Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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11. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on her discussions on junior cycle reform with the teacher unions; her views on the fact that 10% of English teachers had not undertaken training on the new curriculum in advance of the introduction of English in schools last month. [37960/14]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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My question asks the Minister to provide an update on her discussions on junior cycle reform with the teacher unions and to give her opinion on the fact that 10% of English teachers had not undertaken training on the new curriculum in advance of her decision to proceed with its introduction last month.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Since entering office, I have met parents, teacher, school management and student representatives to discuss junior cycle reform. At my invitation, the teacher unions have outlined to me their concerns about aspects of the proposed reforms. In doing so, the unions underlined teacher support for the reforms that will lead to better quality teaching and learning experiences and, thence, outcomes for students. I am considering the concerns raised by teacher representatives and what different forms of engagement might be considered to facilitate an overall agreement. I look forward to meeting the teacher unions again later this month to progress these discussions further. As the Deputy will appreciate, out of respect for the process I do not intend that this engagement should be pre-empted in a public setting, as the ASTI only made a decision yesterday.

As the Deputy pointed out, just under 90% of English teachers have attended the first day of continuing professional development, CPD. A further 172 English teachers have attended elective workshops in their own time. By any standard, this is a high level of take-up and is among the highest rate of attendance at Department-provided CPD.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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This has turned into a sorry saga, one that could have been avoided had it been handled differently by the Minister's predecessor or had she taken a more hands-on approach after taking up the reins. The former Minister, Deputy Quinn, took a bullish and single-minded approach to reform but if reform is to be delivered appropriately, it is important that it be undertaken in partnership with education providers. Deputy Quinn decided to move away from the recommendations of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, on how the junior certificate should be assessed. This is one of the main concerns expressed about the reform by many in education, including teachers and parents.

The current Minister had an opportunity to address this issue much sooner. We should not be in a situation where the unions' industrial action has been extended. The Minister stated that she had met the unions once since entering office. How does she plan to engage with them and what structure will she put in place before Christmas to try to ensure an acceptable way forward, one that will deliver a good reform of the junior cycle for students, is agreed?

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I met all of the partners. The other partners should have equal respect, those being, the parents, school management representatives and students, whose group I also met. As soon as I could following my appointment, I wrote to the unions and met the ASTI and TUI together on this issue. I have also met each of the unions separately on general issues. At our joint meeting, we agreed to meet again. That will probably be later this month or early next month, although I hope the former. We are seeking diary dates. At the time, I stated that I would respect the ASTI's process, which has only just been completed. The ASTI has made its decision, as is its right. We agreed that we would not seek to meet during that process, but we can now arrange diary dates as soon as possible to discuss how we might move the process forward.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister. She also replied to my question on the issue of the take-up of professional development in advance of the introduction of the new curriculum. She indicated that she believed 90% was a high rate. However, in advance of the introduction of a new school curriculum, all teachers who will teach it should take up and complete professional development and training on it. A figure of 90% is not acceptable.

The Minister had the option to delay the introduction of the reform of the English junior cycle curriculum until next year, although there would have been the same completion date. The Minister could have used that time to get a grip on this issue and get everyone going in the same direction. It is unfortunate that she decided to plough ahead. It is incumbent on her to ensure that everyone can be brought together to achieve a result. It is important that a different approach be taken during the coming months than the one we have seen to date.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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In making the decision to move forward, I must take the interests of all partners into account, not just the teachers'. It was my view that we needed to commence in September as intended because this has been planned for a long time.

Regarding the rate of CPD uptake, we cannot force teachers, although the Deputy can correct me if I am wrong. Almost 90% of English teachers have attended the first day and approximately 2,300 science teachers from more than 500 schools have registered for science CPD, which is the next subject to be introduced in 2015. We will encourage more teachers to engage in the process. A CPD team recently recruited 15 additional staff and is working to ensure that professional development is available to teachers.