Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 October 2012
114. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the progress made to date in rolling out the Aistear Curriculum at primary level; if it is being consistently applied across all primary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43084/12]
View answerAistear is Ireland's curriculum framework for children from birth to six years. It reflects recent developments in understanding how children learn and develop in early childhood. These developments include the importance of ensuring a balance between adult-led and child-led activities, as well as the importance of play in children's learning and development from birth to six years. Aistear can help teachers to prioritise play and active learning in implementing the curriculum for infant classes in primary schools. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) is currently revising the infant curriculum. This work focuses initially on the language area (English and Irish) and will be ready for schools in September 2014. The revised infant curriculum will reflect the core principles and teaching approaches contained in the Aistear Framework.
Work is already underway through a collaboration between the NCCA and the Association of Teachers' Education Centres in Ireland (ATECI) to support consistency amongst teachers in developing their use of play as a teaching and learning methodology. The NCCA is also working with a number of schools to gather examples of teaching and learning in infant classrooms. Some of these examples will become part of the revised infant curriculum.
