1.9 Key messages

1.9 Key messages

Learners

■During the period September 2016 – December 2020, Irish schools and early learning and care

(ELC) settings served a growing number of children and young people overall; a peak has now been reached in the primary sector, but further growth is expected to occur in the post-primary sector until 2026.

■The success of the ECCE programme in the early learning and care sector has had a notable impact

on the age at which children start primary school. The consequent impact that this will have on the revision of the primary curriculum, particularly for junior classes, and in the long term on curriculum choices and programmes at Senior Cycle, including provision for vocational educational and training, will need to be considered.

■The active inclusion of student voice in policy-making has been a notable change in educational

policy development.

■Pupils at primary level experienced the roll-out of a revised Primary Language Curriculum (PLC),

and all first-year students entering post-primary school in 2019/20 were studying the full suite of revised subject specifications introduced as part of junior cycle reforms.

Funding

■Funding for the early learning and care (ELC) sector grew significantly in the 2016-2020 period.

First 5 commits to reaching funding levels of approximately €1 billion by 2028.

■Expenditure per learner at primary and post-primary levels is in line with OECD averages.

■Investment in the DEIS scheme has continued to rise; from €110m to €125m.

■Significant growth has occurred in expenditure to support learners with special educational

needs from just over €1.5 billion to just over €2 billion.

Teachers and early years educators

■The numbers of early years educators and teachers have grown. Most of the growth in teacher

numbers is accounted for by the demographic growth in student numbers and increased provision for children with special educational needs.

■Despite growing numbers of early years educators and teachers in the system, recruitment and

staff retention remain a challenge at all levels.

■A range of actions is being implemented to increase diversity in the teaching profession and to

meet teacher supply challenges.

Investing in a high quality teaching workforce

■National policies and initiatives have continued to seek to strengthen the professional education

and standing of teachers and early years educators.

■The Government’s First 5 policy has set out a highly ambitious vision for a graduate-led workforce of

50% of early years educators by 2028. Important initial steps have been taken to achieve this goal, with publication of Nurturing Skills in 2021. Progress has been made in the implementation of reforms in initial teacher education for primary and post-primary teachers, and new teacher education programmes have been established for the Gaeltacht and Irish-medium education sector.

■There has been considerable investment in continuing professional development for early years

educators and teachers.

■The Teaching Council’s induction programme, Droichead, became available for all newly qualified

teachers, replacing the inspection-based probationary process that had been in place for many years.

■While the key focus of CPD is on the implementation of national policies, the support services are

providing increased levels of bespoke school-based CPD.

■Classroom teaching time in Ireland, while greater than the OECD average, is impacted by teachers’

involvement in CPD and the delivery of examinations.

■The Teaching Council advanced several measures relating to the professionalism of teachers,

including an induction programme for all newly qualified teachers, the publication of a framework for recognising and promoting teachers’ ongoing professional learning, and the holding of Fitness-to-Teach hearings.

Education policy

■The Department of Education’s Action Plan for Education 2016-2019 set the overall policy framework

for the development of the Irish education system for the period. First 5 (2019-2028) set the overall policy framework for ELC.

■The Department of Education launched a range of national initiatives for schools and placed

considerable emphasis on Gaeltacht education, STEM education, creativity, digital technologies, education for sustainable development, and wellbeing.

■The introduction of these key strategies addressed several areas where curriculum development

was needed. However, the simultaneous implementation of a number of strategies in a relatively short period of time posed challenges for schools.

COVID-19 pandemic

■Rapid policy and funding responses were required to assist schools and other education settings to

address the needs of students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

■Schools and settings had to make very significant changes to their provision and their environments

in a rapidly changing environment.

Figure from page 52

and inspection