Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I, too, commend Ms McManus for her work to date and wish her the best in her next term in this role. It was interesting to hear her say:

Increasingly, the NCCA tries to capture the student view in its work and engages with parents in supporting their child's education. For example, the NCCA website includes video clips giving parents suggestions for activities they can do with young children to help support literacy and numeracy skills.

That is an important role. As far as I know, there is evidence which proves that children whose parents encourage reading and numeracy have better educational outcomes. I ask Ms McManus to expand on that aspect.

The NCCA did excellent work on the junior cycle curriculum. I hope that many of its recommendations will be delivered in the final agreement with teachers. On the thought put into the initiative and the learning outcomes of the junior certificate curriculum in encouraging critical thinking, I say, "Well done," to all concerned.