Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir fá choinne an seans labhairt faoin ábhar seo inniu. Bhí mé fíorbhuíoch as an chuireadh agus as an fháilte a fuair mé i gContae Luimnigh coicís ó shin. Táim sásta leis an dul chun cinn agus leis an sárobair atá ag dul ar aghaidh sa réigiún sna bunscoileanna, meánscoileanna agus ollscoileanna uilig. I thank the Senator for the very warm welcome to Limerick. It was eye-opening to see the level of ambition and work that is going on at both primary and secondary levels, as well as in the third level sector. There is a great impact from the regional approach.

I thank the Senator for raising this issue and allowing me to address it. I am pleased to advise the House that the primary curriculum is currently being redeveloped. As part of this, a paper on coding in the primary curriculum will be submitted to my Department in quarter 2 this year by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment to inform the development of the primary curriculum as a whole, as well as the computational thinking aspect of the new primary mathematics curriculum.A draft overview of the redeveloped primary curriculum will be published in the autumn and will form the basis for extensive further consultation, providing an opportunity to input views and concerns on what the curriculum should contain.

Senators may be aware that under the current primary curriculum, social, personal and health education, SPHE, is the context in which social and emotional learning is addressed. The strand unit of media education at primary level enables pupils to become aware of and learn about various forms of communication, including digital communication, and to think critically about them.

My Department does not promote or advocate the use of social media in schools, nor does it endorse any one educational platform. Such decisions are taken by the board of management of a school which has ultimate responsibility for the direct governance of a school, including the safeguarding of students' welfare. The Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020, however, sets out my Department's policy on the effective use of digital technologies in teaching, learning and assessment. A key action of the strategy is the promotion of the responsible and ethical use of the Internet and related technologies.

In addition, there are a number of resources and supports available to schools. The action plan on bullying focuses on support for schools, teacher training, research and awareness raising and aims to ensure that all forms of bullying, including cyberbullying, are addressed. Awareness on Internet safety for schools is carried out by the Professional Development Service for Teachers, otherwise known as PDST, technology in education in partnership with the safer Internet Ireland project. Webwise, an Internet safety initiative co-funded by my Department and operated by the PDST technology in education, promotes the autonomous, effective and safer use of the Internet by young people through a sustained information and awareness strategy that targets parents, teachers and children with consistent and relevant messages, including guidance on acceptable usage in schools.

A range of resources has been developed which helps teachers integrate Internet safety into teaching and learning in their schools. Last month, the HTML Heroes resource was launched, which aims to assist and support educators when teaching children aged between seven and ten years about the safe and responsible use of the Internet, including social media. PDST technology in education also provides continuing professional development, CPD, and resources that help teachers integrate the safe and ethical use of the Internet into teaching and learning.

Under the broadband for schools programme, schools are provided with a portfolio of network services, including the security and filtering of content. The Government Action Plan for Online Safety 2018-2019 is being implemented by a sponsors' group under the chair of the Department of Education and Skills. Yesterday, my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Richard Bruton, announced his intention to bring forward an online safety Bill, which will set out how we can ensure the further safety of children online. The legislation will involve, for the first time, setting a clear expectation for service providers to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of the users of their service.