ISSU Logistical Queries Submission on the 2020 State Examinations Contingency Planning

The ISSU are continually advocating to get clarification on all of the concerns and issues which students have raised in relation to the 2020 State Examinations contingency plan. Based on student communications over the last number of weeks ,the ISSU submitted a number of questions,on the 17th of April, to the Department of Education and Skills Advisory group to prioritise and address the huge variety of logistical implications involved in implementing this plan. We are listening, we are raising your concerns and voicing your viewpoints at each meeting and pushing for certainty and fairness to be given.

ISSU Questions for the State Examinations Contingency Plan 2020 submitted on the 17th of April to the Department of Education and Skills Advisory Group.

Logistical Necessities: Dates/Deadlines/ Resourcing

• Will the payment of fees due on the 30th of April be lifted to ease the pressure during a time of financial and economic uncertainty?

• In light of the current financial difficulties due to the crisis the ISSU recommends that associated fees for State Examinations should be waived for this year.

• Will students be compensated in any way for the effects of COVID-19, will the exams be marked  exactly the same as they have been in previous years or will special measures for 2020 be put in place?

• Incorporation of a “No Detriment” Policy 

• A 'No Detriment Policy' would ensure that no student would suffer academically because of the crisis.

• If this were followed, students would be given a projected grade before they sit their exams. This grade could be based off of their completed coursework and previous school and class exams.

• Students would then sit the exams and be encouraged to improve this grade or maintain it. A student cannot get lower than their projected grade as long as they pass the exam.

• To compensate for already afforded marks for particular subjects, an agreed percentage should be allocated for other subjects in order to ensure an equal starting point. 

• The finer details of this policy would need to be explored and agreed upon by the SEC, teachers and students representatives. 

• We are concerned that the timetable for exams will be issued on June 1st. Students have expressed that this is not enough time to receive an official date for exams. Will students receive exact dates for the exams prior to the release of the full timetable at least? 

• What supports will be put in place to help students with a possibly elongated exam timetable of one exam per day? This is a very long period of time to be doing exams and students' motivation will seriously need to be supported. This will also have a knock on effect in terms of corrections, appeals, CAO offers and entry into third-level.

• For students hoping to study abroad who may now lose out on this opportunity due to the delay in receiving results, what will be done to ensure they still have this option and will not lose out on their places?

• The Department of Education to liaise with third-level institutions and admissions bodies internationally, and negotiate delayed entry for Leaving Certificate students to institutions abroad. The Minister for Education and Skills is currently in talks with his U.K counterpart which is very positive any updates and agreements from these discussions should be disseminated as soon as available.

• A number of subject curriculums have been noted as not yet completed pre-closure of schools, and two weeks in class  learning will not be enough time for students to be adequately prepared to finish these syllabi as well as complete project/practical and field work before beginning their exams. More classroom time is needed particularly for students who do not have access to online learning, if it is not safe for students to be in classrooms in June how will this be facilitated?

• Extra choices of questions to be introduced to exam papers, to alleviate some of the pressure on students aiming to cover the syllabus independently.

• What is the rationale behind the decision to have a minimum 2 weeks in school before exams?

• The proposed 2 weeks of school time prior to exams is not sufficient to complete curriculums and complete practical work intended to be completed with supervision.A minimum of 4 weeks school time for students is necessary.

• For students who are reapplying to the CAO or have deferred a place in college, they are at a disadvantage regarding points for third level entry, as the blanket decision concerning orals and practicals does not apply to them. How is this being combatted? 

• How are the Leaving Certificate Applied examinations being adjusted and catered for? 

• What plans are being implemented for students who wish to continue on to apprenticeship courses? Have technical institutes given a guideline for entries into PLC courses and deadlines?

• Clear information surrounding third-level entry and changes being implemented  for the academic year 2020/2021 needs to be agreed and announced

• What deadlines and timeframes are to be given to viewing scripts and appealing grades? Will this have an impact on entering third-level and further education dates and deadlines? Will this impact the deadlines for international study placements?

• For international students who attend boarding school in Ireland, how will they be accommodated in order to sit their exams if international travel has not freely resumed by July/August? 

