John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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332. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the introduction of the new leaving cert curriculum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [67188/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I am committed to Senior Cycle Redevelopment and the implementation of the programme of reform as committed to in the Programme for Government. The benefits of the changes under the programme are already being experienced by many students in our classrooms today.

Since September 2022, Leaving Certificate Applied students may access LCE Mathematics and an LCE Modern Foreign Language (MFL). In such cases, students receive an integrated statement of results from the State Examinations Commission (SEC). From September 2022, the subject groupings that previously applied to the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) were removed and this has seen very significant growth in the number of students accessing the LCVP Link modules.

In September 2024, Level 1 and Level 2 Learning Programmes were introduced to schools and made available to students with additional needs at Senior Cycle for the first time.

There is currently a suite of electives available to schools, with further elective modules in development. 10 draft module specifications including Music, Cookery, and IT Skills, are currently out for public consultation until 23 January 2026 and can be accessed on the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment’s website.

As the Deputy will be aware, through Senior Cycle Redevelopment programme, the specifications for all current Leaving Certificate curricular subjects are scheduled to be redeveloped by 2029 in annual groupings. A schedule for the redevelopment of Leaving Certificate subject specifications and modules has been published by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).

The first tranche of 9 new and revised subjects have been introduced for this academic year and will be examined for the first time in 2027. These subjects include Biology, Business, Chemistry, Physics, Arabic, Latin, Ancient Greek, as well as two new subjects; Drama, Film and Theatre Studies (DFTS) and Climate Action and Sustainable Development (CASD).

DFTS and CASD were introduced in a number of selected Phase One Schools this academic year. The Department is supplying technical equipment to schools introducing DFTS (including film production equipment, cameras, microphones, and lighting). The Department is also providing access to a free streaming media service, as well a subscription to the UK National Theatre Collection 2 on Drama Online, giving teachers access to prescribed materials and learning resources.

A once-off establishment grant of €5,000 was paid to Phase One schools introducing CASD in September 2025. Additionally, all Phase One schools in the free education scheme will be provided with an annual grant of €50 per student to support engagement with the new subjects, including attendance at performances and creative projects, and supporting students with the applied learning tasks and action projects.

An additional temporary teaching allocation has been provided to Phase One schools of 4 hours (or 0.2 WTE) in this 2025/2026 academic year to allow for backfilling of a post and 8 hours (0.4 WTE) will be allocated next year.

The Tranche 2 subject specifications, including Accounting, Construction Technology, English, Engineering, P.E., Geography, and redeveloped modules for LCVP (renamed Life, Community & Work), are scheduled for introduction in schools in the 2026/27 school year.

The revised specifications for both English and Accounting have been delayed by at least one year, while implementation matters are further considered.

Tranche 3 subject specifications will be available for public consultation on a phased basis from October 2025 to April 2026. Draft specifications for Computer Science and Design and Communication Graphics are currently out for public consultation, running until 26 November.

Public consultation on the background papers and briefs for the Tranche 4 subjects concluded on 17 November.

The redevelopment programme is accompanied by a robust framework of teacher professional learning (TPL) provided by Oide, the support service for teachers. Oide has already delivered professional learning to over 31,000 school leaders and teachers in the previous school year, in whole school days, with further strong attendance at subject specific days focused on the Tranche 1 subjects.

The NCCA has worked closely with the SEC to publish specific guidelines for the completion of AACs. The AAC guidelines explain the steps all students must follow during the two-year course, with teachers closely monitoring and authenticating their work across several distinct stages of activity. These activities contribute to the generation of student evidence of learning and achievement.

Four sample examination papers (two at Higher Level, two at Ordinary Level) in each of the Tranche 1 subjects, totalling 72 papers including Irish language versions, were published by the SEC in April 2025. In addition, sample briefs for the AACs in each of the Tranche 1 subjects have been published by the SEC, and a live brief for the AACs in all relevant Tranche 1 subjects will be issued in January 2026.

The SEC has recently published Coursework Rules and Procedures, which apply to all coursework completed during the 2025/26 school year. The document consolidates all previous SEC instructions regarding coursework, and sets out the process for the completion, authentication and submission of valid coursework for assessment in the State examinations. The published rules and procedures were finalised in close collaboration with my department and underwent consultation with key stakeholders prior to publication.

The Senior Cycle Redevelopment Implementation Support Measures document, published last May, contains a robust package of supports developed through extensive negotiations with both post-primary teachers’ unions. It is in place to ensure schools and teachers are fully equipped to deliver on this ambitious programme.

As part of the published Implementation Support Measures package, we are committed to not only effectively doubling the current Physics and Chemistry subject grant but also expanding it to cover Biology and Agricultural Science as well. The grant will be increased from €13 to €25 per student per (qualifying) subject. This will equate to almost €3 million in annual grants to schools. The Science Support Grant 2026 will be paid to schools in January 2026, earlier than the previous norm of a June payment date. The grant will be paid in January each year from then on.

Additional middle management posts for schools are also part of the package of measures being introduced to support redevelopment of Senior Cycle.

Under a commitment in the support package, my department has established the Post-Primary Implementation Group, comprised of the Department and the Teacher’s Union of Ireland (TUI). The group focuses on matters impacting teachers, including school leaders, relating to curriculum and assessment enactment at Senior Cycle. The group has met on four occasions to date, most recently on 2 October.

The Department continues to advance and deliver on commitments within the support measures document whilst seeking to respect the different outcomes to the union ballots conducted earlier this year.

My officials and I will continue to meet with all our education partners as we continue to implement the Programme for Government commitment to implement the redevelopment programme and deliver for our post-primary students.