The Junior Certificate Schools Programme (JCSP) is based on the concept that all young people are capable of real success in school and they can have a positive experience of school if the conditions are favourable. In Mount Carmel, all Junior Cycle students participate in the programme. We work hard to ensure that all our students can become successful learners with the confidence to achieve their best results in the Junior Certificate.
The JCSP is not an alternative to the Junior Certificate. It is a framework that is designed to help schools and teachers develop an imaginative approach to the Junior Certificate course. All the students in the Programme must be entered for the Junior Certificate examination.
Benefits of JCSP for students
- Students get an opportunity to become more involved in their own learning, discussing statements and meeting targets.
- The JCSP seeks out opportunities to reward and praise students and to give them useful feedback on their performance.
- The programme tries to make positive contact with the students’ families. When the students sit their Junior Certificate exam they also get a certificate from the Department of Education and Skills and a profile listing all they have achieved while on the Programme.
- By the time students come to sit their exams, they will realise that they have been successful learners and will feel much more confident about taking the Junior Certificate exam.
JCSP Statements
In each subject area a set of statements will be completed by each student.
A statement describes an area of knowledge, a concept or a skill. It states that a student knows, understands or can do something e.g. ‘The student can carry out a simple research project and display the results appropriately.’ Statements are divided up into learning targets which students cover in class.
It is important to note that the statements chosen are not additional to the Junior Certificate course; rather they will form a framework to guide students to engage with the curriculum.
Rewards and Celebrations
Celebrating student achievements and successful initiatives are an integral part of the JCSP programme in Mount Carmel. Classes and individual students may be rewarded for their successful participation in initiatives with gift tokens, awards, workshops or trips.
JCSP Support and Initiatives
Additional financial support is given from the Department of Education and Skills to run the JCSP. In Mount Carmel, specific learning initiatives are selected with the intention of filling gaps in the school curriculum. Some of these initiatives include:
- Drop Everything and Read
- Christmas Celebrations
- JCSP Profiling
- Make a Book
- Summer Celebration
- Literacy and Numeracy
- Celebrity Chef
- Maidin Gaeilge
- Study Skills
- Field Trip to Newgrange
- Small Study Support Groups
- Wrap Around
- Story Tellers
- Writer in Residence
- Film Making