Secondary school teachers, who were objecting to the department’s proposed reforms, staged protests around the country earlier this month.
The strikes, which has been organised by the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland and the Teachers’ Union, were a source of concern for Minister for Education, Jan O’ Sullvan who felt the negotiations would be better suited to a formal meeting than a public protest.
However, a document entitled Junior Cycle Reform: Joint Statement on Principles and Implementation has now gained the support of both the leaders of the ASTI, TUI as well as Minister O’ Sullivan.
Contained within the document are five key principles which have been agreed upon by all parties concerned.
These include the need to recognise a wide range of learning, a requirement to reduce the focus on one terminal exam and the necessity to give prominence to classroom-based assessment.
In addition to this, the document states that greater professional collaboration between teachers is required while parents and students are entitled to a broader picture of each student’s learning through the entire junior cycle.
The leadership of both the ASTI and TUI will present the document to their executives on Friday while the Department will also present the document for discussion to all education stakeholders.
Following these meetings, the proposals will be published in full.
