Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 428: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the supports in place within the school and education setting to support young people who may be vulnerable to developing an eating disorder or who may be living with an eating disorder; her views on same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40024/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

A curriculum in Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE) is a mandatory part of all programmes for primary students, and its implementation is also being assisted by a full-time support service. The programme begins in the infant classes and specifically addresses the need for regular exercise, and examines food and nutrition issues and the need for a balanced diet. The objective is that by fifth and sixth class, students are equipped to take responsibility for making wise food choices and adopting a healthy balanced diet, and in that context, exploring and examining the food pyramid.

The strand 'Myself' in the SPHE Curriculum is concerned with the personal development of the individual child and his/her health and well-being. The content facilitates the development of a variety of personal and self-management skills and fosters a sense of personal responsibility for their own actions and behaviour. Media education is addressed as an integral part of the strand 'Myself and the Wider World'. This aims to enable children to become aware of the purpose and nature of advertising and to explore how marketing and advertising can influence behaviour and opinion.

At post-primary level, SPHE for Junior Cycle builds on the primary SPHE Curriculum. All post-primary schools have been required to have SPHE as part of the Junior Cycle core curriculum since September 2003. In this way, all students are provided with the opportunity to develop the skills and competences to enable them to develop a framework for responsible decision-making and to promote their physical, mental and emotional health and well-being.

Personal health issues are addressed in a holistic way in the post-primary SPHE curriculum. Nutrition and physical activity are specifically addressed in the module on 'Physical Health'. Cross-curricular links with other subjects that deal with SPHE-related topics: Home Economics, PE and Junior Science, for example are encouraged. It is a requirement, however, that SPHE is allocated discrete class time.

Ongoing support to teachers and to schools in their implementation of the SPHE curricula is offered through the Primary Curriculum Support Programme and the Post-Primary SPHE Support Service. In post-primary schools the implementation of SPHE is supported through partnership between the Department of Health and Children and the Department of Education and Science together with the Health Boards. Collaborative work between the SPHE team of the Primary Curriculum Support Programme (PCSP) and Health Boards is also being undertaken.

In addition to this, the Transition Year Programme, which is available to schools on an optional basis provides a flexible menu of options designed to further support pupils' personal and social development, to provide a bridge between junior and senior cycle and to offer a broad educational experience which can aid the maturing process. As part of this, many schools offer modules in Mental Health Matters. All post-primary schools provide a guidance and counselling service for their students and they receive ex-quota hours from the Department for this provision. Qualified guidance counsellors, working in second level schools, are trained to provide counselling support to students.

While the specific occurrence of eating disorders among students constitutes an issue primarily for action by health authorities and the appropriate clinical intervention it is my experience that schools provide a caring environment within which school authorities and teachers will do their very best to ensure that, where aware, they support such students educational and wider personal needs.

The services of my Departments National Educational Psychological Service (NEPs) are in turn available to schools to provide consultation and advice to parents and teachers and liaison with health services, where appropriate.

The above is a broad outline of the significant provision that exists within the education system to address these very serious issues in our society and to provide our students with skills, understandings and supports to equip them for life in today's world.