Review and Redevelopment of the Primary Curriculum

YOU need to get involved in the future of the Irish primary education system!  

​Last year I attended a number of cluster meetings that discussed the proposed redevelopment of structure and time allocation of the primary school curriculum. This was concluded with a conference in Dublin Castle where people from all areas of education got to give their opinions and suggestion on this consultation. This week I attended the next stages of the consultations at seminar one: Review and Redevelopment of the Primary Curriculum. Today's blog will give you a brief overview of the key points of the day and link you to the papers discussed. 

Arlene Foster introduced the day with a look back on the findings from last year’s consultations on the structure and time allocation of the primary curiculum. You can read the final report on structure and time allocation here. During the conference in Dublin Castle last year, an illustrater interpreted the days events through some great drawings. Have a look and see the main points raised. 

Below are a few of the main findings of last year's consultation that were highlighted yesterday. 

Time frame of the Curriculum:

• There will be changes to how time is allocated across the curriculum. Schools and teachers will be allowed more flexibility to choose how they structure and allocate time in their classroom and across their school which will reflect the needs of their children and the community. i.e. less restriction of the dreaded timetable!
• However, there is a concern that more ‘flexibility’ might mean certain areas of the curriculum may be neglected or some subject will ‘loose  out’.

Structure proposals:

• The two preschool years along with junior/senior infants will become a single stage (much like the early years in England)
• We will see a more integrated curriculum in the infant classes as opposed subjects areas that are taught decretely.
• The general consensus was that subjects should be part of the curriculum but when they should be introduced is still uncertain. (1st Class or later in primary school?)
• Greater support for a three stage model (shown below) rather than a two stage but concerns were raised for implementation of this model for small primary schools. (I was really disappointed to hear this as I really like the idea of extending a more playful approach into 1st and 2nd classes that would be more in line with how we teach through Aistear in the infant classes. I guess some people would prefer to stick closer to what they know) 

Towards an Overview for the Redeveloped Primary School Curriculum, Learning from the past, Learning from others.

​Dr. Thomas Walsh of Maynooth University was the first speaker of the morning and he discussed his paper entitled ‘Towards an Overview for the Redeveloped Primary School Curriculum, Learning from the past, Learning from others. You can download and read his paper here.

Dr. Walsh was followed by a chance to discuss at our table, where are thoughts were recorded and will be considered when developing the new curriculum. These were the questions we were asked to consider.

1.What is the purpose of a curriculum and how it could support education of children. The following were the priorities are based on a consultation from 2012:

• Develop thinking skills, learning
• Communicate well
• Be well
• Develop literacy and numeracy skills
• Engage in learning
• Have a string sense of identity and belonging

​2. Should we consider the whole education system or focus on the     primary school curriculum only?
3. Curriculum or curriculum framework? (I feel that it is already decided it will be a framework rather than a prescribed curricula)

Towards a Values-led Redevelopment of the Primary Curriculum

​The next speaker was Dr Jones Irwin and I really enjoyed listening to him! Dr Irwin wrote a paper titled Towards a Values-led Redevelopment of the Primary Curriculum. You can download and read his paper here.
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​Dr. Irwin was followed by a chance to discuss at our table again. These were the questions we were asked to consider. 

1. What have been the key changes in society since the 1999 curriculum and its impact on teaching and learning in the classroom? 
2. What does society value for children and childhood?
3. Where should these values and moral purposes of a curriculum come from?
4. How should these be expressed in a redeveloped primary curriculum?

How can you and your school get involved in the discussion?

It is really important that YOU and your school have a say in how the curriculum might look like, and what it might include. We need to voice our thoughts on how we feel children should learn but also our concerns on how we might implement this new curriculum? If your school would be interested in getting involved with support from the NCCA you can contact the NCCA at [email protected] before the closing date, Tuesday, April 10th. 

Thanks for reading,

Zara