The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) consultation on the Draft Primary School Curriculum closes this Friday, 7th June. We are asking all our subscribers to email the NCCA, urging them to STOP/PAUSE the consultation until clear information is provided about what exactly will be taught to the children, to ensure proper consultation can take place.
The draft SPHE specification document lacks details about the content of what children will be taught. It discusses aims, goals, processes to achieve them, aspirations and principles, diversity, inclusion, equity, citizenship, and social justice, but provides little information about the actual teaching content, especially in SPHE. https://ncca.ie/en/primary/primary-developments/primary-curriculum-review-and-redevelopment/consultation-2024/
In 2022, for the Junior Cycle consultation, we ran a campaign asking you all to email the NCCA with your concerns about the inclusion of gender identity as a fact in the proposed curriculum. In the later report on the Junior Cycle consultation, the NCCA described perspectives critical of the curriculum contents as ‘petition style communications’. The NCCA also noted that “the most common cause of concern related to references to gender identities within the draft specification.” We need to know if gender ideology will be taught to our primary school children. It is imperative that parents are informed.
Below bullet points and a template letter you can use and download to help with your email.
The only way we can defend schoolchildren and teachers from the rollout of ideologically driven curricula is to make ourselves heard.
- Importance of clear and comprehensive understanding of curriculum changes for parents
- Lacks detailed information about the actual content, particularly in Social, Personal, and Health Education (SPHE)
- The Curriculum Specification Document is only one component open for consultation
- Other components: The Toolkit
- The Toolkit, which should contain lesson information, is not available for most subjects
- Lack of detailed content prevents parents from forming informed opinions
- Urge NCCA to halt current consultation until detailed curriculum content is provided ensuring proper consultation for effective parental contribution
Email: PCRRsubmissions@ncca.ie AND cc info@ncca.ie cc Hello@thecountess.ie
template letter
Dear NCCA,
I am writing to express my concerns regarding the current consultation process on the Draft Primary Curriculum being conducted by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). As a parent, I believe it is crucial for us to have a clear and comprehensive understanding of what our children will be taught before any curriculum changes are implemented.
The Consultation on the Curriculum Specification Document is scheduled to close on 18th June 2024. However, The Countess Advocacy has informed parents that this document primarily focuses on aims, goals, processes, aspirations, principles, diversity, inclusion, equity, citizenship, and social justice, with little detailed information about the actual content that will be taught to our children, particularly in Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE).
The Curriculum Specifications Document is only one component of the curriculum open to consultation. The other component , the Toolkit—is not currently part of this consultation. The Toolkit, which is supposed to contain the relevant information about the lessons, is not yet available for most subjects.
Without this information, parents are unable to form an informed opinion on the proposed curriculum changes. Therefore, I urge the NCCA to halt the current consultation process until clear and detailed information about the curriculum content is made available. This will ensure that proper consultation can take place and that parents can effectively contribute to the discussion about their children’s education.
Please consider my request and provide the necessary information to allow for an informed consultation process.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Yours sincerely,
NAME HERE
Email: PCRRsubmissions@ncca.ie AND cc info@ncca.ie cc Hello@thecountess.ie
Download template: