Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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699. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to reports that a school (details supplied) hosted a women’s safety week from 5-9 December 2022; if she will consider making this a nationally recognised week amongst all schools in Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63609/22]

Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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710. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the fact that a school (details supplied) hosted a women's safety week to make young women feel more comfortable in the community; and if this is something that she will consider supporting in the future. [63698/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 699 and 710 together.

The curriculum at primary and post-primary is for all learners, from all backgrounds, regardless of gender, socio-economic background, race or creed. It aims to foster inclusivity, equality and diversity. The education sector has a vital role to play in addressing gender-based violence, including through the updating and redevelopment of Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) and Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE). Currently, SPHE is a mandatory curriculum subject in all primary schools and in post-primary Junior Cycle. Relationships and Sexuality Education (or RSE) is required at all levels, from primary through to Senior Cycle.

Choices regarding whether to participate in externally designated events are made by individual schools and their boards of management.

As set out in the Programme for Government, this Government is committed to developing inclusive and age appropriate curricula for RSE and SPHE across primary and post-primary schools.

In giving effect to this commitment, my Department's first focus has been on the development of inclusive and age-appropriate curricula and it continues to work closely with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) in that regard.

A draft revised Junior Cycle specification was published by the NCCA and a consultation process was run from 18 July 2022 to 18 October 2022. The consultation took feedback from teachers and students as well as other interested groups and individuals. The NCCA is finalising the Junior Cycle specification for presentation to the NCCA Council for approval early in the year. The aim is that it will be implemented in schools in September.

This curriculum is a significant overhaul of the existing specification and specifically addresses issues such as pornography, healthy, unhealthy and abusive relationships, LGBTQI+ issues and sexual health.

In relation to Senior Cycle, preparation to update the SPHE/RSE specification has commenced. In October, a background paper was published for consultation on the NCCA website. The NCCA intends that the Senior Cycle draft specification itself will be available for public consultation by next summer, with a view to being ready for implementation in schools in September 2024.

Following publication of the new Primary Curriculum Framework, expected in early 2023, the NCCA will establish a development group for the curricular area of Wellbeing in primary schools.

In tandem with this work, the NCCA has created support materials for teachers published online as part of an Interim Guidance Toolkit, to support effective teaching and learning of SPHE/RSE linked to the current curriculum and to provide guidance on how SPHE/RSE may be approached in a more holistic way. The NCCA online SPHE toolkits were expanded during 2022 to include age and stage appropriate guidance for teachers on how to address issues of consent, gender and sexual discrimination and violence, and related topics within the SPHE classroom.

Pending the introduction of these updated curricula, at primary level the Stay Safe Programme is a mandatory part of the SPHE programme while at post primary level, two programmes are in place which come under the heading of Personal Safety. One of these programmes is for Junior Cycle which addresses personal safety in relationships and explores topics such as healthy and unhealthy relationships, consent and domestic gender-based and sexual violence. The other programme, which is for Senior Cycle, addresses topics such as domestic violence, sexual harassment, dating violence and rape. Both of these programmes were designed by the Professional Development Support Service (PDST) and are intended to be taught as part of the wider SPHE/RSE curriculum. Professional development support is available to teachers, directly linked to these resources.

The work underway in my Department is reflected in a number of key actions within Zero Tolerance, the third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV), which was published in June. These actions reflect the vital role of the education sector in the development and implementation of this Strategy, through the updating of the SPHE/RSE curricula; the provision of training aimed at improving teacher confidence and competence in the areas of SPHE and RSE; and the promotion of environments free from gender-based violence within our schools, and ensuring that issues such as sexual harassment and identity bullying are considered as part of my Department’s Action Plan on Bullying and Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools. My Department’s actions within the Strategy reflect its role in realising the aim of eradicating domestic, sexual and gender-based violence from society.