National Council for Curriculum and Assessment

Minister joins in birthday celebration for the Primary School Curriculum

The Primary School Curriculum is ten years old today. To mark the occasion, the NCCA has collected photographs and stories from schools across the country that show and tell how teachers and children are bringing the curriculum to life, even in challenging times!  

The photos (over 600) and the stories will of interest to all involved in education, to parents and to the general public and they can be viewed on (www.ncca.ie/learningandgrowing and www.ncca.ie/fasagusfoghlaim).

A birthday celebration in St. Louise de Marillac Junior and Senior Schools in Ballyfermot today also included a more traditional birthday party – with a cake! Sharing the task of blowing out the candles with the Minister for Education and Science, Mr. Batt O’ Keeffe this morning, was Jorja Gibbons-Forte, who was also celebrating her birthday today.

The Minister also launched the CD of photos and stories and the companion websites at St. Louise de Marillac Junior and Senior Schools in Ballyfermot this morning. Speaking at the event, the Minister said, ‘While no single photograph or recounted story can truly capture the complexity of teaching and learning, or the tremendous work of teachers, principals, parents and children in their schools, the photos and stories on the CD and now on the NCCA website will allow us as an education community, and the general public who may well think that the school around the corner is the same as it was in their day, to gain an insight into the daily practices and creativity that define the Primary School Curriculum in real classrooms.’

Professor Tom Collins, Chair of NCCA also speaking at the event said, ‘We find that despite the many challenges schools have encountered over the past ten years, teachers have worked to ensure that our children are engaged in learning and are happy… This is one achievement of which we can and should be proud. 

At the conclusion of his speech, Professor Collins acknowledged the need for our curriculum to be agile and to serve the needs of children into the future. He suggested that it is timely now for us to take stock of primary education and to re-think what we want from our Primary School Curriculum in order to ensure it remains meaningful, balanced and relevant to our children of today and of tomorrow.