Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 September 2025
488. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has conducted an assessment of the risks associated with the rollout of the revised primary curriculum, including teacher capacity and resource gaps; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51776/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraBased on stakeholder engagement, the NCCA have published a document on Conducive Conditions intended to support and guide curriculum change. These include timing and pacing, resourcing, communications, stakeholder engagement and so on. It is a valuable support document which my officials are considering and working through.
These conditions are:
• Timing and pacing – teachers and school leaders will need time to reflect on and share their experiences and expertise.
Pacing
o The Primary languages Curriculum 2019 and the Primary Mathematics Curriculum 2023 are being enacted and support continues to be provided. The 2025/2026 school year will be an introductory year focusing on the Primary Curriculum Framework.
o From the 2025/2026 school year, schools that feel ready may choose to begin working with any of the new curriculum specifications at their own pace. This flexible approach recognises that each school is on its own journey and may be at a different stage of readiness to engage with the redeveloped curriculum.
o From the 2026/2027 school year, schools will introduce one curriculum area each year, with each area taking two years to fully enact.
o From the second year onward, two areas will be in progress simultaneously - one in its first year and another in its second. Schools can choose the order of enactment, but the Wellbeing specification must be one of the first three areas selected.
o An optional consolidation year will be available to schools at any point during the enactment process. This allows schools to pause the enactment of a new curriculum area for one year in order to focus on strengthening and embedding the curriculum areas already in progress. The consolidation year is designed to give schools the flexibility to progress at a pace that suits their unique contexts, ensuring sustained quality and meaningful enactment.
Time and space
o There is a call for more non-contact time per year (school closures) to support the enactment of the Primary school curriculum. Consideration of time is being undertaken by the Department at present.
• Communications – It is important to have timely communications to the system. A communications group to include officials from the Department and relevant agencies and support services has been set up to ensure consistent, timely and co-ordinated communications related to the curriculum are shared with teachers, school leaders, parents, children and education partners and stakeholders. These include circulars, information notes, webinars and videos.
• Securing resources – significant resourcing is being put in place to support the implementation of the primary curriculum as it is rolled out including:
• Professional learning programme of support through the Support Services.
• Online resources developed by the NCCA, the NCSE and Oide.
• Publication of supports such as the Preparation for Teaching and Learning Guidance. Other support documentation such as Guidance for Whole School Planning will be provided in the coming months and years.
• Over €9m in grants for the purchase of resources for the STEM and the Arts curricula was provided in December 2024. There is a commitment to multiannual funding with money being sought in the estimates process.
• Alignment and coherence – A key focus of the redeveloped primary curriculum has been ensuring clear progression and alignment in children’s learning. As the curriculum was developed, the NCCA also updated Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework (2024). This created an opportunity to connect children’s learning in early childhood settings with what they experience in primary and special schools. Play and playful learning are now included across the Primary School Curriculum to support this connection.
Similarly, alignment with the Framework for Junior Cycle has been considered in Stage 4. This is reflected in the inclusion of the Key Competencies, which link closely to the Key Skills of Junior Cycle, ensuring a smooth transition for children as they progress.
Coherence ensures that all parts of the curriculum fit together in a meaningful way. Particular attention was given to maintaining a consistent structure across curriculum areas and stages.
The curriculum also identifies opportunities for integration, so children can make connections between different areas of learning. This supports deeper understanding while avoiding unnecessary repetition, ensuring learning experiences are logical, connected, and purposeful.
• Distributed leadership - in designing professional learning programmes as the curriculum is rolled out, the professional development services will consider inclusion of a focus on learning, teaching and assessment approaches and strategies that nurture the concepts of teacher and child agency. The professional development programme will have a focus on school leadership to promote deep engagement and reflection and support them in leading out on the new curriculum in their schools.
• Stakeholder engagement – meaningful stakeholder engagement is essential, and we will continue to build on the very solid foundations already in place through the very comprehensive engagement of all stakeholders over the years in the development of the Framework and the curriculum specifications.
• Enhanced professional learning – the teacher education continuum has undergone considerable change over the last decade with the extension of both under-graduate and post-graduate courses, the enactment of Céim standards, the publication of the Cosán framework and so on. ITE is an important time in a teacher’s learning journey, and we will work with ITE providers to ensure student teachers are provided with opportunities to gain a thorough knowledge and understanding of the Primary School Curriculum.
