Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The revised primary curriculum was developed in partnership with key education interests by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and published and launched by my Department in 1999. A copy of the curriculum, in the form of 23 books, was issued to every teacher. Implementation has been effected on a phased basis, supported by national programmes of professional development for teachers, full details of which have also been communicated to schools at each stage of theprocess.

The curriculum provides an integrated programme of learning in the spheres of languages, mathematics, social, environmental and scientific education and so on. The curriculum in religion is developed by the various church authorities and not by the NCCA. All schools are required to teach all aspects of the curriculum in all grades from junior infants through to sixth class, inclusive. While flexibility is in-built to facilitate local choice of discretionary curriculum time, the curriculum sets out a suggested minimum weekly timeframe for each subject area. In the curriculum for each subject area, a set of learning objectives is set out for four groupings, namely, infant classes, first and second class, third and fourth class, and fifth and sixth class.

Regulations in the form of a statutory instrument to prescribe the revised primary school curriculum have not been put in place. The rules for national schools, together with Department circulars and documents issued to schools, constitute administrative measures governing the recognition, operation, management and conduct of national schools. While these rules, circulars and documents are non-statutory, they are lawful measures which have been judicially considered and accorded the imprimatur of the Irish courts on a number of occasions.

The Education Act 1998 provides the Minister with the power to make regulations relating to a range of issues concerning the provision of education by schools. I favour the incremental use of those regulatory powers where appropriate to replace existing rules, circulars and communications with schools.

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