The review of senior cycle education in Ireland (since 2002) has presented many areas of interest. One of the keystones of the recommendations (NCCA 2005) is the embedding of five key skills in all areas of the senior cycle curriculum. Consultation with parents, students and teachers (NCCA, 2003) had revealed that 'pressures of examinations led to students in such classrooms spending considerable amounts of time in note-taking, memorisation and text-book based work' The challenge for the project team was to ensure that embedding the skills does not result in their being 'buried'. This paper presents an ongoing research project (2006 - 2007) conducted by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA, Dublin) to explore the potential for key skills to impact on the teaching and learning practice in the senior cycle classroom through reflective practice by the teachers involved.The objectives of the study wereo to facilitate teachers reflect on how key skills can be incorporated into the teaching and learning in particular subjects and to evaluate the impact of the process on classroom practice o to identify ways in which the formal curriculum and assessment can facilitate the development of the skills o to identify challenges and barriers to the development of the skills o to inform curriculum development and advice on professional development ofteachers. The study consists of action research with teachers of senior cycle students (16-18 years old). Teachers examined and reflected on their teaching practice and provided data on their reflections in relation to their planning and teaching, with the five key skills as the focus of the work. Twenty five teachers from thirteen schools agreed to participate in exploring how key skills might be embedded within the teaching of their subjects. Subjects include Mathematics, Biology, English, Irish and Modern Languages. Teachers in the network met periodically throughout the study to share ideas and as such participated in the design of the tools and research instruments used. The findings of the study are particularly rich in qualitative data that supports the value of the involvement of the practitioners in the design, set-up and implementation of the research study. This data includes reflections from teachers, their colleagues and their students.The project is on-going and as such the points below represent preliminary findingso The primary outcome of the work has been teachers' attitudes to the value of reflecting on their current practice and how that is guiding their teaching practice. ' I needed to re-evaluate what I was doing in class and how (or if) students where learning'. o Teachers found that fostering the key skills required more planning time as one had to consider not only the subject matter but also the skills that might be fostered. While acknowledging that there was more work involved in planning classes a key skills perspective it was considered 'worthwhile as an effort has to be made to make classes more interesting and student-friendly'.o Teachers' noted that making the link between what we teach and how we teach is vitally important if key skills are to be developed. Teachers agreed that to effectively develop the key skills requires less 'chalk and talk' and more active and cooperative learning methods. They agreed that active learning leads to greater student engagement and to more effective learning especially for weaker students. 'I found that learning is definitely more effective if you implement these skills and testing the students has verified this is true.' o A further interesting impact of this project is the development of a more collaborative relationship between teacher and student and more student autonomy.o Many of the participants reported a potential in this work to contribute to a more democratic classroom and a classroom culture in which there is mutual respect and genuine collaboration (both between teacher and students and between students themselves). They also comment on the importance of a classroom culture in which risks can be taken and mistakes are seen as valuable sources of learning. ' It made me realise the importance of having a positive and respectful atmosphere in classroom. Also how important it is for students to experience success and to be confident enough to express themselves and make mistakes.' LeMetais, J. 2003 International Developments in Upper Secondary Education. Context, provision, and issues. Inca thematic study No 8. Dublin NCCA/NFER NCCA. 2002 Developing Senior Cycle Education: Consultative Paper on Issues and Options. Dublin:NCCA NCCA. 2003. Developing Senior Cycle Education.: Report on the Consultative Process. Dublin. NCCA NCCA. 2005. Proposals for the Future Development of Senior Cycle Education in Ireland. Dublin: NCCA