ETBI-News-Summer-2016-web

From September 2017, all lessons
will be for a minimum of 40 minutes
in duration. In effect schools
planning their timetable will have
a maximum of 42 class periods in
the week. Schools have freedom
to extend beyond 40 minutes with
some schools moving to 60 minute
class periods. Such changes
require planning and collaboration
to ensure that the optimum period
length is achieved for the school
and that the changes that are taking
place support quality teaching and
learning opportunities.
Students commencing their Junior
Cycle from September 2017, will
study a maximum of 10 subjects
for certification. Students may
study up to four short courses (two
short courses will, in effect, be
the equivalent of one subject when
calculating the maximum number
of subjects and short courses that
a student studies for certification
and reporting on their Junior Cycle
Profile of Achievement).
The Draft Guidelines on Well-being
indicate that students entering
first year in 2017 will study a
minimum of 300 hours over 3 years
in the area of Well-being. Of this
a minimum of 140 hours will be
dedicated to PE, with a minimum of
70 hours each for CSPE and SPHE.
These guidelines outline several
possibilities as to how the 300
hours can be compiled. The time
devoted to Well-being will rise to
400 hours by 2020.
The minimum time to be allocated
to the study of subjects across the
three years of Junior Cycle is 200
hours with a minimum of 240 hours
over three years for English, Gaeilge
and Mathematics. 100 hours is to
be allocated to short courses.
These facts, together with other
aspects of the framework pose
many questions for schools to
consider when planning their Junior
Cycle provision. In particular,
the following issues are to be
considered:
Support Available:
Over recent months the Junior Cycle for Teachers (JCT) support service
has piloted supports for school leaders on curriculum planning and
timetabling. A one-day programme is available to all school leaders from
September 2016. This workshop will seek to support school leaders
in leading the planning of each school’s Junior Cycle programme. It will
specifically focus on:
Mediating all curriculum and policy documents that influence
programme planning and timetabling.
Providing a planning context for changes to timetables from
September 2017 to 2020.
Identifying ways in which schools can meet the requirements of the
Guidelines on Well-being.
Providing each participant with an interactive digital planning tool
that will be of use to school leaders, teachers and management
bodies when exploring the time implications of possible Junior Cycle
programmes.
What are the planning and timetabling implications of both 40-minute
and 60-minute class periods and what further implication do these
models have for students and teachers?
All school leaders will be invited to attend this programme at a local venue
in Autumn 2016. The invitation will be issued by JCT from Monaghan
Education Centre.
Does our proposed Junior Cycle
programme present students with
access to the 24 Statements of
Learning? Does the programme
reflect the principles of the
Framework for Junior Cycle (2015)?
What are the distinctive needs of
our student population? How many
subjects/short courses should
students be offered for certification
and reporting?
Will our Junior Cycle curriculum be
capable of providing all students
with a sufficiently wide range of
subject choices having regard to
their aptitudes, interests and career
ambitions?
Influenced by the number of
subjects/short courses that
students study, decisions will have
to be made on how much time the
school can allocate on the timetable
for each subject and short course.
Schools have considerable autonomy
in deciding time allocations above
the minimum specified.
How do we ensure that students
with special educational needs,
including those studying for Level
2 Learning Programmes are
accommodated on the school
timetable?
How does our Junior Cycle provision
ultimately influence what happens
at Senior Cycle?
What is the role of Guidance for
all students in our Junior Cycle
programme?
Does the school have the teaching
capacity to deliver the proposed
programme for Junior Cycle? For
example, in introducing a short
course a school would need to give
consideration to how the course
could be provided in the event of
the teacher teaching it in the first
instance being no longer available.
What practical steps can
school leaders take to manage
professional time for teachers and
management support hours?
Section 1 | National and European Events issue 3 – 2016 ETBI 9