Finn Valley College offers many different learning programmes to cater for the varied learning needs of our students. As well as the new Junior Cycle, Leaving Certificate and Leaving Certificate Applied programmes, the school also offers the Junior Certificate Schools Programme and the Level 2 Learning Programme.
Junior Cycle
Our students begin Junior Cycle in year one with an intensive eight week induction module. Finn Valley College offers a broad range of learning experiences through the following subjects approved for junior cycle students: Irish, English, Mathematics, History, CSPE (Civic, Social and Political Education), Spanish, Science, Home Economics, Visual Art, Materials Technology (Wood), Metalwork, Technical Graphics, Business Studies, SPHE (Social, Personal and Health Education), Religious Education, Physical Education and Computer Studies (ICT). Students also study 2 short courses.
We set out to enable students to discover where their talents, gifts and aptitudes lie during their first few months at secondary school before making their subject choices for the Junior Certificate. In Second and Third Years, our students take nine examination subjects, as well as four non-examination subjects (Religion, ICT, PE & SPHE).
Leaving Certificate
All of our students take Irish, English and Mathematics. Four other subjects are chosen from Business Studies, Physics, Biology, French, Spanish, Home Economics, Construction Studies and Engineering. Students also take the following non-examination subjects: Career Guidance, SPHE, ICT, Religious Education and Physical Education.
Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP). An increasing number of students are taking the LCVP. This is a normal Leaving Certificate programme, which has been enhanced by the addition of certain new elements, which make it more focused on preparation for a rapidly changing world of work. Students take three Link Modules – Enterprise Education, Preparation for Work and Work Experience.
Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA)
The Leaving Certificate Applied is a distinct, self-contained two-year programme aimed at preparing students for adult and working life. The programme puts an emphasis on forms of achievement and excellence, which the established Leaving Certificate has not recognised in the past. The programme was introduced to recognise the talents of all students and provide opportunities for development in terms of responsibility, self-esteem and self-knowledge. It is an innovative programme in the way students learn, in what they learn and in the way their achievements are assessed.
The Leaving Certificate Applied is intended to meet the needs of those students who are not adequately catered for by other Leaving Certificate programmes or who choose not to opt for such programmes. The advantage of Leaving Certificate Applied is that it focuses on the talents of each individual student and helps students apply what they learn in the real world. The two-year programme consists of four half-year blocks called Sessions and achievements are credited in each of these Sessions. Students who successfully complete the programme will receive a Leaving Certificate from the State Examinations Commission. All credits awarded will be recorded on the Leaving Certificate Applied parchment.
One of the key focus areas of the programme is attendance. Attendance will be a key requirement in the workplace and the Department of Education has made attendance a key component of the Leaving Certificate Applied to reflect this and prepare students. Students must attend 90% of the classes for each subject to get the credits of offer for that subject.
The Junior Certificate Schools Programme (JCSP)
The Junior Certificate School Programme is based on the concept that all young people are capable of real success in school and that they can have a positive experience of school if the conditions are favourable. The Programme is a national Department of Education and Science Programme within the Junior Certificate aimed at students who may leave school early.
Every year a small group of students leave school, some of them without attempting any of the State examinations. For many of these young people, their experience of school has been one of failure and alienation.
The Junior Certificate School Programme has been designed to ensure that these young people can benefit from their time in school and enjoy the experience of improvement and success. It sets out to ensure that each individual student in the Programme experiences success and progression and to make the experience of school relevant and accessible to those young people who find it difficult to cope with the school system. It does this by providing a curriculum framework which will assist schools and individual teachers in adopting a student-centred approach to the Junior Certificate specifically aimed at those young people who show signs of school failure or early leaving.
It is not an alternative to the Junior Certificate but a support framework to it. It aims to ensure that all participating students sit the same Junior Certificate examination as their peers in as many subjects as they can succeed in. Students leave school for all kinds of reasons and so the framework is flexible to meet those different needs.
Level 1 and Level 2 Learning Programme
This programme is designed for students with particular educational needs and learning disabilities in the higher functioning moderate and low functioning mild categories, who will have their own Individual Education Plans (IEPs). The Level 1 and Level 2 Learning Programmes are built around Priority Learning Units that develop the skills of the students involved. The five PLUs are Communication and literacy, Numeracy, Personal care, Living in a Community and Preparing for work.
Fostering awareness in the student of the interdependence of these areas is an integral element of personal growth and contributes significantly to the ultimate aim of lifelong learning.
Transition Year
Transition Year is an optional, one year, school-based programme between Junior and Senior Cycle. TY facilitates a smooth transition from the very dependent learning of the Junior Cycle to the independent, more self-directed learning required for Senior Cycle.
Pupils study traditional core subjects alongside engaging in collaborative projects. They also develop leadership skills through workshops and guest speaker events and gain work experience in the community, free from the pressures of formal exams.
A certificate of completion is awarded to each pupil who meets the requirements of the course: this includes a reflective Digital Portfolio, engagement with the course, attendance and meaningful participation. Certified courses are also explored, giving pupils practical experience suited to the world of work and to prepare them for Senior Cycle.
From cooking to kayaking, leadership development to local history, TY at Finn Valley College has much to offer the development of our pupils in the ethos and tradition of all Donegal ETB schools.
