Mary Moran (Labour)
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The delegates have covered a lot and I thank them for attending. I have a couple of questions. How effective is SPHE as a subject? Is it working? Is there feedback on the turnover of teachers who are teaching SPHE? As a teacher, I was very often told that new teachers are handed SPHE classes, and that students regard SPHE as a filler class because it is not an exam subject. It is very important that the SPHE curriculum be followed completely because the course content is excellent. It certainly does a lot to combat bullying and it allows for it to be discussed.

The Department's inspectorate evaluates the schools' anti-bullying policies through the SPHE subject inspections. Is there feedback on whether schools' anti-bullying policies are being implemented? Is there proof of this?

Given the changes to the allocation for career guidance teachers, is there provision in third level colleges to teach counselling to those doing teacher training? It is a question of a whole-school approach whereby all teachers can offer counselling, albeit not at a professional level. Students should be able to feel comfortable discussing matters with any teacher, not just the guidance counsellor. Is there teacher training in this regard, be it for primary or secondary teachers?