NCCA - An Comhairle Náisiúnta Curaclaim agus Measúnachta - National Council for Curriculum and Assessment NCCA - An Comhairle Náisiúnta Curaclaim agus Measúnachta - National Council for Curriculum and Assessment

Junior Cycle Level One and Level Two Programmes

The JCL1LP is designed for a specific group of students. They are likely to have significant developmental delays across a number of areas, including learning, communication, language and adaptive skills. Students with this level of need may be in special schools, mainstream schools with special classes or in mainstream schools and are identified as being on the School Support Plus-Few level on the Continuum of Support (CoS). The CoS is a continuous and graduated problem-solving model of assessment and intervention that supports a student in collaboration with relevant stakeholders through their formal education.

There are six Priority Learning Units (PLUs) at the heart of every JCL1LP. These PLUs explicitly identify and develop the key areas of learning needed to prepare the students for their future lives. Though presented  as self-contained units, these PLUs interconnect and overlap when used as part of a learning programme. The six PLUs are listed below:

  • Communication, Language and Literacy
  • Personal Care and Wellbeing
  • Being part of a Community
  • Numeracy 
  • The Arts
  • Physical Education

 

The JCL2LP is designed for students whose learning profiles prevent them from accessing some or all of the junior cycle Level 3 curricula. They are likely to have developmental delays across a number of areas, including learning, communication, language and adaptive skills. If attending a mainstream school, the student will be identified as being on the Support Plus-Few level on the Continuum of Support (CoS). The CoS is a continuous and graduated problem-solving model of assessment and intervention that supports a student in collaboration with relevant stakeholders through their formal education. 

There are five Priority Learning Units at the heart of every JCL2LP. These prepare students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of senior cycle, adult and working life and lifelong learning. The five PLUs are listed below. They are presented as self-contained units but when used in learning programmes will be integrated and developed in a wide range of learning contexts.

  • Communicating and literacy
  • Numeracy
  • Personal care
  • Living in a community
  • Skills for life

In September and October 2022, the NCCA conducted a review of Level 1 and Level 2 Learning Programmes to gather
feedback to evaluate:
• the experiences of the teaching, learning and assessment within the L1LPs and L2LPs.
• how the review findings can support curriculum and assessment development work at senior cycle.
This report captures feedback from teachers, parents, school leaders, students and wider stakeholders on the introduction and enactment of the Level 1 Learning Programmes: Guidelines for Teachers and the Level 2 Learning Programmes: Guidelines for Teachers.

One of the actions arising from this review was to reappraise the Priority Learning Unit (PLU) Preparing for Work. A consultation on a revised draft with a working title of Skills for Life took place in early 2025. The draft PLU is available to view here:

The consultation report is available below: