Leaving certificate 2020 was a difficult time for every student. Standardisation caused major concern. Some 6,000 students had their results upgraded. Almost one in 20 students have now applied to sit the examination in November. The students of the leaving certificate class of 2021 are now afraid that they will be messed around. Will there be a leaving certificate examination next June?

As Minister for Education and Skills, I am committed to ensuring the State examinations of 2021 operate as normally as possible, subject to the prevailing public health advice at that time. This commitment is shared by the State Examinations Commission, SEC, which has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. It continues to be a priority for the Government to keep our schools open now that they have been reopened. The Department of Education and Skills has put in place a comprehensive range of measures to support schools in this effort.

The Department has ongoing engagement with the public health authorities so that schools can remain open safely and is working with the partners in education to ensure this is a shared objective. I am very pleased to confirm that, from the very beginning, it has been a shared objective. In addition, the Department has published a range of documentation and support material as part of the roadmap for the full return to school for the 2020 to 2021 academic year. This includes the document entitled, Assessment Arrangements for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate Examinations 2021, which sets out the assessment changes for the 2021 State examinations. These arrangements take account of the disrupted learning experienced by students during this past academic year 2019 to 2020 and makes accommodation should there be any gaps for the 2020 to 2021 school year, as a contingency measure. The adjustments play to students' strengths by leaving intact the familiar overall structure of the examinations, while incorporating additional choice. There will be no change to the length of the written examinations. Project briefs for relevant subjects will issue earlier than usual and practical coursework will be submitted two weeks earlier than normal as a contingency measure. Teachers are being encouraged to plan and undertake these projects as early as possible in the programme of study.

These changes to the leaving certificate assessment arrangements for 2021 will provide reassurance to students, their parents and guardians and teachers and schools. As I said, it is the intention that provision is made through the assessment of the curriculum going forward.

A tremendous amount of work has been done by the Minister, her officials, teachers, support staff in schools, pupils and parents to ensure that schools opened in September and remained open. Under our projections, even if we go up to level 5, the modelling is that we will keep our schools open. I am concerned by the caveat in relation to public health advice. We will need to adapt and change the leaving certificate based on public health advice but I need assurance from the Minister for every single pupil who sits the exam next year that there will be a written exam and the structures will be made available to ensure that happens. We are 230 days away from the first English paper in the leaving certificate and we need assurances that the exam itself will take place and that students will not have to worry about standardisation as they did this year.

I confirm again to the Deputy that I am absolutely committed to ensuring the State examinations of 2021 will operate what we might call traditionally and as normal. This is a commitment shared, as I said, by the State Examinations Commission which has statutory responsibility for operating the exams. We are moving in that direction, as the Deputy outlined. There is an absolute commitment from the Government and, indeed, it became very clear at the weekend, from wider society also, that schools would remain open and it is a shared objective. Again, it is a particularly strong shared objective with the partners in education. In recognising that commitment to move forward and to progress as normally as we can in extraordinary times, we are doing all we can to ensure schools will remain open and remain open safely. Accommodation has been made for the adjudication of the 2021 leaving certificate in terms of the exam paper, the wider choices and issues like that will be identified on the day for students.

I thank the Minister for that reassurance. It is important that whatever resources are needed are made available for the class of 2021. Some 2,820 students are going to sit a written exam this November because they unfortunately could not do so last June. What specific resources are being made available for those particular students to assist them and ensure they reach their full potential in the written exam? Are the resources being made available from their old schools or from the Department to assist them in preparation for that exam?

The Deputy is quite correct that more than 2,800 students have registered to take the exam in November. It is important that option was made available to students. They will also have the opportunity, when they have completed those exams, to take whichever of the grades suits or advantages them best, be it the calculated grade they received or the final grade they will get for the written exam. The exams are being scheduled at times to best meet the needs of the students, in that they are taking place in evenings and over weekends. Again, that is an accommodation for students recognising that they have perhaps moved on and are doing other things. It is a recognition that it is important that they would be accommodated in making the times most appropriate. Measures are also being put in place to ensure that these exams take place locally within their schools which are settings they are familiar with. All financial resources and supports required by the schools are being put in place for the benefit of the schools to allow them to do that.

What about the students themselves?

They are being accommodated in their schools.

That is the accommodation but what about resources to assist them in preparing for the exam? I am not talking about the physical accommodation but tutorials and assistance. These students have not sat in a classroom since last March.

I am afraid the time is up and we cannot go back on this. We must move on to Deputy Connolly.