Expectations for students is an umbrella term that links learning outcomes with annotated examples of student work. For NCCA-developed short courses, in some cases examples of work associated with a specific learning outcome or with a group of learning outcomes will be available. 

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are statements that describe what knowledge, understanding, skills, attitudes and values students should be able to demonstrate having completed this junior cycle course in SPHE. The learning outcomes set out in the following tables apply to all students and represent outcomes for students at the end of their period of study.

The outcomes are numbered within each strand. The numbering is intended to support teacher planning in the first instance and does not imply any hierarchy of importance across the outcomes themselves. Nor does it imply that the learning outcomes should be attended to sequentially. When planning for learning and teaching in SPHE, teachers can work with a number of learning outcomes from within one strand or across different strands.

This course employs a spiral approach that will be familiar to SPHE teachers. This spiral approach allows students to revisit important themes over the three years in order to allow for deeper engagement relevant to the students’ evolving needs and stage of development. In revisiting learning outcomes, it is important to ensure that there is a progression of learning. It is also important to consult regularly with students to ascertain how to plan teaching and learning using the learning outcomes so that the learning is responsive to students’ particular needs, questions and concerns. Such consultation will ensure that SPHE is relevant and responsive to the reality of students’ lives in diverse contexts and classrooms.

This SPHE course has been designed for 100 hours of student engagement to be taught over the three years of junior cycle.

A glossary of key terms for SPHE can be found here.

For guidance on planning using these learning outcomes as well as sample resources and methodologies, see the 2023 SPHE Toolkit.

The learning outcomes in this course are aligned with the level indicators for Level 3 of the National Framework of Qualifications.