Skip to main content
European Commission logo

Eurydice

EACEA National Policies Platform:Eurydice
Ireland: Enhancing student participation in policy development

News & Articles

News & Articles

Ireland: Enhancing student participation in policy development

08 November 2024
students
Country news

The Irish Department of Education has launched a report and implementation plan to enhance student participation in policy development, committing to key actions such as staff training and annual reporting.

Minister for Education Norma Foley today announced the launch of the report of the Expert Group on Student Participation and of the Department of Education’s Student Participation Implementation Plan. These contain five key recommendations to ensure students are included meaningfully in policy development and will be implemented by the department in full.

The expert group on student participation was established in May 2023 to advise the Department of Education on how best to improve its work on involving children and young people in policy development. The group, chaired by Professor Laura Lundy, Queen’s University Belfast, and University College Cork, adopted a child rights-based approach and considered the findings from a wide-ranging consultation process, strongly focused on the views of children and young people.

Some of the key actions the Department has committed to implement are: 
 

  • A new training plan for department staff to involve children and young people in policy development, 

  • training for department staff on writing in a student friendly accessible way, 

  • an annual report on student participation in policy development, 

  • an annual participation newsletter to children and young people to show them how their views have influenced policy in the Department of Education, 

  • a student-friendly summary page in inspection reports on curriculum evaluations in primary schools and inspection reports on subject inspections in post-primary schools. 

For more information: gov.ie - Student Participation in Education 

Source: Eurydice Unit Ireland 

Latest News and Articles

Spain: Government expands access to vocational training through skills accreditation for millions

20 March 2025

The Spanish Government has introduced a new Royal Decree to establish a permanent procedure for accrediting basic competences gained through work experience or informal training

...

Belgium (German-Speaking Community): New bachelor’s program in Social Work at the Autonome Hochschule Ostbelgien

18 March 2025

In September 2024, the Autonome Hochschule Ostbelgien (AHS) launched a new bachelor’s degree program in Social Work, tailored to meet the specific needs of the

...

Latvia: “Schools for Victory”-campaign to support Ukraine

27 February 2025

“Schools for Victory” is an international campaign bringing together schools of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to stand in solidarity with Ukraine. Students of Āgenskalns State

...

Poland: New team of experts to boost climate education

19 February 2025

The Polish Minister of Education has set up a team of climate education experts with representatives of climate organisations, academics, teachers and local authorities to

...