Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The State Examinations Commission, SEC, has responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations and has provided me with the following information.  Candidates experience many forms of trauma and adversity, such as serious illness and bereavement, around the time of the leaving certificate examinations and may be sitting examinations at a time that is not optimal for them.  For the 2022 leaving certificate examinations, the SEC is providing an extended scheme of deferred examinations within the policy context of the scheme of reasonable accommodations at the certificate examinations, RACE. RACE was originally established to support students with a complex variety of special educational needs in accessing the examinations each year. As well as providing accommodations for candidates with permanent or enduring special needs, the RACE scheme also provides for emergency situations that occur during the examinations each year.

Until 2019, candidates who missed their leaving certificate examinations due to bereavement, or for any other reason, had no option but to sit their examinations the following year. Deferred examinations were first held in 2019 for candidates who experienced bereavement of a close family member. Prior to the pandemic, the SEC had been considering the broader issue of how best to support candidates experiencing different forms of trauma and adversity at examination time. This included consultation with stakeholders, as well as research into practices in other jurisdictions.

For the 2022 leaving certificate, the commission has considerably extended the eligibility for the deferred examinations to candidates unable to sit their examinations in the main sitting due to serious accident, injury or illness. Candidates who are absent from examinations on public health grounds due to Covid-19 also have access to deferred examinations. The overarching principles in providing deferred examinations to those who need them include safeguarding integrity and maintaining confidence in the leaving certificate to ensure equity and fairness for all candidates.

Every effort will continue to be made by the SEC and by schools to accommodate candidates who suffer bereavement, illness, or other trauma either immediately before or during the examinations.  In addition, the longstanding arrangements under the RACE scheme to support candidates in taking their examinations as scheduled include sitting the examinations in special centres or in hospital, provision of rest breaks, and timetable alterations. These arrangements are available to candidates ineligible for deferred examinations.

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