Mary Moran (Labour)

I welcome the Minister back to the House and thank him for taking the time to attend for this debate. I thank the Independent Senators for proposing this important motion.

The SPHE curriculum, as laid down by the Department of Education and Skills, makes impressive reading. In the primary sector, SPHE is delivered to children at all levels, from infants upwards. At secondary level, SPHE has been compulsory in the junior cycle since 2003. The curriculum lays down modules on integration, conflict, bullying, stress, emotional health, health, relationships and sexuality. These are all areas that are vital to the wellbeing of our young people. At both primary and secondary levels, the importance of healthy lifestyles, nutrition and exercise are emphasised. The implementation of SPHE in schools is assisted by a full-time service that operates on an integrated basis in collaboration between the Departments of Education and Skills and Health.

The relationships and sexuality component focuses on hygiene, puberty, reproduction, pregnancy, peer pressure and relationships. At senior level, the RSE programme includes in-depth coverage of many issues, including reproduction, puberty, sexuality and sexually transmitted infections. In 2008, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, submitted a framework for SPHE to be included as a new subject at senior cycle to cover five most important areas, namely, mental health, gender studies, substance abuse, relationships and sexuality education and physical activity and nutrition. It is unfortunate, however, that it has not been possible to implement this due to the level of resources available and the inability to provide a national programme of in-service training to support a senior cycle SPHE programme in schools.

I previously worked as a teacher and I am aware that what are termed the "points" subjects are seen as more of a priority when schools are preparing timetables. It is often subjects such as SPHE, physical education, religion and choir that are the first to be forsaken in order to offer a subject which will enable a student obtain more points in the leaving certificate. Last year, a first year who was 12 years old asked me about the percentage of students who took my subjects and who achieved A grades. She was seeking this information because she wanted to choose her subjects wisely for leaving certificate. With some students at junior cycle studying 12 subjects, we must wonder about them missing out on what is left of their childhoods.

The SPHE curriculum in secondary school seems impressive. As a parent of five teenagers, four of whom have studied SPHE at school, on paper the curriculum certainly appears impressive. As other Senators stated, we must all have been asking our children about their experiences of SPHE in recent days.