Written answers

Thursday, 18 June 2015

Department of Education and Skills

School Curriculum

Photo of Seán Ó FearghaílSeán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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235. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the guidance her Department provides to post-primary schools in terms of time-tabling for students pursuing mathematics courses at junior certificate level and leaving certificate level; if her Department envisages a minimum number of class periods that should apply in such cases; if her Departments inspectorate is active in ensuring a uniformity of delivery; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24307/15]

Photo of Jan O'SullivanJan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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At post-primary level circular 25/12 emphasises that literacy and numeracy are cross-curricular skills which can be supported across the curriculum. It also provides that students should have access to a Mathematics lesson every day, particularly in Junior Cycle and that mathematics should be strengthened in Transition Year, where available.

New syllabuses are in place at both junior and senior cycles for Mathematics, often called "project mathematics". Since 2010, the Project Maths Development Team, www.projectmaths.ie, a support service funded by my Department provides a range of professional development supports including workshops, and resources for 6,000 post-primary teachers of mathematics across the country.

Since 2012, the Professional Diploma in Mathematics for Teaching, a blended learning, two year part-time programme Professional Diploma in Mathematics for Teaching has been made available nationwide and free of charge, to assist 'out-of-field' teachers to acquire skills for effective mathematics teaching and to register with the Teaching Council as teachers of mathematics at post-primary level. The programme, provided by a consortium led by the University of Limerick, is being made available again in September 2015. Some 800 teachers are involved in this initiative. The first cohort graduated in 2104.

As of now, there are a total of six Maths inspectors at post-primary level, with at least one in every region of the Inspectorate. This includes inspectors with a capacity to inspect the subject through Irish. Furthermore, all inspectors at post-primary level have received training, and continue to receive it, in the general area of numeracy so that whatever subject or type of inspection they are involved with, a consistent understanding of numeracy across the curriculum will have been achieved.

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