Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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37. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the considerations being made by his Department with respect to the RSE curriculum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19400/20]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government states that this Government will develop inclusive and age appropriate curricula for Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) and Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) across primary and post-primary schools. This is a vital and sensitive area of education.

This work will be progressed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). It will draw on the council's report on RSE in primary and post-primary schools which was published in December 2019.  The review was commissioned by my predecessor Richard Bruton TD.

The NCCA report is based on commissioned research and extensive public consultation. It made a number of recommendations, including primarily the development of a single integrated curriculum for RSE and Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) in schools. Work on redeveloping the new specifications for SPHE and RSE will commence next year and will include engagement with all the key education stakeholders, as well as a further process of public consultation before the new curriculum is finalised.  

The Council is currently developing interim guidance material for SPHE and RSE across primary and post-primary levels. These support materials will be made available in the form of a user-friendly online toolkit. It is expected that these will be ready towards the end of this year and will be added to incrementally. They will provide guidance on how the current curriculum can be approached in a more holistic way.