The Irish Education System

Primary Schools Primary Schools – national schools Church of Ireland schools Educate Together schools Gaelscoileanna – subjects are taught through Irish Children attend primary school from 4 years of age to 12. Some primary schools are single sex, some are mixed. School is compulsory to the age of 16. (A minority of parents educate their children at home).

Primary School Junior Infants Senior Infants First Class Second Class Third Class Fourth Class Fifth Class Sixth Class

Primary Schools The school day is from 9 to Each class is assigned one teacher. A parent teacher meeting is held once a year. Primary schools do not receive enough funding from the State. They try to raise money by asking for a ‘voluntary contribution’ from parents. Many also organise sponsored walks, sales of work and other events.

There is no State exam for primary school students. Most schools have students assessed to check their progress in reading and maths.

Secondary School Staff School Principal and Vice Principal School secretary School Liaison Officer – some schools have a liaison officer who visits parents in their homes, develops links between school and family, maybe organises parenting courses. Career Guidance teacher. Most classes have a class tutor who does the roll call each morning and afternoon and checks on absences. Each year has a year head.

Secondary Schools Many secondary schools were set up by religious orders e.g. Christian Brothers, Marist Brothers, Jesuits, Dominicans, Sisters of Mercy etc. Many are single sex Vocational Schools are run by Vocational Education Committees and have no religious involvement. Originally they were called technical colleges and focused on trades. Community Schools – the idea here is that community groups can use school facilities

Secondary School Day From 9-4 Monday to Friday. Possibly half day on Wednesdays. Each class lasts 40 minutes. Double classes for art, science, woodwork. In some schools students stay in the same room for most classes and teachers move around. In some schools each teacher has his/her own room.

How are classes organised? Mixed ability – all pupils in one class Streaming – brightest pupils all together in A stream, weakest pupils all together too. Banding – students move around. Student could be in top class for Maths but in lower class for English.

Secondary Schools First Year Second Year Third YearJunior Certificate Exam Transition YearOptional in some schools Fifth Year Sixth YearLeaving Certificate

Junior Cycle Students in secondary school first do 3 years called the Junior Cycle and then go on to Senior Cycle which takes 2/3 years. In Junior Cycle students take a large number of subjects. English, Irish (unless student has an exemption), History, Geography and a European language. Options include Science, Home Economics, Business Studies, Art, Music, Metalwork, Woodwork, a second European language, technical drawing, religion, Civic Social and Personal Education (CSPE).

Junior Certificate Most students sit examinations in 10 or 11 subjects for Junior Cert in June of their third year at secondary school. Examinations are at Higher or Ordinary level. Grades are awarded as follows: A % B 70-84%Grades A, B and C are called Honours. C 55-69% D 40-54%Pass E 25-39% F 10-24% No grade

Transition Year Some schools offer Transition Year to all students while others just offer it to a group of maybe 50 students while the others proceed to Fifth Year. In Transition Year students continue with their academic subjects but they also get an opportunity to try other subjects and new activities and to gain some work experience.

Transition Year Activities vary from school to school but could include: First Aid, Sailing, Film Making, helping a Charity, doing work in the community, debates, exchange trips, participating in the Gaisce awards (national prize for personal achievement), trip to the Gaeltacht, guest speakers on social and health issues, drama and photography. Work experience is an important element. In some schools students go to same place once a week. In others it is organised in one or two week blocks.

Senior Cycle In Senior Cycle pupils prepare for the Leaving Certificate. All students take Maths, English and Irish (unless an exemption applies), a foreign language for entry to the NUI universities and 3 or 4 other subjects. Students choose from history, geography, physics, applied physics, biology, chemistry, applied maths, engineering, home economics, art, music, economics, business studies, accounting, construction studies, technical drawing, second foreign language. Students take exams at Higher, Ordinary or for some subjects Foundation level.

CAO form The CAO is the Central Applications Office. All applications for places in universities, teacher training, institutes of technology and National College of Art and Design go through the CAO. Students apply for places in the February before they sit the Leaving Cert. They have to choose the courses they would like to do.

The Points System GradeHigher Level PointsOrdinary Level Points A %10060 A %9050 B %8545 B %8040 B %7535 C %7030 C %6525 C %6020 D %5515 D %5010 D %455

Points and Places Students count up their points for their 6 best results. The maximum number of points for a university place is 600. Places are allocated on a demand and supply basis. If there is high demand for a course then the points go up. If demand is low the points go down.

National Education Welfare Board (NEWB) If a child under 16 is absent from school for more than 20 days during the school year, the school principal has to contact the NEWB to let them know. The job of the welfare officers is to find out why the child is not attending school and to encourage school attendance.

National Education Psychological Services (NEPS) NEPS is funded by the Department of Education and Science. Each psychologist is assigned a number of schools. They are concerned with learning, behaviour, and social and emotional development. In practice there are not enough psychologists to provide a good service.