Ms Clare Griffin:

The social, personal and health education, SPHE, curriculum is taught on a mandatory basis at primary and up to junior cycle. Commencing in junior infants, the children learn through a number of strand units. The children are taught certain themes, vocabulary and language relevant to this discussion on a spiral basis, year after year, every week. The programme runs across themes such as "Taking care of my body", "Growing and changing", "Safety and protection", "Making decisions", "Myself and my family", "My friends and other people", and "Relating to others". It is a foundational approach. It sets the foundation for themes and topics which the children will explore at a more advanced level in an age-appropriate manner as needs arise. We also have to ensure that what the children are learning is relevant to the stage of life they are at. At certain stages it will be very important for them to understand that their bodies are changing, for example, puberty is explored at the senior level of primary school. That is the learning they need at that time and it is age-appropriate to them.