2020
                               Draft Primary  
                               Curriculum Framework
                               For consultation
                               Primary Curriculum Review and Redevelopment                                                                                                                    primar
                                                                                                                                                                                              developments
                                                                                                                                                                                              foráis sa bhunscolaíocht
        Draft Primary Curriculum Framework | Primary Curriculum Review and Redevelopment
        Contents
        Introduction
        The rationale for reviewing the primary curriculum   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
        Developing the Draft Primary Curriculum Framework  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
        Timeline for developments  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
        The Draft Primary Curriculum Framework 
        Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
        Principles   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
        Key competencies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
        Curriculum areas and subjects  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
        Time allocation   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
        Transitions, continuity and progression in children’s learning   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
        Teaching and learning  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
        Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
        Supporting schools, teachers and school leaders   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
        References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
        Appendix A: Suggested time framework in the 1999 curriculum   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
              Draft Primary Curriculum Framework | Primary Curriculum Review and Redevelopment                                   1
              Introduction
              The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment           The rationale for reviewing the primary 
              (NCCA) is reviewing and redeveloping the primary             curriculum 
              curriculum . Published twenty years ago, the Primary         Since 1999, the primary curriculum has provided a 
              School Curriculum (1999) was a cutting-edge                  strong foundation for teaching and learning . Among the 
              curriculum informed by extensive research of its time .      curriculum’s many successes have been children’s 
              It was published after a decade-long process of              enjoyment of learning and teachers’ increased use of 
              development and deliberation and has since been the          active learning methodologies, as well as improved 
              focus of research, review and evaluation . This activity     attainment levels in reading, mathematics and science 
              has provided insights into both strengths of and             as evidenced in national and international assessments . 
              challenges with the curriculum while at the same time,       But challenges too have been well documented, such as 
              spotlighting the extent to which classrooms have             curriculum overload—too much to do and too little time 
              changed in the intervening years . We also now know          to do it all— engaging and supporting every child as a 
              more about how children learn and what it is like to be      learner, and the challenge of using assessment in a 
              a child growing up in Ireland . Society, too, has changed    meaningful way to inform teaching and learning as well 
              and continues to change with growing expectations of         as to report on children’s progress and achievement . 
              a primary education . And so, we need to ensure that 
              the curriculum can continue to provide children with         The two decades since 1999 have seen an acceleration 
              relevant and engaging experiences as we look to the          in the volume of research on children’s learning and 
              third decade and beyond in the twenty-first century .        development in their early childhood and primary 
              The remainder of this introduction sets out, in more         school years . Much of this offers fresh insights into 
              detail, the rationale for reviewing and redeveloping the     how children learn and develop across the areas of the 
              curriculum and the process through which the Draft           curriculum . Growing Up in Ireland, Ireland’s first 
              Primary Curriculum Framework was developed . It also         longitudinal study of children (www .growingup .ie), 
              provides a timeline for the next stage of work .             illuminates how children are developing in their social, 
                                                                           economic and cultural environments and how these 
               Draft Primary Curriculum Framework | Primary Curriculum Review and Redevelopment                                       2
               rapidly changing environments, especially in recent            the priorities for primary education by providing more 
               years, have impacted on children’s lives . The NCCA            time for the teaching of language and mathematics . This 
               recently commissioned a longitudinal study of primary          change was made without further re-adjustment of time 
               education looking, in particular, at children’s                allocation across other curriculum areas . The strategy 
               experiences of school . Using a cross-sequential design        also set out a curriculum reform agenda which required 
               and involving two cohorts in a nationally representative       the NCCA to begin the redevelopment of the primary 
               sample, this study charts and learns about children’s          curriculum in the area of language (English and Irish) 
               experiences as they move from preschool into junior            followed by mathematics . Shaped by the timelines in the 
               infants, through the eight years of primary school, and        strategy, this work proceeded ahead of a review of the 
               transfer to post-primary . Led by a research team in           primary curriculum as a whole, with the publication of 
               University College Dublin, the Children’s School Lives         the new Primary Language Curriculum/Curaclam Teanga 
               study will feed directly into the NCCA’s work in               na Bunscoile in September 2019 . Reflecting new thinking 
               reviewing and redeveloping the primary curriculum in           on curriculum purpose and design, the language 
               the coming years . Studies such as this alongside other        curriculum adopts a different approach to describing 
               research enables us to see and better understand               children’s learning with broad learning outcomes being 
               children’s experiences of education in Ireland today .         central to this . In practical terms, this leaves primary 
               As well as the need to respond to curriculum                   schools using a learning outcomes based curriculum 
               challenges and to take account of new and emerging             which is grounded in contemporary research on 
               research findings, there have also been calls for the          language and literacy, and a 20-year-old, detailed 
               primary curriculum to do more! Schools and the                 content objectives based curriculum in all other subjects . 
