Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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374. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will review her Department’s decision that from September 2023, Leaving Certificate candidates will take paper 1 in Irish and English at the end of fifth year instead of at the end of sixth year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52822/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, on 29 March I announced an ambitious programme of work for a reimagined Senior Cycle of education where the student is at the centre of their Senior Cycle experience. I set out a clear vision for Senior Cycle, building upon the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment’s (NCCA’s) Advisory Report. The NCCA’s review of senior cycle involved an extensive range of research, consultations and communications with a wide range of stakeholders, including teachers.

The three tenets of Senior Cycle reform are to:

- Empower students to meet the challenges of the 21st century

- Enrich the student experience and build on what’s strong in our current system

- Embed wellbeing and reduce student stress levels

The reforms I announced include initiatives to spread the assessment load for students and do so in a way that enhances student wellbeing.

Bearing in mind the significant assessment load at the end of sixth year, as an interim measure I have asked the SEC to alter the timing of Paper One in both Irish and English so that Paper One would take place at the end of fifth year commencing with fifth years entering fifth year in September 2023.

In making this announcement, I have responded to a broad consensus for spreading the assessment load. The NCCA Advisory Report emphasised the need to reduce the focus on the final examination period and the stress experienced by students associated with this time.

The Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science published a report Leaving Certificate Reform: the Need for a New Senior Cycle in May. Throughout the hearings leading to this report, a desire to spread assessment over a greater period was a recurring theme on which there was a broad consensus.

I have also listened to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which made a number of concluding observations in its 2016 periodic report on Ireland. The Committee expressed its concern about the pressure that the Leaving Certificate examination places on children and recommended that Ireland consider reforming the Leaving Certificate to reduce the stress caused to children.

Importantly, I have also listened to students themselves who have called for the spread of assessment and to strike a balance between final exams and other forms of assessment.

I am committed to reforming Senior Cycle in a student focused way and that has to include addressing student stress levels. We can combat those stress levels by spreading assessment load. I have said that the scheduling of Paper 1 at the end of fifth year is an interim measure and a signal of our commitment to systemic change. It is important to note that this will deliver reform for a very significant number of students in advance of further reforms.