Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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242. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the plans she has to support children who may feel othered because they will be removed from classes that teach gender identity ideology; and if she will provide alternative teaching for children who are removed from these classes to ensure they do not receive less education because of their adherence to the scientific understanding of gender identity. [10703/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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In accordance with Section 30 of the Education Act, 1998, parents have a right to have their children not attend instruction in any subject which is contrary to the conscience of the parents. The manner in which any schools ensures that the right of a student not to attend instruction in any subject which is contrary to the conscience of the parents is a matter for the school concerned. The school must determine the particular arrangements which are most appropriate in its individual circumstances having regard to local issues such as available space, supervision requirements and how the school concerned organises classes etc.

As Minister, I am committed to inclusive education for all. My Department is fully committed to creating safe and supportive environments in schools, that are welcoming and inclusive for every student. My Department’s Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice (2019) promotes the provision of a whole-school approach to supporting wellbeing, an approach that has been found internationally to produce a wide range of educational and social benefits for individual children and young people, including increased inclusion, greater social cohesion, increased social capital and improvements to mental health.  To support schools in this work the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) provides training to schools to ensure that the promotion of wellbeing is at the core of the ethos of every school.

NEPS has also developed training for school staff on the promotion of wellbeing and resilience in schools. If a school has concerns about a student, the school may request the involvement of the NEPS psychologist.  The role of a NEPS Educational Psychologist is to support the wellbeing, inclusion and participation of all students in schools through the application of psychological theory and practice.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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243. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the teaching of gender identity ideology will be limited to specific classes, or if it will be integrated across a number of subjects or delivered across the whole of the curriculum; if it is the latter two, how children will be able to absent themselves from gender identity ideology classes without missing out on core curriculum subjects; and how parents who work full-time will be able to facilitate children absenting themselves from gender identity ideology classes. [10704/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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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 continues to work closely with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). I take it that the Deputy's question refers to the introduction of a revised Junior Cycle specification for SPHE. As the Deputy is aware, a draft revised specification was published for consultation by the NCCA in July 2022, with the consultation process running to October 2022. Both the draft specification and the report of the consultation are publicly available on www.ncca.ie. 

The revised Junior Cycle SPHE specification, which includes Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) has been approved by the NCCA Council, and is currently being considered within my Department. The intention is that it will be introduced in schools this coming September with revised specifications to follow at Senior Cycle and Primary.

The aim of the new specification, which has been developed by the NCCA, is described as being to nurture students' self awareness and positive self-worth and to develop the knowledge, understanding, skills, dispositions and values that will help them to create and maintain respectful and caring relationships and lead fulfilling and healthy lives.

In accordance with Section 30 of the Education Act, 1998, parents have a right to have their children not attend instruction in any subject which is contrary to the conscience of the parents. The manner in which any schools ensures that the right of a student not to attend instruction in any subject which is contrary to the conscience of the parents is a matter for the school concerned. The school must determine the particular arrangements which are most appropriate in its individual circumstances having regard to local issues such as available space, supervision requirements and how the school concerned organises classes etc.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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244. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she has taken legal advice as to the exposure to litigation of her Department where the new junior cycle SPHE curriculum on gender identity contributes to a child with psychological comorbidities being gender affirmed to a new gender without the comorbidities being identified or treated; the duty of care the school has in these situations; and the resources that will be provided to the school to ensure they can fulfil their duty of care. [10705/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government commits 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, including an inclusive programme on LGBTI+ relationships’. 

Work to implement this commitment is ongoing, building on a major review of RSE in schools, completed in 2019 by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).  A draft revised Junior Cycle specification was published for consultation in July 2022, with the consultation running until October 2022. The report of this consultation is available on the website of the NCCA, and has informed the NCCA’s finalisation of the Junior Cycle specification. The aim is that this will be implemented in schools in September of this year. 

My Department has not taken legal advice on the possibility of litigation arising from circumstances such as those described by the Deputy. My Department does not anticipate any such circumstances arising as a result of the implementation of a revised SPHE curriculum.

In regard to the duty of care of schools, my Department’s Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice (2019) promotes the provision of a whole-school approach to supporting wellbeing, an approach that has been found internationally to produce a wide range of educational and social benefits for individual children and young people, including increased inclusion, greater social cohesion, increased social capital and improvements to mental health.  To support schools in this work the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) provides training to schools to ensure that the promotion of wellbeing is at the core of the ethos of every school. NEPS has also developed training for school staff on the promotion of wellbeing and resilience in schools.

If a school has concerns about a student  the school may request the involvement of the NEPS psychologist.  The role of a NEPS Educational Psychologist is to support the wellbeing, inclusion and participation of all students in schools through the application of psychological theory and practice. The NEPS service focuses on the provision of psychological services for a student, working either directly with the student and/or with the teachers and parents.  Where necessary the NEPS psychologist will signpost schools to the appropriate external supports.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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245. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the new NCCA curriculum for the junior cycle indicates clearly to children the link between children consuming pornography and sexual violence and rape; if the new NCCA curriculum for the junior cycle will indicate the link between children consuming pornography and distorted understandings of healthy relationships, pornography addiction, distorted male and female expectations of sexual relationships and of body image; and if the new NCCA curriculum for the junior cycle will give clear ethical guidelines to children not to consume pornography while under the age of 18 years. [10706/23]

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 RSE and SPHE across primary and post-primary schools, including an inclusive programme on LGBTI+ relationships’.

For Junior Cycle, a revised Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) specification, which includes Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) has been approved by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), and is currently being considered within my Department. The intention is that it will be introduced in schools this coming September with revised specifications to follow at Senior Cycle and Primary.

The Junior Cycle specification follows on from the extensive public consultation which took place from July to October 2022. The report of this consultation has been published on the website of the NCCA.

For the draft Junior Cycle specification, the published consultation report tells us that there was a strong welcome from many consultation participants for the Learning Outcome that refers to understanding the influence of pornography. It is worth noting that the report states that, in focus group meetings, both students and teachers said that pornography is having a damaging impact on young people’s understanding of relationships and needs to be discussed.

In the consultation, a number of parents expressed deep concern that teaching about pornography might promote its use. I want to state clearly that promoting the use of pornography is categorically not the aim. The aim of the proposed Learning Outcome would be to create awareness of the prevalence and influence of sexual imagery across popular culture including pornography, and help students themselves look critically at how it is influencing their own expectations and understanding. All SPHE curricula will be taught in a way that is age and stage appropriate.

In relation to the specific topics of rape and sexual violence which are referred to by the Deputy, he may wish to note that the updating of SPHE specifications is a key action within Zero Tolerance, the third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV), which was published in June.