Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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72. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way that online safety and awareness is currently incorporated into the school curriculum at primary and post-primary school level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57484/22]

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I ask the Minister the way in which online safety and awareness is currently incorporated into the primary and post primary curriculum, please.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for her question. As Minister for Education, the online safety of our children and young people is a priority both for myself and my Department.

Within the education system, the current Social Personal and Health Education Curriculum, known as SPHE, at primary level covers the important topics of personal safety and protection, and includes online safety. This SPHE curriculum content aims to foster well-being, self-confidence and seeks to develop the child’s own sense of personal responsibility. This learning is built on at post-primary level. Here students learn how to exercise judgement, weigh up different possibilities, examine the steps and choices that guide them towards considered decision-making, begin to understand their own rights and the rights of others, and explore decision-making in all aspects of their lives including online.

The SPHE specifications, as the Deputy is aware, are currently being redeveloped by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA. The immediate focus of the work has been on creating support materials for teachers, with the NCCA online SPHE toolkits being expanded during 2022. As part of the redevelopment work, we have specifically referred to the need to ensure that the specifications are modern and up to date in respect of the online world and its impact on children.

The junior cycle draft SPHE specification was subject to a consultation process which concluded in October 2022. It is expected that the specification will be finalised by the end of this year, with implementation in schools in September 2023.

With regard to senior cycle SPHE, consultation is expected by next summer and it is expected that the curriculum will be ready for implementation in schools in September 2024. At primary level it is expected that the new curriculum will be in schools in 2025.

The Professional Development Service for Teachers, PDST, funded by my Department, offers professional learning opportunities and resources to teachers and school leaders in a range of curricular and educational areas, including supports on the prevention of online bullying and harassment.

In particular, Webwise which is part of the PDST technology in education, promotes the effective and safe use of the Internet through a sustained information and awareness strategy. It also addresses key issues such as cyberbullying, sexting, image sharing, respectful communication, social media, popular apps and much more.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for that update. We all acknowledge that we are living in a very different world now from the one we were in ten or even 15 years ago. Children nowadays have so many more pressures on them and much of that is as a result of the online developments. Online gaming and social media are now an everyday part of many teenagers, if not most teenagers, lives. While that has benefits in that we will have a technically agile workforce when these children come out of school, it also poses challenges. These are challenges in respect of cyberbullying, online safety, and the implications that this can have on people’s mental health, particularly the mental health of developing teenagers.

The Government has introduced new laws to update our statute books to reflect this new online world. We have had Coco’s law, action when it comes to revenge porn, and hate speech also. How has the Department incorporated this new reality into the curriculum? It is great to hear what the Minister is saying about SPHE and the move to incorporate this into the next two, three or four years, if one is talking about primary school, but I am wondering about what is happening now in schools across the country to protect our children online?

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I completely agree with the Deputy. We are living in a much-changed and very different world now and it is important that we have an agile workforce. It is also important that we have students who are well informed and capable of living safely in this world.

I want to be clear that there are a number of initiatives under way, while we are talking about the redevelopment of the primary school curriculum, and equally so of SPHE at post-primary level. Significant resources in the interim are being made available to our staff specifically in respect of cyber bullying and online safety. Equally the PDST has a very strong continuing professional development, CPD, roll-out into our schools to support our staff. We also have the digital strategy for our schools which sets out the policy of the Department of Education on the effective use of digital technologies and teaching learning and assessment. The key action under the strategy is the promotion of the responsible and ethical use of the Internet and related technologies. That all feeds into practice within our schools.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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It is fantastic to see that the responsible and ethical use of technology is very much at the core of this because that is what we want young people to do, which is to behave responsibly online towards their peers and, above all else, to stay safe.

I am aware that the Minister mentioned Webwise in her initial contribution and I have had many dealings with them. They are one of many organisations which provides fantastic resources which are there for students and teachers, but are also there for parents. I encourage parents to have a look at the online resources that are there. Some of the social media companies themselves offer workshops, training and explanations also. I held a number of events in my own constituency in Clondalkin, Lucan and in Rathcoole a number of years ago about cybersafety, online gaming and social media. It was very much an eye-opener to hear how much some parents knew and how other parents were very much struggling to keep up. All of us here, as public representatives, should be there to help our parents to keep up, even when it comes to the dictionary and the new words that children are using online now. It is very much to be aware and to be there to support children through this. I thank the Minister very much.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the Deputy’s interest in this area and indeed her shining a light on it. It behoves us to acknowledge the world in which we live today. Significant progress has been made by the Department. There is also a recognition that more needs to be done in this space and it is for that reason there is the review of the programmes we deliver. In the interim, we have made the toolkits available, and we have, as the Deputy has referred to, supports such as Webwise. We also have our PDST, which is specifically supporting our staff, the toolkits that are available online. The whole impetus for all of this is to ensure we can have respectful online communications through the development of digital literacy, as the Deputy has said, which is very important. We want our young people to have digital literacy, but also that they would be cognisant and mindful of the need for online safety and the safe and ethical use of all digital technologies, which is at the core of all we seek to achieve.