Written answers

Thursday, 9 September 2021

Department of Education and Skills

School Curriculum

Photo of Danny Healy-RaeDanny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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550. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will address a matter regarding greyhound racing in the curriculum (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42225/21]

Photo of Niall CollinsNiall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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556. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department deems the content of a CSPE school book (details supplied) being used in Irish schools appropriate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42287/21]

Photo of Michael Healy-RaeMichael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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566. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if an issue in relation to a school textbook (details supplied) will be addressed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42380/21]

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 550, 556 and 566 together.

The current policy within my Department is not to endorse or promote any particular programme, product or publication to support the teaching of subjects. However, there are a number of exceptions where my Department has procured textbooks or resources in order to fill a specific and urgent need. Apart from a small number of prescribed texts at post-primary, determined by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), the decisions on which textbooks, programmes and products to use in primary and post-primary schools are taken at school level.

In terms of the content the Deputy refers to, my Department does not have a role in approving, commissioning, sponsoring or endorsing any content in any educational product. The curriculum specification and prescribed syllabus materials are determined by the NCCA and it is the responsibility of each individual school to select the resources that it will use to support its implementation of the curriculum. With respect to the specific issue raised, it should be noted that the specification for Junior Cycle CSPE does not contain any reference to or mention of greyhound racing.

The knowledge and skills that students are expected to gain across all curriculum areas are published in subject specifications on www.curriculumonline.ie.

The NCCA does not advise upon the content of specific text books. Nor does the NCCA review or provide feedback on textbooks or have any role in endorsing or approving textbooks. There are no written guidelines setting out this relationship between the NCCA and educational publishers. It is a matter for publishers and their editing processes to ensure their textbooks are fit for purpose in a competitive market and for schools to choose which, if any, of these textbooks they believe will support the teaching of the curriculum. It remains open to those with concerns to contact schools directly using the information publically available on my department’s website. www.education.ie/en/find-a-school

My Department does not review or approve the content of textbooks published by private companies, as this may be seen as an indication of approval for their use in schools. Any concerns regarding material published in textbooks should be raised with the publisher themselves.

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