Children born this year could be studying a foreign language by the time they are in third class under new proposals to redevelop the primary school curriculum.

Claims that sex education is being reformed to include teaching about early childhood masturbation are “wildly inaccurate” and “downright sinister”, according to the Department of Education.

Students, parents, and teachers believe it is time to change the senior cycle, new research suggests.

According to the Oireachtas Education committee, “a school’s religious ethos should not be allowed to influence teaching of sexuality and relationships” and it has decided that the present RSE (Relationships & Sexuality Education) programme delivered in our primary and secondary schools is “narrow and outdated” and needs a complete overhaul.

Despite concerns about the introduction of History as a mandatory subject for the Junior Cert, the Minister for Education says he is “confident” that the subject will be integrated well into the reformed curriculum.

Changes to the Leaving Certificate cycle should not be made in the near future due to deteriorating” working conditions for teachers, uncertainty around Junior Cycle reform, and general underfunding of education.

The Minister of Education has no plans to grant other subjects, like Geography or STEM subjects, special core status following his decision to embed History in the Junior Cert curriculum.

There is sufficient scope within the Junior Cycle framework to see History become a mandatory subject again, according to the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI).

The playwright John Millington Synge had a great grá for the Irish language, once declaring: “There is no language like the Irish for soothing and quieting.”

After a review found many students would like to see Irish dropped as a Leaving Cert subject, Conradh na Gaeilge has warned the introduction of a policy promoting the education of the subject is urgently needed.

Many students think Irish should become an optional subject for the Leaving Cert as a review of senior cycle education uncovers mixed views on keeping Gaeilge compulsory.

Sick leave in the public service cost more than €380m last year.

Teachers worry about discussing topics like sexual identity and pornography with students for fear they might be accused of going “too far” and upsetting parents.

Reinstating History as a core subject is still possible despite a leaked report recommending that should not happen, Education Minister Joe McHugh says.

Because of rising rates of obesity and physical inactivity, we may see the first generation that will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents, writes Claire Heneghan

Migrant children and those from disadvantaged areas start primary school significantly earlier than others and do not settle as well, significant new research shows.

Migrant children and those from disadvantaged areas start primary school significantly earlier than others and do not settle as well, significant new research shows.

Almost three quarters of secondary school students described their experience of sex education at school as “terrible” or “bad” in a survey published by the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union (ISSU).

Teachers have warned that any attempt to introduce assessment of students by their teachers as part of reform of the Leaving Certificate will be strenuously resisted.

The Minister for Education Richard Bruton confirmed this morning on Today with Sean O'Rourke that he has written to the NCCA to initiate a review of sex education curriculum and how it is delivered in schools.

More than one in three parents do not know what their children are learning in sex education classes, they have told school inspectors.

Consent and contraception are to be central elements of a review of sex education in schools ordered by Education Minister Richard Bruton.

Significant investment in maintaining standards will be vital if more assessment methods are used for the Leaving Certificate, TDs and senators have heard.

Children are to be tracked from pre-school through to the start of second-level in a six-year project to monitor their experiences and to help improve primary education.

Students can get half their marks in a new Leaving Certificate physical education subject for projects and performances in activities as diverse as sprinting, camogie, orienteering, or jazz dance.

Education Minister Richard Bruton expects plans being launched today to make Ireland’s teaching of science and technology the best in Europe.

Around 2,500 students at over 100 schools are expected to take politics and society as a Leaving Certificate subject in 2020.

Junior Certificate students will no longer be asked in exams to prove Pythagoras’ or anybody else’s theorems under a revised junior cycle maths course.

The NCCA says ‘student wellbeing is at the heart of the vision of a new junior cycle’. Richard Hogan hopes it’s true

Children’s progress in maths at the age of nine has a major influence through to Junior Certificate preparations and suggests a need to overhaul how it is taught at primary level, a leading education researcher says.

Teachers, students, and parents are to interviewed to see if changes to Leaving Certificate grades and college entry point scales are affecting what happens in classrooms.

Moira Leydon of the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland outlines her organisation’s perspective on what can be done to improve our education system.

A review of the controversial Project Maths curriculum is to examine how it affects student performance on third-level courses with a high maths content.

This is an exciting time of change for education in Ireland, writes John Hammond of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.

Children from rising numbers of non-religious families should have their upbringing better reflected in primary schools that use new teaching resources, says multi-denominational body Educate Together.

A proposed new junior cycle history curriculum has been criticised by teachers as overloaded and likely to turn students off taking the subject for Leaving Certificate.

Catholic parishes and parents must play a bigger role in preparing children for sacraments as pressure increases to reduce the time for religious education in schools, a leading theologian said.

More than 30,000 Junior Certificate students taught by teachers on industrial action should now be able to complete an English test next month and avoid missing out on marks.

The time and level of training required to introduce computer science as a Leaving Certificate subject next year needs significant investment if it is to be a realistic option for all students, a teachers union has warned.

More detailed research is needed on teacher training requirements before the planned introduction of computer science as a Leaving Certificate subject proceeds, experts have advised.

Plans for a standalone course to teach primary pupils about world religions and ethics may be hampered by a law that gives a school patron tight control on what can be taught.

Minister’s endorsement of the community national school (CNS) system comes as it vies with Educate Together to open more schools.

Junior Certificate students whose teachers are on industrial action will have until the end of April to complete all work needed to avoid losing 10% of marks in English.

The Government plans to introduce computer science, including coding, as a Leaving Cert subject.

HERE in Ireland, we tend to take the ability to read and write for granted. After all, we have produced some of the world’s finest writers and we have a long tradition of literacy.

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) currently has only 10 members instead of the 19 it should have by law, with two positions vacant for over a year.

Any move to introduce coding to the primary maths programme would require proper staff training and equipment for schools, a teachers’ union said.

FROM small beginnings as a tiny club born at the National Software Centre in Cork barely five years ago, the CoderDojo movement is one of the most exciting educational initiatives of recent times.