Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 October 2023
301. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Education the reason candidates who sat the L2LP Junior Cert Programme will receive their certificates later than those who sat the Junior Certificate; when candidates and/or parents and guardians were informed that this would be the case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46640/23]
View answerAs part of the Framework for Junior Cycle (2015) the reporting process at Junior Cycle culminates in the award of the Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA) to students. The JCPA was awarded for the first time to students who completed Junior Cycle in 2017.
The JCPA is a school based report which reports on student achievement across a broad range of areas of learning in Junior Cycle. The JCPA, alongside other reporting arrangements in Junior Cycle, offers students/teachers/ parents/guardians a clear, broad picture of a child’s learning journey over the three years of Junior Cycle.
The JCPA captures student achievements in a number of assessment elements undertaken over the three years of Junior Cycle, including the grades in the State-certified final examinations at the end of the three years.
It also reports on students’ achievement in Classroom-Based Assessments in subjects and short courses, and in Priority Learning Units (PLUs). As well as this, the JCPA includes reporting on Well-being and other areas of learning.
The JCPA is a school based award using a nationally determined format and generator provided by my Department.
In general, the window for the production of the JCPA opens by the end of the first term of school following the completion of a Junior Cycle programme. Schools are asked to ensure all of the above assessment data is correctly entered on the relevant IT systems prior to the production of JCPAs. This process takes time, which is why the JCPA has always been envisaged as being produced in the latter part of the first term, rather than in line with “results day”, which is the day when the SEC publishes students’ provisional results. This window remains open for a set period of time to facilitate schools in producing that year’s JCPA. The 2023 JCPA production window is expected to open before the end of the current term.
With the introduction of the JCPA, the Junior Certificate is no longer issued by the SEC. However, the SEC continue to issue provisional examination results to each examination student as in previous years. This is in order to facilitate appeals before final results are confirmed. This year the SEC released student’s provisional results on Wednesday 18 October. Final results following the appeals process will be reflected on the JCPA.
