Ms Esther Doyle:

Yes, exactly. We asked them to look at the draft specifications as they were published at that stage, to look at where they thought the skills set in the schools was and then allow teachers to put their names forward to the principal to be put on the nomination from the school. They had to describe in what way they felt their previous training as a teacher, whether through their initial degree or through further training, would support the teaching of this specification. Teachers did that; they explained to us in their application forms how their training related to the new subject.

We hope to see the two teachers who put themselves forward attend teacher professional learning. My colleague may speak more on this. Oide, which is the teachers and leaders support service, is putting in place a four-year plan of training for these teachers which will begin before these specifications go into the schools in 2025. We begin this year and the schools will be contacted shortly about the training programme.