Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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93. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views on the reform of the senior cycle; the expected timeframe for the implementation and planned consultation processes of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34981/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, on 29 March I announced an ambitious programme of work for a reimagined Senior Cycle of education where the student is at the centre of their Senior Cycle experience.

The three tenets of Senior Cycle reform are to:

- Empower students to meet the challenges of the 21st century

- Enrich the student experience and build on what’s strong in our current system

- Embed wellbeing and reduce student stress levels

Introducing significant change at Senior Cycle needs to be thought through carefully and it is essential to ensure that the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), State Examinations Commission (SEC), the Department and schools can work through the changes with all stakeholders over a sustained period of time.

I know that there is an appetite for change in respect of different aspects of the Senior Cycle and Leaving Cert experience and that this desire has been accelerated and strengthened since the arrival of the pandemic. 

My approach to Senior Cycle Redevelopment is ambitious, optimistic and inclusive. Senior Cycle redevelopment will ensure that the diversity of students’ learning needs and strengths are addressed. The redevelopment of Senior Cycle will ensure that all learning pathways in school are accessible and equally valued. It will broaden the ways used to assess and accredit students’ achievement, to better reflect and encourage the learning we wish to promote. And finally, we must ensure that students and their wellbeing are at the forefront of everything we do.

A Senior Cycle Programme Delivery Board will be established which will have responsibility for overseeing the redevelopment of Senior Cycle and the implementation work involved will include consultation with education partners, including teachers, students, school leaders and parents.

The changes that I announced on 29 March also include initiatives to spread the assessment load for students and do so in a way that enhances student wellbeing. The redeveloped Senior Cycle also includes the development of new and revised subject curricula, with a significant emphasis on additional assessment components outside of the traditional final written examinations. This includes the development of two new subjects, Drama, Film and Theatre Studies, and Climate Action and Sustainable Development, which will be introduced for Leaving Certificate students, starting in September 2024 in network schools.

As part of this work I have asked the NCCA to publish by September 2023 a schedule of dates by which individual subject specifications will be completed with new and revised specifications to be delivered in annual blocks. The first updated curricula will be available and introduced into network schools for piloting in September 2024.

The new approach will enable students to follow a broad curriculum, develop their interests and skills and participate in a final assessment process consistent with international best practice, which will support them in their next phase of life whether that’s third level, further education and training, apprenticeships or the world of work.