Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. When considering the long overdue efforts to reform the junior cycle, Sinn Féin has consistently supported the progressive proposals put forward by the Government. We recognise that modernising this important exam is necessary if we are to better prepare our young people for life beyond school so that they are equipped to compete in an ever evolving workplace. If implemented properly, reform of the junior cycle can greatly enhance the school curriculum. However, the ambitious proposals being put forward by the Minister have not been matched by the funding and supports that teachers will need to successfully implement meaningful change.

The majority of our teachers, whose unquestionable commitment within the classroom is universally acknowledged, want to play their part in delivering junior cert reform. Any contradiction of this fact degrades their dedication to our young people. The resistance by teachers to acceptance of some of the changes to the revised junior cycle, particularly proposals around continual assessment, must be seen in the context where in recent years tens of millions of euro have been cut from the education budget.

The Department of Education and Skills has attempted to implement these changes without properly consulting teachers and unions. Its ham fisted efforts at consultation are illustrated by the failure to provide the concrete, practical details teachers and unions have repeatedly sought in order to allow them objectively consider the proposed changes. Concerns have been raised that such drastic changes to the education system, for which adequate preparation has not been made, will cause lasting damage, particularly to individual students. The proposed changes are not realistic in terms of the lack of capacity of many schools to provide the programme in the wake of a litany of cutbacks.

Many schools are hugely under resourced and are already stretched beyond their means to deliver to the best of their ability. Despite this, the Minister, like her predecessor, is determined to enforce radical and fundamental changes to the education system, without providing the necessary resources to allow teachers to implement these changes.

If teachers are not given the proper supports through good teaching resources, including ongoing professional development and whole school in-service, the implementation of meaningful change will fail. Teachers of English who are now required to implement the framework for junior cycle English specification received just one day of in-service prior to September 2014. All teachers will be required to implement the framework and assess their own students in the coming years. This is entirely unrealistic and unfair given the pressures many teachers find themselves under today. It is not news that they are struggling to cope. Unions have made it clear over recent years that increases in the PTR and further cuts to key services are making it difficult to deliver the school curriculum in some cases. The expectation that teachers will also carry out increased responsibilities in exam assessment as proposed is unacceptable.

Unfortunately, it is often the most vulnerable children who are unfairly left behind because they do not get the help they need and schools struggling to deliver will particularly feel the brunt of the new reforms as a result. Many parents also have great concerns. The issue of internal assessment and the potential for lack of bias is a logical worry. Not having external examiners mark 100% of a student's work for the new junior cycle will understandably not sit well with every parent. The notion that students could potentially be assessed on who they are in the classroom rather than how he or she performs in an assessment is not reassuring. The issue of anonymity is important in examinations. Potentially confidence in the examinations could be undermined.

While we recognise that modernisation of the junior cycle is needed, it must be done in sustainable way. Sinn Féin has welcomed the Minister’s engagement with the unions but the concerns of teachers must also be heard. If their concerns are not dealt with and if they are not involved sufficiently in the development of new reforms, any changes will be redundant.

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