Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 January 2022
837. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education if a response will issue to correspondence from a person (details supplied) in relation to the leaving certificate examination; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2200/22]
View answerI am very conscious that students who are due to take their Junior Cycle/Leaving Certificate examinations in 2022 have experienced a degree of disruption to their learning.
My Department will continue to engage with all partners in education on all matters relating to Leaving Certificate 2022 examinations. A meeting of the Advisory Group on State Examinations is planned for later this week. The group includes representatives of students, parents, teachers and school leaders, as well as representatives from the State Examinations Commission, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, Higher Education and my Department.
On 30 June 2021, I announced that adjustments would be made to the 2022 Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle examinations. As with previous years, adjustments were developed in conjunction with the Advisory Group on Planning for State Examinations. These arrangements acknowledge the disruption faced by these students because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I consider that these arrangements are proportionate to the students’ experience and loss of learning, and are educationally appropriate. The adjustments ensure that the overall structure of exams remains intact but allows for greater choice for students. The level of adjustment will be similar to that applied by the Assessment Arrangements for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate Examinations 2021, as announced in December 2020.
I made a further announcement on 20 December 2021 regarding the arrangements for Leaving Certificate Oral Examinations in Irish and the Modern Foreign Languages and the practical performance tests in Leaving Certificate Music. These examinations will take place outside of school time over the first week of the school Easter holidays, with the examinations running in schools during the six-day period Saturday 9 April to Thursday 14 April inclusive. By moving these examinations to the Easter holidays, the State Examinations Commission aims to minimise disruption to teaching and learning, especially for those candidates preparing for their examinations, as this change will limit teacher absence from schools.
As part of the adjustments for the 2022 examinations, I also announced that an alternative set of Leaving Certificate examinations would be run in 2022, shortly after the conclusion of the main set of examinations. These examinations will be limited to certain students who are unable to sit the main set of examinations due to close family bereavement, COVID 19 illness and other categories of serious illness, with due regard for the principles of equity, fairness and integrity, which govern all aspects of the examinations system.
The State Examinations Commission will issue further details regarding the 2022 examinations, guided by prevailing public health advice.
By way of further information, the Department of Education has provided a suite of guidance materials, agreed with the education partners, to enable schools to mediate the curriculum safely for all pupils / students in a COVID-19 context including information on wellbeing supports for Leaving Certificate students. This includes a series of supports on managing wellbeing, coping with uncertainty and managing stress and anxiety, developed by the National Educational Psychological Service in the Department, to support students.
