“Parents will get lessons on the new-style Junior Cert as their children prepare for major changes in the way they are taught and assessed.” says Katherine Donnelly writing for The Irish Independant.

With approximately 60,000 students entering into post primary education this September, education chiefs have arranged a number of meetings for parents in the hope that they will learn about what is involved in the Junior Certificate reform. The meetings are facilitated by the national parents’ councils at both primary and secondary level and are set to take place this week in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway.

Meanwhile, disputes between Education Minister Ruarí Quinn and teacher unions continues over Junior Certificate reform plans. Currently, the only definite change to the syllabus is in English, with teacher unions refusing to co-operate with plans to introduce “short courses” from September.

While Mr. Quinn is determined to replace the traditional Junior Certificate with the new system, teachers oppose the plans for a number of reasons. Under the new school-based Junior Cycle Student Award, teachers are being asked to assess their own students through a more continuous assessment based system.

If you are interested in reading the full article relating to the Junior Certificate reforms, click here.

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