TBU: Welcome parents/guardians 2019/20
| permission_slips_ty_sept_2019.pdf |
General information on TY
What is Transition Year?
A one year programme taken after the Junior Certificate and before the Leaving Certificate Programme.
What's the purpose of the Transition Year programme?
Who decides on the Transition Year programme?
Each school devises its own TY programme. The teaching staff draws up a programme in the light of the Transition Year Guidelines and the Resource Material published by the Department of Education and Science. They also consider students’ needs, parents’ views, employers and the wider interests of the local community. Each year the programme should be evaluated, with inputs from all these parties, and revised by the teaching staff.
What subjects are studied?
This varies from school to school but in every school students follow a timetable as they do in other years. Most programmes work towards getting a balance between some continuation of essential core subjects, a tasting and sampling of other subjects, a variety of distinctive courses designed to broaden students’ horizons and some modules and activities specifically aimed at promoting the maturity that is central to the whole Transition Year ideal.
Even if all these programmes are different, surely there are some features common to the programme in a lot of schools?
Many schools offer modules, short courses on particular topics. Most schools offer a work experience programme. Mini-company, where students set up and operate a real business, is a popular way of learning. The use of visiting speakers as well as trips beyond the classroom are features of many programmes. Project work, where students undertake independent research, usually more extensive than traditional ‘homework’, is also commoon to many programmes.
What about exams?
Assessment is a key part of any worthwhile learning programme. Transition Year is an opportunity to move beyond the narrow focus of end-of-year, written exams. The emphasis is on varied and on-going assessment with students themselves becoming involved in diagnosing their own learning strengths and weaknesses. Project work, portfolio work and exhibitions of students’ work are also encouraged. Each individual school makes its own arrangements for reporting to parents and for the certifications of students who complete a TY programme.
Can the Transition Year be part of a Three - Year Leaving Cert programme?
The Transition Year programme is a school-designed, distinctive programme and does not constitute year one of a three-year Leaving Certificate. TY is part of the Senior Cycle experience and lays a solid foundation for Leaving Certificate studies. TY programmes should challenge students intellectually, give them an orientation to the world of work and cater for the development of their personal and social awareness. Research has shown that students who take TY achieve, on average, higher points in the Leaving Certificate exam; this is perhaps due to the development of their general study skills as well as the skills required for each individual subject.
Is Transition Year available to all students?
Currently over 30,000 young people are following a Transition Year programme in approx. 560 schools. Some schools offer TYP to all students who have finished the Junior Certificate. In other schools TYP is optional.
Is Transition Year suited to all students?
With its emphasis on development and maturity, all young people can benefit from the programme. Transition Year, in particular, can allow for the development of an individual’s multiple intelligences-linguistic, logico-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalist. The Transition Year programme can also develop key skills for the 21st century such as the three Ts: thinking, teamwork and technology.
How are parents involved?
Parents’ understanding of and support for student learning in TY is a key factor in a successful Transition Year experience. Most schools arrange sessions for parents of 3rd year students to discuss the Transition Year programme. Parents should attend and contribute. Some parents make their particular expertise available to the school during the TYP. Parents should be involved also in the school’s evaluation of its programme. Parents should encourage their sons and daughters to avail of the numerous opportunities offered by this unique programme.
A one year programme taken after the Junior Certificate and before the Leaving Certificate Programme.
What's the purpose of the Transition Year programme?
- To promote maturity
- Maturity in studies by making students more self-directed learners through the development of general, technical and academic skills
- Maturity in relation to work and careers by developing work-related skills
- Personal maturity by providing opportunities to develop communication skills, self-confidence and a sense of responsibility
- Social maturity by developing greater ‘people’ skills and more awareness of the world outside school
- Maturity that will help the student make a more informed choice of subject for their Leaving Certificate studies
Who decides on the Transition Year programme?
Each school devises its own TY programme. The teaching staff draws up a programme in the light of the Transition Year Guidelines and the Resource Material published by the Department of Education and Science. They also consider students’ needs, parents’ views, employers and the wider interests of the local community. Each year the programme should be evaluated, with inputs from all these parties, and revised by the teaching staff.
