Mr. Paddy Flood:

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Cathaoirleach for the opportunity to speak at the committee today.

I am the director of schools for Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board, ETB, but today I am representing the ETB sector, which has 250 post-primary schools, 48 of which offer education through Gaeilge.

With regard to assessment, we are consistent with comments made earlier. ETBI believes that the case for reform of senior cycle education in Ireland is compelling and that the methods by which we assess our students' learning in this phase of their education is dated. Summative assessments should better reflect the wider, richer variety of methodologies used in the junior cycle, as mentioned earlier, and such methodologies are also present in traineeships, apprenticeships, further education and higher education. Alternatives to examinations, such as project work, oral presentations, design tasks etc., as have been mentioned, are already included in the leaving certificate and applied leaving certificate programmes. However, these assessments are effectively overshadowed by examinations, with the process condensed into what can be a very stressful three weeks at the end of 14 years of schooling. We have confidence in the examination body that oversees this but it is the examinations process with which we have a problem.

The time is right now to develop a rich, multifaceted assessment process, as referenced by other speakers, that is not dependent on performance over a short window in time. Examinations may have a role to play but should not dominate the process. The assessment of learning for senior cycle students should reflect the student voice and capture the wide range of their abilities and knowledge and should not be a process of matriculation for higher education.

On the question of digital learning and key subject areas, we like the broad and balanced range of subjects available for the leaving certificate and the fact it is possible to assimilate new subjects with relative ease into our system. The flexibility to provide cross-curricular, skills-based and work-placed learning that currently exists in the leaving certificate applied and leaving certificate vocational programmes referenced by Mr. Curtis is something we commend. This breaks up learning from being in silos of subjects to being more cross-curricular.

The purposeful use of digital technology has a key role to play in developing safe, independent and digitally empowered global citizens. This is key in today's world. This technology offers boundless possibilities in enhancing the learning and assessment experiences of students and in some cases affords them access to a broader curriculum. Through technology, for example, at Cavan and Monaghan ETB we are able to offer Polish as a leaving certificate subject to students from a Polish background.

Access to education for learners with specific difficulties is enriched through the use of assistive technologies as a powerful force for learning. However, digital technology is equally resource-hungry. ETBI acknowledges investment made in recent years on the part of the Department of Education, yet digital inequity in schools and homes continues.

With regard to access and equality, inclusion and equality are certainly values we all subscribe to in our education sectors. A significant majority of DEIS schools are ETB schools and we commend the DEIS programme as a vehicle through which future focus on disadvantaged learners can be channelled. School meals, targeted supports, home school liaison and some additional funding provide many students with a platform to participate more fully in education. It is really important in keeping students in schools until their leaving certificate. Research from Trinity College Dublin on education during the pandemic highlighted the extent of the wealth and digital divide in Ireland. Students without access to appropriate accommodation, technology and support were the most excluded in this period.

ETBI supports a notion mentioned earlier, the development of special classes. We note that with level 2 learning programmes in junior cycle, for example, there is no continuity to senior cycle. This should be rectified as a matter of urgency in order to give proper access to education from 15 onwards for those students.

Finally, ETBI has a commitment to the Irish language in all our schools, as the other sectors do. We believe all students should have some opportunity to study the language at some level. We are proud to support Gaeilge as a first language in ETB schools and are concerned about the future of Gaeilge as a subject in these schools. If the current junior cycle model, with a more challenging specification, were to be extended to senior cycle, it is inconceivable that one group of students should be expected to perform at a significantly higher level of achievement without recognition for doing so. Bonus points in the CAO, or whatever form of recognition we have, may need to be considered for students who studied Gaeilge as a first language at a more challenging level.

We look forward to answering any questions in the deliberations that arise.