Details of a new primary school curriculum will be announced later today. 

It is the first change in a quarter of a century and it is expected that there will be a greater focus on well-being and less on religion. 

Foreign languages will become mandatory at primary level for the first time as well. 

“This [reform] 25 years later is looking at the world that we’re all living in today,” guidance counsellor Brian Mooney said. 

“It’s a world in which foreign languages become an essential part of your ability to function in a wider global economy.” 

Secondary schools

In addition, the Government is also planning reforms to how pupils study in secondary schools. 

Last week, plans for Leaving Certificate students to sit Paper One of Irish and English in fifth year were delayed. 

Leaving Cert students prepare to sit English Paper One at O'Connell Secondary School in Dublin in 2015. Picture by: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

Education Minister Norma Foley has established a Senior Cycle Redevelopment Programme Delivery Board in order to design a “reimagined Senior Cycle of education for post-primary students, where the student is at the centre of their Senior Cycle experience.” 

Topics the board has been asked to examine include the introduction of externally-moderated teacher-based assessment for the Leaving Cert, the introduction of new subjects - such as Drama, Film and Theatre Studies and the Transition Year programme. 

Main image: Norma Foley T.D., Minister for Education. Photograph: MAXWELLS / RollingNews.ie