• With the restructure of the Junior Certificate to take place at the start of the next school year, what retention measures will be undertaken to ensure students who leave school at 16, and intend on not returning in September to start a new school year, will have a chance to sit their JC and receive this qualification? 

• Further clarity and concrete plans to be agreed upon and shared regarding the Junior Cycle replacement school-based examinations, and how students might be supported to prepare for these exams as well as how the transition to their next step in education will be implemented.

• Support to be given for students going directly into 5th year from 3rd year, who will not have a break between their exams and the following academic year. . 

• For students who need to work over summer to afford third level, what will be put in place to help these students seeing as they will now be sitting exams and unable to take up paid work?

• The closing date for late CAO applications is May 1st, will this be extended?The opening and closing dates for the CAO change of mind facility are May 6th and July 1st respectively, will these now be extended? 

• The opening date for SUSI grants is April 23rd, will this now be extended? What extra measures , financially, will be put in place to support students to enter third-level?

• There are a multitude of HEAR and DARE deadlines throughout June, July and August, will these now be extended? Will there be changes to this process?

• Will public transport be operational throughout July and August for the proposed two week class period followed by the three week exam period? If so, how will they maintain social distancing on what are in most cases, small buses? 

• What measures are being put in place to make up for the three months of lost class time  for 5th year students who will be moving into 6th year come September but will be far behind in their Leaving Certificate curriculum across all subjects?

• Will any compensatory action be taken to cater to students who do not study a language, and are now at a disadvantage due to the decision made to award students with full marks in their oral examinations?

• Will college start time be affected for all students in university? Some L.C students have concerns about accommodation and not being able to find any if they start later than other years.

Practicals/Project/Field Work: 

• For those who have examinable projects, field work and practical work in their subject/s when will students have access to their projects in order to complete them, as many are locked within school grounds? For projects that require in school equipment what will be put in place to allow students access to the school to complete their projects?

Ensuring students needs are catered for:

• There has been a huge impact on the mental health of many students, as the Leaving Certificate is an incredibly stressful and high pressure examination. Many students are feeling increased levels of anxiety or are experiencing particularly low moods as a result of this decision and those who suffer from mental illness are of particular concern. What supports will be put in place to address these mental health concerns? 

• Extra mental health supports to be provided to all students and schools to disseminate, and extra support guaranteed to youth mental health organisations such as Teenline, Jigsaw Youth Mental Health, Turn2Me, Pieta House and Spunout. As discussed in the meeting with NEPS a unified support platform will be created to ensure all stakeholders are able to provide relevant, accurate and essential support and resources to all. 

• With the exams taking place in July/August what measures will be specifically taken to ensure the safety of immunocompromised students and students with immunocompromised family members who are particularly at risk?

• What measures will be put in place to ensure disadvantaged students who can not be easily reached through online forums will be supported?

• Many students require SNAs and other supports to learn in school and are at a significant disadvantage without them in the efforts to learn online. What will be done to address this issue?Supports must be available for students with learning difficulties, who are particularly disadvantaged by the lack of school time and assistance.

• How will the RACE scheme be implemented?

• Many students are affected by the digital divide, with differing access to wifi and technology. What will be put in place to ensure equity for these students and give them access to online learning so they are not massively disadvantaged?

Measures to lessen the digital divide between students need to be provided. Possible home/ internet upgrades and installations, laptop loan schemes and online resource supports must all be explored to ensure an equitable system, similar to measures employed by New Zealand to support students. (the response in New Zealand regarding tech resources:

http://www.education.govt.nz/news/getting-ready-to-support-distance-learning/ )

• Many students have had to take on extra responsibilities at home such as childminding or caring for elderly relations, will special consideration be given to these students?Are there extra supports intended for these students?

• Allowances made for students with difficult home situations, where study space is not available or care must be provided for younger siblings as parent(s) are deemed essential workers. 

• Students may have lost or may lose a loved one during this time. This is incredibly distressing as normal funeral arrangements are not permitted to take place. Will these students be supported at this time and what support will be given to them if so? In line with the SEC bereavement exemptions implemented last year how will this be applied in the current decision of exam deferral?

• If a student has a medical emergency and becomes ill before or during the exams what protocol will be implemented to accommodate them?

