Towards a Better Future

Towards a Better Future: A Review of the Irish School System
version of the curriculum which was disseminated to schools and teachers includes much more
detail than had been made available by the NCCA in the original specification. It would be
reassuring to know that similar detail will be made available for the revised syllabi for Junior Cycle
and for the Leaving Certificate subjects as they are finalised.
The NCCA is also currently engaged in developing a syllabus for a new subject – Education about
Religions and Beliefs and Ethics. The development of a curriculum in Education about Religions
and Beliefs (ERB) and Ethics was one of the key recommendations of the Forum on Patronage and
Pluralism in the Primary Sector (Coolahan et al, 2012). The Minister for Education asked the NCCA
to undertake this task. In autumn 2015, the NCCA issued a consultation document on ERB and
Ethics, and the consultation period closed in March 2016. It is understood from the NCCA that a
‘consultation report’ will be issued in early 2017. However, there is no indication as to what format
this new syllabus will take or when it will be available for implementation nationally. The process
of development has been slow. It has been four years since the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism
recommended the development of this syllabus and it could be many more years before a new
syllabus is available.
As this chapter was being finalised in December
2016, the NCCA issued a consultation
document on “proposals for structure and time
allocation in a redeveloped primary
curriculum”. The title of the document belies
the radical and fundamental nature of the
proposals. While two options for redeveloping
the curriculum are suggested, either of the
options are likely to have profound implications
for teaching and learning in Irish primary
schools for future generations. The proposals are
based on recent research on children’s learning
and development in their early childhood and
“
The development of a
curriculum in Education about
Religions and Beliefs (ERB) and
Ethics was one of the key
recommendations of the Forum
on Patronage and Pluralism in
the Primary Sector
”
primary school years. They also attempt to address the demands for “more” to be included in the
primary school curriculum by providing a more flexible approach to time allocation.
As regards the structure of the curriculum, two options are suggested – both of which move away
from the existing model of four two-year stages (Infants; Junior; Middle and Senior). The first option
would mean a move to a new three-stage model while the second option would use a two-stage
model. The three stages of the first model would be (1) Pre-school (current Pre-school and Infant
Classes); (2) First to Fourth Class; (3) Fifth and Sixth Class. In the first stage, the curriculum would
be largely based on the Aistear themes; in the second stage, it would be based on curriculum areas
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