Minister McHugh welcomes publication of draft Primary School Curriculum Framework

Public consultation open on new draft Primary School Curriculum Framework

Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh T.D. has today welcomed the publication of the draft Primary School Curriculum Framework and public consultation.

The draft has been published by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and is available on its website here

The consultation will remain open to contributions from teachers, parents, early childhood practitioners, school leaders, all other education stakeholders and the wider public until end-October 2020.

Minister McHugh said:

“I welcome the NCCA’s publication of the draft Primary Curriculum Framework. Ireland has changed a lot over the last 20 years and our primary school curriculum needs to reflect those changes.

“By getting the views of those at the very heart of our education system through this consultation process, I believe that a new, high-quality primary curriculum can be developed that benefits children, teachers, parents and anybody with an interest in education.”

The consultation is framed around six key messages which represent the main features and changes proposed for the redeveloped primary curriculum. They are as follows:

It builds on the strengths and successes of the 1999 Primary School Curriculum while responding to challenges, changing needs and priorities.
It gives increased agency and flexibility to schools in their role as ‘curriculum-makers’.
It promotes stronger connections between children’s experiences in pre-school, primary and post-primary school.
It presents an updated set of priorities for children’s learning and development.
It proposes changes to how the curriculum is structured and presented.
It supports a variety of pedagogical approaches and strategies with assessment central to teaching and learning.

The draft Primary Curriculum Framework can be found here

Please contact the NCCA for further information on the draft Curriculum Framework and future developments at primary. Email: info@ncca.ie

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Notes to editors

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) is a statutory body of the Department of Education and Skills.

The NCCA advises the Minister for Education and Skills on curriculum and assessment for early childhood education, primary and post-primary schools; and on assessment procedures used in schools and examinations on subjects which are part of the curriculum. This advice is developed through Research, Deliberation, Consultation and Networks.

The draft framework is available online here in English and Irish. It is supported by a suite of materials, including a video on key messages; an animation of the process of developing the draft; and information on the consultation process, including a schedule of events.