Features and requirements of L1LPs for certification through the JCPA Key questions What components are included in the Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA)? Priority Learning Units Communication, language and literacy Personal care and wellbeing Being part of a community Numeracy The arts Physical education Two NCCA- or school-developed short courses What time should be allocated to the components on the school timetable? The time required to achieve each PLU will be dependent on the student’s strengths and needs. A guide for teachers is approximately 250 hours for each PLU and 100 hours for each short course. Who specifies the curriculum and assessment arrangements to be followed? The NCCA has set out specifications and assessment arrangements for the PLUs in the Guidelines for Level 1 Learning Programmes. The NCCA will provide examples and templates where the short courses are being developed by schools. What role does the NCCA play in assessment? The NCCA, through the Guidelines for Level 1 Learning Programmes and L1LP Toolkit, provides schools with sample materials showing how to assess learning outcomes in PLUs. The NCCA, through examples of Level 1 short courses, will provide schools with sample materials on the assessment of short courses. What role do schools play in assessment for the JCPA? Assessment of PLUs and short courses and the awarding of the JCPA is school based. All students who have met the requirements for achievement outlined below in relation to PLUs and short courses have their learning recognised for each curriculum component in the JCPA. How will the components be recorded in the JCPA? Achievement in both PLUs and Short Courses (Level 1) is on the basis of one of the following descriptors: Successfully Completed or Progress Achieved. What are the requirements related to each descriptor? For Successfully Completed to be recorded on the JCPA for each PLU, the student must present evidence that indicates they have accessed all and achieved the majority of learning outcomes related to the PLU. For Successfully Completed to be recorded on the JCPA for each Level 1 short course, the student must present evidence that indicates they have successfully completed the Classroom-Based Assessment related to the short course. For Progress Achieved to be recorded on the JCPA for each PLU, the student must present evidence of learning that indicates the student has benefited from accessing some learning outcomes for that PLU. For Progress Achieved to be recorded on the JCPA for each Level 1 short course, the student must present evidence of learning that demonstrates the student has benefited from accessing some learning outcomes in the short course.
