Written answers

Wednesday, 3 March 2021

Department of Education and Skills

School Curriculum

Photo of Donnchadh Ó LaoghaireDonnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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460. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the details of the actions she is taking to progress the reform of relationship and sexuality education in schools. [11623/21]

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma 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.

In April 2018, then Minister for Education and Skills Mr. Richard Bruton asked the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to undertake a major review of RSE in schools across all stages of education to ensure that it is fit for purpose and meets the needs of young people today in modern Ireland.

The NCCA were asked to look at a number of specific issues in respect of RSE and the curriculum, in particular the importance of consent and what it means. Other areas looked at included, but were not limited to: developments in relation to contraception; healthy, positive, sexual expression and relationships; safe use of the Internet; the role of school ethos: and, LGBTQ+ matters.

The Report on the Review of Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in primary and post-primary schools was published by the NCCA on 11 of December, 2019.

As part of the review of RSE an extensive consultation occurred. Feedback was facilitated through an online survey, written submissions, round-table meetings and large events. Adjustments were made to the final report to reflect a stronger focus on issues that stakeholders wished to see highlighted, such as gender discrimination, sexual violence and pornography.

The purpose of the review was to examine the current experience of RSE within schools, the approach to teaching and learning, supports needed, and what is needed to improve RSE. It was not within the remit of the review or the Report to set out in detail what students should learn about in an updated RSE curriculum. Such considerations will be part of the work arising from the NCCA Report. The work in redeveloping and updating the curriculum is being undertaken within the curriculum development structures in the NCCA and there will be opportunities for public and stakeholder engagement in this process.

The Report does not set out an exhaustive list of the topics that will be included in any future SPHE/RSE curriculum or details on how any specific topic might be taught or contextualised. Important issues such as Consent need to be taught within a wider context of particular issues and it is the view of the NCCA that guidance materials and professional development for teachers are needed to create this wider understanding of what is involved.

In this context, the NCCA is currently working to develop updated guidance materials for the teaching of SPHE/RSE (which will take the form of an online SPHE/RSE toolkit), and this will also include a repository of SPHE/RSE teaching resources.

Pending commencement later in 2020 of a comprehensive update of the curriculum, the NCCA were initially asked to begin work in January 2020 on interim guidelines to support the teaching of SPHE/RSE in schools, The NCCA is currently developing this interim guidance for SPHE and RSE across primary and post-primary levels. These support materials will be made available in the form of an online toolkit. They will provide guidance on how the current curriculum can be approached in a more holistic way. The materials involved are being brought to the NCCA development groups from October 2020 onwards on an ongoing basis. It is anticipated that initial guidance materials will be supplemented incrementally during 2021.

The NCCA has worked collaboratively with the teacher professional development support services and other relevant groups in completing an audit of current teaching and learning resources relevant to SPHE/RSE and compiled a comprehensive resource list which will be published as part of the online toolkit for SPHE/RSE. This will provide a single, online access point for up-to-date resources.

Other recommendations in the report in relation to Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) regarding SPHE and RSE are being reviewed by my Department with a view to putting enhanced supports in place.

Work on updating or developing new specifications for SPHE/RSE commences in the NCCA in 2021, beginning with a focus on Junior Cycle. This work will include engagement with all the key education stakeholders as well as a further process of public consultation before any new curriculum specifications are finalised. The NCCA curriculum development process includes extensive stakeholder consultation. The development of an updated RSE/SPHE curriculum will take approximately 12-18 months

The NCCA has established two development groups, one for primary and one for post-primary, to oversee the work in this area and support the development of guidance material for schools. These groups were unable to commence their work over recent months due to the COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings. However, the NCCA began convening ongoing meetings with these groups as of October 2020 which allows them to review significant work that has been progressed. Both the primary and post primary SPHE/RSE Development Groups have been meeting successfully via Zoom on a monthly basis since the groups were convened in October.

The immediate focus of the work in on creating support materials for teachers for publication online as part of the Interim Guidance Toolkit. The toolkit's purpose is to support effective teaching and learning of SPHE/RSE linked to the current curriculum. This work is progressing well and the first section of the toolkit (a portal repository of teaching and learning resources linked to the Primary SPHE Curriculum, the SPHE JC Short Course and SC SPHE Framework) is now published.

Further sections will be added over the coming weeks/months. To visit the primary toolkit go to this link .

To visit the junior cycle toolkit go to this link .

To visit the senior cycle toolkit go to this link .

In tandem with the development of the online Toolkit, preparation for redeveloping and updating the SPHE curriculum has begun, with an initial focus on Junior Cycle. To support this work NCCA are inviting teachers to give feedback on their experience of teaching the JC SPHE short course specifically. The feedback from teachers and the support services working with them will inform the work of the post primary development group in drafting an updated Junior Cycle SPHE specification. This draft will be available for consultation early in 2022.

Research into the provision of SPHE/RSE across 5 countries/jurisdictions has been completed. This provides a useful overview of the learning in relationships and sexuality education that children and young people encounter across primary and post-primary schooling in a range of countries and will help inform the NCCA's curriculum development work in this area. The report is now being finalised and will be published by Easter 2021.

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