The Primary School Curriculum was launched in 1999 and aims to develop the full potential of every child while recognising the uniqueness of each child. To mark the the tenth anniversary, the NCCA collected digital photos to demonstrate the curriculum in action as part of the “Get Snapping” project. It is great to see that they got hundreds of images and some great stories that provide a snapshot of how children’s learning is taking place in primary classrooms throughout the country. These are now available to view at www.ncca.ie/learningandgrowing.
The official birthday was marked on 9th September, the day the curriculum was launched ten years ago. Batt O’ Keeffe visited St. Louise’s Schools in Ballyfermot and many of the images and stories were featured. There is no doubt that the primary curriculum has had a major impact on child centred education at primary level. Tom Collins, chair of the NCCA, while acknowledging the positive impact the curriculum has made, pointed out that after 10 years it was time to take stock of primary education and re-think what was needed. He stressed that the curriculum needed to remain meaningful, balanced and relevant to children into the future.
Of course, from our perspective, we feel that there is still a lot of work to be done in integrating IC T into the primary curriculum, particularly in supporting teachers to use technology effectively to support learning in the classroom.
BTW, now that it is 10 years old, will it stop being referred to as the “revised curriculum”?