What subjects are studied?
This varies from school to school but in every school students follow a timetable as they do in other years. Most programmes work towards getting a balance between some continuation of essential core subjects, a tasting and sampling of other subjects, a variety of distinctive courses designed to broaden students’ horizons and some modules and activities specifically aimed at promoting the maturity that is central to the whole Transition Year ideal.
Even if all these programmes are different, surely there are some features common to the programme in a lot of schools?
Many schools offer modules, short courses on particular topics. Most schools offer a work experience programme. Mini-company, where students set up and operate a real business, is a popular way of learning. The use of visiting speakers as well as trips beyond the classroom are features of many programmes. Project work, where students undertake independent research, usually more extensive than traditional ‘homework’, is also commoon to many programmes.
What about exams?
Assessment is a key part of any worthwhile learning programme. Transition Year is an opportunity to move beyond the narrow focus of end-of-year, written exams. The emphasis is on varied and on-going assessment with students themselves becoming involved in diagnosing their own learning strengths and weaknesses. Project work, portfolio work and exhibitions of students’ work are also encouraged. Each individual school makes its own arrangements for reporting to parents and for the certifications of students who complete a TY programme.
Can the Transition Year be part of a Three - Year Leaving Cert programme?
The Transition Year programme is a school-designed, distinctive programme and does not constitute year one of a three-year Leaving Certificate. TY is part of the Senior Cycle experience and lays a solid foundation for Leaving Certificate studies. TY programmes should challenge students intellectually, give them an orientation to the world of work and cater for the development of their personal and social awareness. Research has shown that students who take TY achieve, on average, higher points in the Leaving Certificate exam; this is perhaps due to the development of their general study skills as well as the skills required for each individual subject.
Is Transition Year available to all students?
Currently over 30,000 young people are following a Transition Year programme in approx. 560 schools. Some schools offer TYP to all students who have finished the Junior Certificate. In other schools TYP is optional.
Is Transition Year suited to all students?
With its emphasis on development and maturity, all young people can benefit from the programme. Transition Year, in particular, can allow for the development of an individual’s multiple intelligences-linguistic, logico-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalist. The Transition Year programme can also develop key skills for the 21st century such as the three Ts: thinking, teamwork and technology.
How are parents involved?
Parents’ understanding of and support for student learning in TY is a key factor in a successful Transition Year experience. Most schools arrange sessions for parents of 3rd year students to discuss the Transition Year programme. Parents should attend and contribute. Some parents make their particular expertise available to the school during the TYP. Parents should be involved also in the school’s evaluation of its programme. Parents should encourage their sons and daughters to avail of the numerous opportunities offered by this unique programme.
TY Tips for parents/guardians
16 points for parents regarding typ
1 Transition Year is focused on promoting maturity. It recognises that 15-16 year olds are at a crucial stage on the pathway from childhood dependence towards adult independence. A Transition Year Programme (TYP) allows young people to become more aware of themselves and of the world around them. Decision-making can be more informed and ambitions more focused.
2 The emphasis is on developing skills rather than on simply remembering facts. Such skills - academic, technical and general - stand to people for life. Skills in maths, languages and study are especially relevant for a Leaving Certificate programme.
3 Young people can gain realistic insights into adult and working life. A ‘work experience’ placement of a week or two, where employers co-operate with schools in allowing students to sample a workplace environment at first hand, has been a major milestone on many young people’s path to maturity.
4 Students can develop more independent study habits. The emphasis is on on-going assessment rather than on a terminal exam. Project work, for example, where a student has to plan and execute a piece of work over a number of days or weeks, can promote self-regulated learning. Rather than have students lose any study habits, TYP can lay a solid base for learning in a more adult, responsible way.
5 The year lays a solid foundation for a Leaving Certificate programme. At the end of a TYP these young people can be better equipped, better motivated and more clearly focused than their counterparts who did not have the benefit of the year. This foundation can also be a solid base for a more mature and consistent approach to third-level studies after the Leaving Certificate.
