Written answers
Tuesday, 26 September 2023
Department of Education and Skills
Irish Language
Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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271. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on the commitments made in the Programme for Government around education policy for the Irish language; what has been done to date to honour those commitments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41441/23]
Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As the deputy is aware, the Government recognises the importance of a strong education system in supporting access for all students to Irish language and culture and its significant role in the revitalisation and maintenance of Irish in Gaeltacht communities and beyond. My department continues to work to promote Irish in the education system and to support Irish-medium education through a variety of initiatives in keeping with the commitments made in the Programme for Government and the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030.
The Irish language curricula at primary and post-primary levels have been comprehensively reviewed in recent years. The development of learners’ proficiency in spoken Irish is a fundamental aim in curricular specifications for Irish at all levels. Following extensive research and robust consultation processes, the new Primary Language Curriculum and revised specifications for Irish at Junior Cycle were introduced for implementation from 2019 and 2017 respectively. As part of the revised Junior Cycle curricula, two separate specifications for Irish were introduced: the T1 specification is targeted at students in Irish-medium schools, including Gaeltacht schools, and the T2 specification is aimed at students who use the Irish language as a second language, mainly in schools that operate through the medium of English.
The learning outcomes in these specifications provide students with opportunities to build on their Irish language learning experience in primary school and to further enhance and extend their language competences. Communication is one of the three strands of the specification for Junior Cycle Irish. As is the case with the Primary Language Curriculum, the specifications for Junior Cycle Irish are based on the principles of a communicative approach to language learning emphasising an integrated approach to the development of all language skills. The development of students’ competence in spoken Irish, including their capacity in spoken production and interaction, is a central part of the specifications. The specifications for Junior Cycle Irish provide ample opportunity for the use of Irish language texts from a variety of genres and promote students’ participation in decision making on the texts selected.
Building on the developments in Irish language curricular provision at primary and junior cycle, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) published draft T1 and T2 specifications for Leaving Certificate (established) Irish for consultation in February 2021.
My department’s teacher support services, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and An Chomhairle Um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (COGG) are supporting the implementation of these curricula, and reviewing these supports on an ongoing basis.
In addition, a new website and mobile phone apps for Séideán Sí, an Irish language programme for Irish-medium education (T1) were launched on a phased basis over the last two years. My department’s investment in the digitisation of Séideán Sí books and support materials has brought that project to completion and my department is supporting the ongoing work of updating, revising and producing additional material for the programme.
My department provides funding to support the Gaelbhratachprogramme at primary and post primary level, and has funded the scheme on an annual basis since 2018. Gaelbhratachis a scheme which supports and encourages both Irish and English medium primary and post-primary schools in their efforts teach and to promote the Irish language. Schools are awarded the Gaelbhratachflag upon successful completion of a variety of targets. The targets relate to music, art, sport, the organisation of and participation in events and much more. The primary aim of the scheme is to create and encourage a culture of speaking Irish informally within the school community and beyond. The scheme is operated and coordinated by Gael Linn with support from Conradh na Gaeilgeand Glór na nGael. Under the programme for Government, My department has increased funding to this initiative by 33% to €180,000 and my department expects to continue to seek funding to support this project in future budgets.
My Department has increased funding for COGG by 14% from €2,663,000 in 2020 to €3,040,000 in 2023, and in addition to increasing their funding, my Department has strengthened COGG’s capacity sanctioning an increase in staffing resources to further support and enhance their role.
COGG provide a wide variety of supports to teachers to support teaching in the area of Irish. These include, supports for Newly Qualified Teachers, live and interactive online sessions, sustained school supports, workshops, online resources, summer courses, webinars, whole school days as Irish and in some cases dedicated teams to provide specific areas as Gaeilge. The Summer Course Programme also encourages the provision of courses which support teachers in the teaching of Irish based on the Primary School Language Curriculum 2019.
‘An Tairseach’ (the Portal), dedicated to providing access to resources that support learning and teaching in Gaeltacht and Irish-medium schools has been developed and published by COGG. In addition to the resources already published, teachers are producing teaching and learning resources for the portal which will be made available following a quality assurance process.