This should be treated with the same considerations as previous SEC exemptions for bereavements. As there is currently no official scheme in place to address medical emergencies it would be pivotal to create a procedure with the SEC to accommodate students in these circumstances.

4)Plan B: 

• If restrictions are still in place come the 1st of June and it is not deemed by the H.S.E safe in July/August for the exams to go ahead, what will be done with the State Examinations?What is the contingency plan if it will not be safe to take exams due to social distancing measures and restrictions? A detailed Plan B is required, and alternative forms of assessment such as predictive grading or online assessment need to be explored and considered for implementation.

Want to be a Change Maker? Apply today!

❓  Have you always felt like you want to make a change in society, but you don’t know where to start?

❓ Do you want to play a more active role in society and mobilise others to amplify the impact, but you don’t know how?

❓  Would you like to learn about community organizing and mentoring?

❓ Are you a committed, self-motivated individual who can work on this project for the next 18 months? 

👉 Then you are right for the European Change Makers Academy (ECMA)!

Creating a change, you want to see in the world is not something you can do in one fast move, but it is doable in a series of small planned steps. We don’t have all the answers on how to become the best Change maker, but we know the steps and together with you, we will make certain that your work matters and there will be no compromise about it, you have our word! If this sounds like a cool idea, check out the call below and let’s start working.

What do we offer?

A training & mentoring programme via the Erasmus+ funded ECMA project including:

💡 a comprehensive online course on change making, community organizing & mentoring

📘 guidelines for “Community Leaders”

👩‍🏫 1 International Training in Spain complementing the online course

🚂 3 International participatory events (incl. policy seminar & ideathon) in Belgium & Italy

🦸 a chance put into practice what you’ve learned & to mentor others

💻 national & international online meetings with your fellow Change Makers

🧐 1 study visit & 1 national event in cooperation with the ISSU that brings together all the project members of your country

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 120 new friends all over Europe

Check out our roadmap to find out more about this change making journey! 

“Make A Change” Timeline: Please note that AEGEE is another coordinating partner on this project. You will run your national event with the ISSU in Ireland.

What will you learn?

●       Leadership skills that can help you to anticipate changes in society and respond to them in a creative way

●       How to motivate & mentor other people

●       Skills to put your ideas about change into practice

●       To develop an open eye and mind to find different solution to an existing problem

●       To go outside your comfort zone & think out of the box

●       How to deal with setbacks on your way & how to keep continuing your journey

●       To connect with your community to bring change about on a local level without losing sight of the more global perspective

How long does the programme run?

1,5 years, from May 2020 - October 2021

What profile are we looking for?

●       You are motivated to change the status quo & you don’t want to do it alone

●     You are familiar with youth work, community organizing and mentoring, and you are ready to share your knowledge with others

●       You are committed to engage throughout the whole process, until December 2021

●       You are are aged 18 years or older or will turn 18 before 31st August 2020

●  You are motivated to put in practice the skills and competencies you gained throughout the project in your own organization and community

●       You are willing to contribute to other ad-hoc tasks within the project

How can you apply?

Fill out the application form here before 6pm on April 28th: APPLICATION FORM

The European Change Maker Academy is an Erasmus+ funded project that is coordinated by OBESSU in cooperation with the ISSU and other project partners across Europe. 

Officer Blog: Education Officer - Gearoid O’ Donovan

In the lead up to our Online Annual Assembly, our current NSE want to give our members and potential candidates an insight into their roles. Here we have our Education Officer, Gearoid O’ Donovan, from Waterford.

ISSU is an organisation I was interested in as Education is one of the most important things in young people's lives. I specifically picked the role of Education Officer as I had a desire to help to resolve some of the issues in the area of education affecting students.Of course I wasn’t expecting to fix the system in my year but any small step was a positive.

My role on the NSE is largely about policy and representation. You spend a lot of time writing policy which can be really interesting as you’re helping to change a system of which you’ve seen the issues first hand as a student. You also have amazing opportunities to feed into our education system through attending consultations on behalf of students such as the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. Then there is the general work of the NSE in growing and running the organisation such as organising and attending our own events.

My proudest achievement is our Senior Cycle Policy continuing on from the great work of the previous Education Officer in putting together the survey, it was my chance to put together a document to represent the view of students in what is undoubtedly one of the most important and stressful things we will all do so any chance to help change it is hugely positive.