6 Transition Year is not dominated by an exam at the end of the course. Therefore, there is space and opportunity for each school to concentrate on aspects of learning which don’t always feature on either the Junior or Leaving Certificate courses. Qualities which might not otherwise flourish are often developed. Individuality is respected and fostered.
7 TYP offers young people a broader variety of topics and subjects. For example, some schools currently include outdoor pursuits, health education, media studies, computer studies, tourism awareness, as well as specialised language, scientific and aesthetic modules.
8 TYP gets students and teachers out of the classroom, into other learning environments. Trips to galleries, workplaces, museums, theatres and other stimulating locations feature in many programmes. Some schools also offer opportunities for foreign travel, though many schools are careful not to add unnecessary additional costs when offering a TYP.
9 Transition Year places a heavy emphasis on learning from experience. This recognition of the validity of young people’s own lived experience means that they are continually challenged to make sense of their own experiences. Studying aspects of popular culture such as fashion, advertising, popular music, cinema, etc. can increase the motivation for learning and add to the growth of self-esteem.
10 Students who have missed out on parts of the Junior Certificate course can use Transition Year to catch up or fill in gaps in their learning before starting a Leaving Certificate programme. This can be especially relevant in maths and languages.
11 Young people can learn the skills of dealing with people in practical ways. There can be a lot of contact with adults outside the school. Oral communication skills, so relevant to all aspects of living and working, are highlighted. Many teachers identify the growth of young people’s confidence and self-esteem through Transition Year Programmes as the key benefit of the year.
12 Attention to careers, third-level courses, the realities of employment and unemployment are central concerns in Transition Year. Work experience or work simulation or work shadowing features on every programme. By the end of a Transition Year programme young people have often changed their career hopes and plans quite radically from the ones they had twelve months earlier.
13 Students can follow and develop special interests. These might be sporting, leisure, academic or social interests. The flexibility offered by Transition Year means it can be an ideal opportunity for teenagers to respond to challenges such as Gaisce (The President’s Award Scheme) and the Young Scientist of the Year competition.
14 Transition Year links schools more directly with their immediate communities. Students can become involved in activities such as voluntary work, community service or local surveys. The community resources of individual parents and other people are also being imaginatively integrated into many TY programmes.
15 Each school is free to design its programme to meet the needs of its own students. This promotes enterprise and professional development among teachers. That spirit of enterprise can be passed on to the young people in very practical ways. A mini-company, where TYP students actually set up their own business enterprise, is just one example of an imaginative innovation which many teachers find successful.
16 Transition Year can encourage more mature relationships between parents and their children. Many parents remark that they have been changed through their sons’ or daughters’ experiences of a TY programme. At the end of a day’s work experience or a particularly stimulating field trip, parents are often the ones best positioned to listen. Frequently, the biggest lessons learned by the young person are about himself or herself. Again, with project work or other learning strategies used in TYP, parents can feel more centrally involved in the growing-up and learning process. Thus, Transition Year also provides special opportunities for parents!
Transition Year - Key Points
● Maturity ● Directed to adult and working life ● Solid foundation for Leaving Certificate
● Outside the classroom ● “Catch-up” chances ● Builds confidence and self-esteem
● Career focus ● Skills development ● Study skills
● Personality development ● Variety ● Experience is valued
● Special interest ● Community links ● Promotes enterprise ● Parental involvement
2 The emphasis is on developing skills rather than on simply remembering facts. Such skills - academic, technical and general - stand to people for life. Skills in maths, languages and study are especially relevant for a Leaving Certificate programme.
3 Young people can gain realistic insights into adult and working life. A ‘work experience’ placement of a week or two, where employers co-operate with schools in allowing students to sample a workplace environment at first hand, has been a major milestone on many young people’s path to maturity.