Work on the development of a new policy for Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht is well underway in my Department. The policy on Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht builds on the achievements of the Policy on Gaeltacht Education 2017-2022. The development of the policy is an important step towards achieving the Programme for Government commitments on Irish in the education system.
The key objectives of the policy are in accordance with the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 and the Programme for Government. They include:
- provision of a framework for the delivery of high-quality Irish-medium education in Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí and in Irish-medium early learning and care settings (for example, naíonraí) outside of the Gaeltacht
- increasing the proportion of children and young people attending Irish-medium schools, including by building on the foundations laid in Irish-medium early learning and care settings (for example, naíonraí)
- exploring how opportunities for the establishment of Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí can be increased as part of the patronage process
- developing a clear policy on the establishment and sustainability of Aonaid/Sruthanna (units/streams) in existing English-medium post-primary schools to strengthen Irish-medium education provision
- examining how the supply of teachers and other staff with a high standard of Irish can be increased to meet demand in Irish-medium education settings
- looking at ways to deepen community engagement around Irish-medium schools and early learning and care settings.
My Department is committed to creating opportunities for expanding Irish-medium education and in that context the plans for the establishment of 47 new schools, affords particular consideration to the establishment of Gaelscoileanna, Gaelcholáistí, and Aonaid Lán-Ghaeilge as part of the patronage process for new schools.
A patronage process is run after it has been decided, based on demographic analysis, that a new school is required in a particular area. The process is open to all patron bodies and prospective patrons. Parental preferences, as well as other considerations such as the extent of diversity of provision in an area, are key to the decision-making process and to whether at post-primary level a school would take the form of an Irish-medium school or whether, a new English-medium school would include an Irish-medium unit.
A lower threshold of 400 students for establishing a post-primary school may apply to Gaelcholáistí instead of the usual 600-1000 student capacity, having regard to the alternative of establishing an Irish-medium unit (Aonad) in an English-medium school.It is also possible for any post-primary school patron to contact my Department to explore the establishment of an Aonad in an existing school.
Eight new primary schools operating through the medium of Irish have been established in this way. At post-primary level, a new Gaelcholáiste was established in 2020 as part of the transition of an Aonad into a stand-alone Gaelcholáiste.
Following on from its undertaking in the 5 Year Action Plan for Irish 2018- 20022, my Department launched a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) pilot project in 2019. This project is targeted at English-medium primary and post-primary schools and Early Learning and Care settings. The CLIL approach to teaching involves teaching aspects of both the target language and the target subject CLIL aims to extend learners’ access to the benefits of engaging in the study of other curricular subjects or aspects of the curriculum through Irish.
As a result of school closures under COVID-19 restrictions, it was necessary to postpone the in-school/setting phase of the pilot project, and the timeframe for delivery was therefore necessarily extended to 2023. Operating in consultation with third level experts, the support services, COGG and the Inspectorate, the project team continued to progress the development of resources to support the implementation of the project.
As part of this pilot project, resources to assist teachers in using the CLIL approach to teaching Irish and PE were developed during Year 1 and 2. . These resources which include lesson plan exemplars for teaching aspects of the PE curriculum were made available to all schools on a dedicated webpage maintained by Oide. It is proposed to develop the material further during the 2023/24 academic year.
The resources developed during the CLIL pilot project will support both the teaching of PE through Irish using that approach as well as the more general teaching of PE through Irish in English medium schools as proposed in the Programme for Government. The PE curriculum for Primary school is available through both English and Irish and in addition to the resources developed to support a CLIL approach to teaching PE with Irish. My department is working with COGG and Oide in order to further develop supports and resources to facilitate teachers in English-medium schools to teach PE either fully through Irish, by using the CLIL approach or by using less formal approach.
I recognise the importance of a strong education system in supporting access for all students to Irish language and culture and its significant role in the revitalisation and maintenance of Irish in Gaeltacht communities and beyond. Officials of my department and of its agencies will continue to review and reform the learning and teaching of Irish and increase access to Irish-medium education as appropriate.
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