Thank you to schools for support during 2024/25

The centrality of teachers in shaping and making the curriculum is an aspect that sets us apart from other jurisdictions, and we are very grateful for your contribution to this. We are often asked: ‘how do you ensure that teachers are directly involved in shaping and developing the curriculum?’ Over half of the NCCA’s budget for curriculum development is allocated to ensure that teachers are involved in a variety of roles and across all stages of the process. We have also worked with teachers through almost 250 school visits since March 2022, to learn about the strengths of the curriculum and areas for improvement.

At the core of NCCA’s curriculum work are the development groups tasked with developing curriculum specifications. Teachers are the most represented stakeholder on these goups, averaging 69% of all members. In addition, teachers provide invaluable feedback across two different consultations during the development of the curriculum for each subject/module/framework. Last year, we met with over 700 teachers to hear their ideas and feedback, and we received in excess of 2,000 additional inputs from teachers through survey responses and written submissions.

Another question we are asked is: ‘are teachers involved in other ways in curriculum developments outside development groups and consultation?’ The answer is yes! Teachers are central to all aspects of our work, including: 

• reviewing draft Guidelines to Support the Additional Assessment Component
• contributing to early enactment reviews of recently introduced curriculum specifications
• working as part of school networks such as the groups of schools helping to develop the Senior Cycle Level 1 and Level 2 Learning Programmes
• developing and helping to quality assure examples of student work for junior cycle subjects
• supporting the development of subject text lists.

To keep up to date with ongoing senior cycle curriculum developments, visit: https://ncca.ie/en/senior-cycle/