4 Students can develop more independent study habits. The emphasis is on on-going assessment rather than on a terminal exam. Project work, for example, where a student has to plan and execute a piece of work over a number of days or weeks, can promote self-regulated learning. Rather than have students lose any study habits, TYP can lay a solid base for learning in a more adult, responsible way.
5 The year lays a solid foundation for a Leaving Certificate programme. At the end of a TYP these young people can be better equipped, better motivated and more clearly focused than their counterparts who did not have the benefit of the year. This foundation can also be a solid base for a more mature and consistent approach to third-level studies after the Leaving Certificate.
6 Transition Year is not dominated by an exam at the end of the course. Therefore, there is space and opportunity for each school to concentrate on aspects of learning which don’t always feature on either the Junior or Leaving Certificate courses. Qualities which might not otherwise flourish are often developed. Individuality is respected and fostered.
7 TYP offers young people a broader variety of topics and subjects. For example, some schools currently include outdoor pursuits, health education, media studies, computer studies, tourism awareness, as well as specialised language, scientific and aesthetic modules.
8 TYP gets students and teachers out of the classroom, into other learning environments. Trips to galleries, workplaces, museums, theatres and other stimulating locations feature in many programmes. Some schools also offer opportunities for foreign travel, though many schools are careful not to add unnecessary additional costs when offering a TYP.
9 Transition Year places a heavy emphasis on learning from experience. This recognition of the validity of young people’s own lived experience means that they are continually challenged to make sense of their own experiences. Studying aspects of popular culture such as fashion, advertising, popular music, cinema, etc. can increase the motivation for learning and add to the growth of self-esteem.
10 Students who have missed out on parts of the Junior Certificate course can use Transition Year to catch up or fill in gaps in their learning before starting a Leaving Certificate programme. This can be especially relevant in maths and languages.
11 Young people can learn the skills of dealing with people in practical ways. There can be a lot of contact with adults outside the school. Oral communication skills, so relevant to all aspects of living and working, are highlighted. Many teachers identify the growth of young people’s confidence and self-esteem through Transition Year Programmes as the key benefit of the year.
12 Attention to careers, third-level courses, the realities of employment and unemployment are central concerns in Transition Year. Work experience or work simulation or work shadowing features on every programme. By the end of a Transition Year programme young people have often changed their career hopes and plans quite radically from the ones they had twelve months earlier.
13 Students can follow and develop special interests. These might be sporting, leisure, academic or social interests. The flexibility offered by Transition Year means it can be an ideal opportunity for teenagers to respond to challenges such as Gaisce (The President’s Award Scheme) and the Young Scientist of the Year competition.
14 Transition Year links schools more directly with their immediate communities. Students can become involved in activities such as voluntary work, community service or local surveys. The community resources of individual parents and other people are also being imaginatively integrated into many TY programmes.
15 Each school is free to design its programme to meet the needs of its own students. This promotes enterprise and professional development among teachers. That spirit of enterprise can be passed on to the young people in very practical ways. A mini-company, where TYP students actually set up their own business enterprise, is just one example of an imaginative innovation which many teachers find successful.
16 Transition Year can encourage more mature relationships between parents and their children. Many parents remark that they have been changed through their sons’ or daughters’ experiences of a TY programme. At the end of a day’s work experience or a particularly stimulating field trip, parents are often the ones best positioned to listen. Frequently, the biggest lessons learned by the young person are about himself or herself. Again, with project work or other learning strategies used in TYP, parents can feel more centrally involved in the growing-up and learning process. Thus, Transition Year also provides special opportunities for parents!
Transition Year - Key Points
● Maturity ● Directed to adult and working life ● Solid foundation for Leaving Certificate
● Outside the classroom ● “Catch-up” chances ● Builds confidence and self-esteem
● Career focus ● Skills development ● Study skills
● Personality development ● Variety ● Experience is valued
● Special interest ● Community links ● Promotes enterprise ● Parental involvement
Contact form
If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to make contact via the contact form below
or by email: mrwalshe@lecheilesecondaryschool.ie
or by email: mrwalshe@lecheilesecondaryschool.ie
