Eamonn Coghlan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the announcement yesterday by the Minister for Education and Skills of an additional 610 special needs assistants. Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit Our Lady of Good Counsel national school in Johnstown, Killiney, County Dublin. A summer course on physical literacy is being held there for primary teachers. Today I thank the Minister for Education and Skills and the Professional Development Service for Teachers for listening to me and taking on board the points for life initiative I launched in the Seanad four years ago.

As part of its well-being team, the Professional Development Service for Teachers has established a number of staff who have been assigned to upskill national teachers in the area of physical literacy. The design of the fundamental movement skills, which I have been talking about consistently for some time, is in the final stages and, once completed, they will be rolled out on a trial basis throughout 2015 and 2016. This is all part of the national physical activity plan and the Get Active framework announced in recent years. The teachers who attended this seminar this week and previous weeks were absolutely blown away by what they have learned in terms of fundamental movement skills, the foundation we build in children and how important this is. They are really encouraged and enthusiastic about going back to school.

This is only a seed that has been sown and I would like to see it blossom as quickly as possible in the school curriculum in the next few years. A number of teachers mentioned to me yesterday that the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment is responsible for writing the curriculum on numeracy and literacy in schools. The teachers I spoke to yesterday have encouraged me to ask for the Minister for Education and Skills and the NCCA to take on board now the writing of a proper curriculum for physical literacy in schools. I thank the PDST and the Minister and all those teachers who have enthusiastically taken on what we have been trying to get through the Seanad in recent years.