s Advisory Report go to www.ncca.ie.

The Minister’s announcement built on the Advisory Report but also sought to build on:

  • the experience of Leaving Certificate students over the period of the pandemic
  • growing consensus (and demand for change) — reflecting a more active student voice in the debate
  • international experience and perspectives

Paper One in Leaving Certificate English and Irish

The Minister noted in her announcement that having to rely on a single written examination can be very stressful for students. In order to spread the assessment load, the Minister announced that as an interim measure one of the papers in Leaving Certificate English and Irish would be taken at the end of fifth year, starting with students beginning fifth year in September 2023.

Following today’s announcement, this change is being deferred and students beginning fifth year in September 2023 will sit these exams at the end of sixth year as in previous years.

Key commitments of Senior Cycle Redevelopment

The key commitments of Senior Cycle Redevelopment include:

  • revise, in a number of tranches, the curricula for all subjects, updating subject content and changing assessment procedures to further reduce reliance on final examinations, spread assessment load and broaden the skills assessed
  • introduce an externally-moderated teacher-based assessment component worth 40% to each subject
  • introduce an initial tranche of two new and seven revised subjects in September 2024, for students entering fifth year in Network Schools (the two new subjects are (i) Drama, Film and Theatre Studies and (ii) Climate Action and Sustainable Development)
  • language subject Oral examinations to take place during the Easter break of sixth year, as in 2022
  • reducing barriers between the LCE, Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) and Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP)
  • the development of follow-on programmes building on the very successful Level 1 and Level 2 Learning programmes at Junior Cycle level
  • a revised Transition Year (TY) programme with all students in all schools to have the option to access TY

Progress to date

Since the Minister’s announcement, significant work has taken place, including:

  • a range of briefings and meetings were held during April and May 2022 with stakeholders to provide greater information and clarity on the Minister’s announcement
  • over the summer period preparatory work was engaged in, including the convening of a new Senior Cycle Board within NCCA structures
  • identification of nominees to Subject Development Groups
  • preparation of subject background papers for the two new subjects ((i) Drama, Film and Theatre Studies and (ii) Climate Action and Sustainable Development) and Business and completion of public consultations on these
  • Subject Development Groups for the two new subjects and Business convened with several (monthly) meetings held to date
  • preparation of background paper on revised TY Programme Statement and completion of public consultation on same
  • Statement Development Group for the revised TY Programme Statement convened with several (monthly) meetings held to date
  • detailed consideration of the potential operation of the Network School approach for the introduction of new and revised subjects from September 2024
  • evaluation of the 2022 experience of holding Oral and Music Practical examinations at Easter so as to inform the approach in subsequent years
  • removing some of the previous subject specific requirements in the LCA and LCVP

These are the first steps which will ultimately lead to a more integrated Leaving Certificate available to all students.

Further actions in train can be summarised as:

  • Brief for Special Education Development Group prepared to allow the group to be convened and commence work, with work ongoing to develop a Background Paper
  • NCCA and the State Examinations Commission (SEC) have commissioned research in relation to the weighting, composition and moderation of teacher-based assessment components, with this research expected to conclude in the coming months
  • detailed paper on technical form of curriculum specifications very advanced and likely to be presented to NCCA Council in the coming months
  • Computer Science early enactment review process underway

Significant planning is advancing in relation to the approach to Network Schools with further engagement necessary internally, with the NCCA and also key partners necessary before launching an Expression of Interest process to schools seeking their participation.

The NCCA advises the Minister for Education on curriculum and assessment for early childhood, primary and post-primary education and on the assessment procedures used in schools and examinations on subjects, which are part of the curriculum.

The SEC is responsible for the development, assessment, accreditation and certification of the State’s second-level examinations the Junior Certificate and the Leaving Certificate.

Additional funding of €2 million was allocated in Budget 2023 to progress work on Senior Cycle redevelopment.

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