1528. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Youth the membership and composition of subject development groups of each Leaving Certificate subject (details supplied); the number of members who have resigned or otherwise withdrawn from each group since its establishment; the process by which subject-matter expertise and recommendations are considered in the drafting of new curriculum specifications; whether a record is maintained of recommendations by members not incorporated into a draft specification; the reasons for their rejection; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63843/26]

The approach to the programme for Senior Cycle Redevelopment has, from its outset, been about collaboration and engagement which are at the heart of the subject development process. This is underpinned by the diverse nature of the membership of the Subject Development Groups (SDGs) convened by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), in addition to the multi-staged public consultation process that accompanies the development of all new and revised curricula.

As the Deputy may be aware, Senior Cycle is being implemented in a series of five annual subject groupings called tranches. In September 2025, the first tranche of new and revised Leaving Certificate Established subjects was introduced in schools.

The NCCA has established SDGs to support the Senior Cycle redevelopment programme, including specifically the redevelopment of Leaving Certificate subjects. The NCCA has advised me that across 31 such Groups, a total of 521 members have participated in this work to date. Subject Development Groups typically meet on approximately 20 occasions over an 18-month period to develop draft curriculum specifications. Three members of SDGs have resigned or otherwise withdrawn from these groups since 2022 - two from the Mathematics Group and one from the Construction Studies\Technology Group.

The NCCA's SDGS are constituted to ensure an appropriate range of expertise and perspectives relevant to curriculum and assessment development at the particular stage of education in question. Membership typically includes serving classroom teachers, subject-matter academics and other subject experts, representatives of relevant professional or subject associations, school leaders, employers, further and higher education representatives, and other stakeholders, as appropriate to the subject/area concerned.

The development of curriculum specifications is informed by a robust and evidence-based process. Subject Development Groups draw on a range of sources, including:

• the expertise and experience of group members;

• national and international research;

• analysis of current curriculum provision and practice;

• public consultation processes;

• engagement with education stakeholders; and

• support from NCCA staff and external experts, where appropriate.

Subject Development Groups operate in an advisory capacity and are responsible for developing draft curriculum specifications for consideration by the NCCA Council. The Groups carry out this work guided by parameters set out in a brief that is agreed by the Council. This brief is also published on the NCCA website.

Curriculum specifications are developed through an iterative process of discussion, deliberation and consensus-building. Members contribute their expertise, perspectives and suggestions throughout the development process and these contributions are considered collectively alongside research evidence, consultation feedback and relevant policy considerations.

The NCCA has advised me that the process to develop a curriculum specification is not generally characterised by the submission of discrete proposals that are individually accepted or rejected. Rather, observations and ideas are explored, refined, combined and modified through ongoing discussion and successive drafts. As a result, individual suggestions may not appear in a draft specification in their original form but will have informed or influenced the content ultimately included.

Records of meetings, discussions and decisions are maintained as part of the curriculum development process. The NCCA advises that it does not maintain a separate register of individual recommendations that were not incorporated into a draft specification, nor reasons for their non-inclusion. This reflects the collective and deliberative nature of curriculum development, whereby draft specifications emerge through the consideration and integration of a wide range of views, evidence and feedback, rather than through the formal acceptance or rejection of proposals by individual members.

All draft specifications are published for public consultation. Feedback from this is discussed and used by the Subject Development Groups as they finalise the specifications.

All Leaving Certificate specifications are considered by the NCCA’s Board for Senior Cycle and the NCCA Council before being submitted to the Minister for Education and Youth for approval.

Details of the membership and composition of the Subject Development Groups currently engaged in Leaving Certificate curriculum redevelopment are available and published on the NCCA website https://ncca.ie/en/about-ncca/boards-and-development-groups/.

Where the development work for a given Senior Cycle programme or Leaving Certificate subject has been completed the membership is no longer available on the NCCA’s website. Accordingly, I will arrange for the composition of those Groups to be provided directly to the Deputy.

My Department will continue to work with the NCCA, as well as our other education partners, to ensure all our students will benefit from the changes being introduced under the Senior Cycle Redevelopment programme.