Say yes to as many opportunities as possible being on the ISSU NSE opens you to many national and international opportunities so say yes and make friends and learn skills along the way. In regards to doing the job of Education Officer definitely say yes to help, some issues are so broad that you can’t be an expert in them all. 

The team that is the NSE. You're going to spend a lot of time with these people and get to know them all quite well. You will have so much fun at events. All my memories of ISSU are lovely, you’ll have a fantastic time between the serious work. 

For more info on how to run for the NSE click here. Deadline for the nominations is the 26th of April!

Leaving Cert Students - ISSU Needs You!

Survey on Projects & Practical Work

Since the announcement made by Minister Joe McHugh in relation to the postponements of exams, the ISSU is working with the Department of Education and other stakeholders in order to ensure that this decision is fair and just for everyone.

We are now part of a working group developed by the Department of Education, which will discuss specific areas related to the decision to postpone exams.

One of these areas is Projects and Practical Work. We have had a very mixed response from students on this and we want to collect some data in order to clarify what the student response is on this issue.

This survey is only to be filled out by Leaving Certificate 2020 students.

PLEASE NOTE: There are many questions which students have raised since the decision to postpone exams was announced and we are consistently raising ALL of your concerns, this is just one of these questions which we want to get more clarification from our members on. This survey relates solely to the scenario where exams are taking place in the summer.

Survey link HERE

ISSU Update on the 2020 State Examinations #ClarificationNow

Following the announcement regarding the 2020 State Examinations, from the Minister for Education and Skills on Friday the 10th of April, the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union (ISSU) has been working with the Department of Education and Skills and all stakeholders in order to ensure that student voice is heard and that decisions made are fair and just.

We have raised your concerns and recommendations and are happy to announce that some progress has been made. Today, Friday 17th April, the Department of Education and Skills launched a working group with education stakeholders to discuss the implications and logistics of the decision to postpone examinations. Following this meeting the Department issued a press release stating the following:

‘The Department of Education and Skills today (Friday 17 April 2020) met with a range of stakeholders as part of planning for the State Examinations in response to the COVID-19 public health measures.

The meeting involved representatives of students, parents, teachers, school leadership and management bodies, the State Examinations Commission, the National Educational Psychological Service and the Department.

A series of further meetings will be held over the coming weeks as part of consideration and planning for the revised arrangements for the examinations, taking account of public health advice.

The Higher Education Authority is also observing at the meetings with the intention of feeding back to consultations it is involved with across the third level sector.

Further information for students about the decisions taken to date with regard to the State Examinations can be found at the State Examinations Commissions frequently asked questions document. https://examinations.ie/?l=en&mc=ex&sc=cov’

The ISSU will continue to work with the Department of Education and other stakeholders in order to ensure that student voices are heard and that decisions made leave no student behind.

Officer Blog: Communications Officer: Eiman Elsir

In the lead up to our Online Annual Assembly, our current NSE want to give our members and potential candidates an insight into their roles. Here we have our Communications Officer, Eiman Elsir, from Kildare.

I wanted to pursue the role of Comms Officer for the union, because I wanted to make sure that the students we are doing all this incredible work for, are actually aware of it and to help create as much engaging content as possible!

During my term, we’ve set up the new and improved  ISSU website and kept it up to date with content. We created the ISSU email newsletter where we send monthly updates to over 500 subscribers! As well as that we are receiving maximum engagement on all platforms especially Instagram! 

I’ve really enjoyed doing communications for ISSU. I wouldn’t consider myself a very creative person, but I’ve surprised myself and gained so much confidence in making graphics and navigating social media. 

Being on the NSE has given me so many skills you just cannot learn in a classroom, and I’ve managed to make so many friends and have a great time as well. One of my favourite memories has to be the Skills Academy we run every year, it was my first ISSU event back in 2017 and to come back as an NSE Officer was really incredible.

If you’re thinking of running for the NSE make sure to keep an open mind and to enjoy the time you have. The year flies by so make sure to give it 100% all the way through. Throughout the year you will learn so much so make sure to soak it all up and ask questions! 

For more info on how to run for the NSE click here. Remember deadline to nominate yourself is 26th of April.