               curriculum, together, are often viewed as a critical site      Tomorrow’s world is already taking shape in the body and 
               for responding to national priorities or needs and             spirit of our children are words spoken a number of years 
               addressing societal problems . This is evident in calls for    ago by Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary 
               increased time to be allocated to existing curriculum          General and Nobel Peace Prize winner . The words are 
               areas such as Social, Personal and Health Education            a reminder of the importance of children’s experiences 
               (SPHE) and to Physical Education (PE) . Additionally,          in their formative years and how these experiences 
               there are demands to include new aspects of learning           shape their lives as children and as adults into the 
               in the curriculum such as Coding and Computational             future . Irish society has seen unprecedented change 
               Thinking, Education about Religions and Beliefs (ERB)          since the 1999 curriculum was published . Advances in 
               and Ethics, Modern Foreign Languages, and to place a           technology mean that today’s children are living in a 
               greater general emphasis on Wellbeing .                        world where they have ready access to information . 
               Policy developments in other sectors are also relevant         The education system and children themselves are also 
               in looking again at the primary curriculum . The provision     shaped by different experiences of family life, different 
               of two years of universal preschool education (2010            cultures, different beliefs and viewpoints, different 
               and 2018) and the introduction of the National                 abilities and needs . This increased diversity is reflected 
               Childcare Scheme (2019), the publication of Aistear: the       in the Department’s Action Plan 2016-2019 in which 
               Early Childhood Curriculum Framework (2009) and the            Goal 4 .2 (pp .43-44) focuses on providing greater 
               Framework for Junior Cycle (2015) have led to changes in       school choice for parents and children . As part of this 
               what children experience before beginning primary              and in partnership with Patron Bodies, the Action Plan 
               school and in what and how they learn on leaving               sets out initial broad steps for the establishment of 400 
               primary school, highlighting the importance of                 multi-/non-denominational schools . While this is a 
               connections and continuity in curricula along the              long-term action, it potentially raises a question about 
               educational continuum . Reviewing and redeveloping the         the role of the state in ensuring that education related 
               primary curriculum provides an important opportunity           to the religious and ethical aspects of human 
               to build on what children bring to primary school and to       development is provided for and that respect for all 
               ensure connections with their post-primary experience          members of society is promoted and nurtured in the 
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               while recognising the uniqueness and importance of a           process . O’Donnell’s curriculum audit (2019)  shows 
               primary education in the learning journey .                    three of the eight jurisdictions (Finland, Scotland and 
               The publication in 2011 of Literacy and Numeracy for           1  The curriculum audit is part of a series of research papers 
               Learning and Life: The National Strategy to Improve Literacy   which have informed the development of the proposals 
               and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-             presented in the Draft Primary Curriculum Framework, and is 
               2020 (Department of Education and Skills) re-adjusted          available at  
                                                                              www .ncca .ie/en/resources/audit-of-the-content-of-early-years-
                                                                              and-primary-curricula-in-eight-jurisdictions-overview-report