Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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141. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the new SPHE curriculum for senior cycle which is currently under redevelopment will be made mandatory, as recommended recently by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9915/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Access to sexual and health education is an important right for students.  Currently, Social, Personal and Health Education (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. My Department has set out the content for each of these programmes in SPHE syllabuses and guidelines.

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.

The work of updating the curricula in SPHE and RSE follows on from a 2019 National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) review of RSE across primary and post-primary.  The review involved students, parents, teachers, school leaders, researchers and organisations, with a view to gaining a full appreciation of the nature of young peoples’ needs and experience of RSE and this included responses from nearly 8,000 parents.  That review said there was unanimous agreement among students about the importance of RSE. Students said that they wanted a safe and inclusive environment where they can discuss, ask questions and talk about all aspects of relationships and sexuality.

Following the publication of this review, my Department continues to work closely with the NCCA in developing updated SPHE curricula. A draft revised Junior Cycle specification was published for consultation by the NCCA in July 2022, with the consultation process running to October 2022. The consultation took feedback from teachers and students as well as other interested groups and individuals. That consultation has informed the NCCA’s finalising of the Junior Cycle specification, which is currently being considered in my Department ahead of planned implementation in schools in September. 

Work on Senior Cycle specifications has begun.  In October 2022, a background paper was published for consultation on the NCCA website, which identified a number of issues for discussion including status and time allocation. A report on the consultation, including views on the matter of status and time allocation, was published on the NCCA's website together with the background paper and will inform the work of the NCCA in developing the specification. 

The NCCA intends that the Senior Cycle draft specification itself will be available for public consultation in the third quarter of this year, with a view to implementation in schools in September 2024. There has been no made decision at this stage as to whether SPHE will be mandatory in the new Senior Cycle.