First meeting of reform group announced

THE first meeting of a new Working Group on Junior Cycle reform will take place on January 17.

It will comprise representatives from teacher unions, school management, the Department of Education and Skills (DES) and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.

The group will consider and make recommendations on issues raised by unions and management bodies relating to the introduction of the new Junior Cycle.

This establishment of the Working Group comes on foot of a number of bilateral meetings between the DES and the second level teaching unions, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) and the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI).

Speaking about the Working Group, Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairi Quinn, said:

“I am committed to ensuring that we implement the curriculum and assessment changes we need as a society. Reforming the Junior Cycle is key in this regard.

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Minister Quinn said he has already secured significant resources for this reform.

“Almost all teachers I speak to are supportive of the need for change,

? he stated.

“But, I am also aware that many of our teachers have legitimate concerns about how the new changes will be introduced in schools.

“The Working Group provides a forum for these concerns to be heard through the relevant representative structures.

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The current Junior Cycle curriculum has been in place since 1989. There have been some alterations to syllabuses over the years, but no fundamental reform.