Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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400. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding funding to support online safety programmes for schools;; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7384/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Department’s Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 articulates that the education system must equip children and young people with the appropriate knowledge and competence as they navigate the online world, supporting them in the safe, ethical use of the internet

Online safety and the safe and ethical use of digital technologies is a key component of the Department’s Digital Strategy with a wide range of training material and resources available through the Webwise Internet Safety Programme to support teachers, students and parents on online safety, and related matters.

Webwise is the Irish Internet Safety Awareness Centre, part of the Safer Internet Ireland consortium and partners with ISPCC Childline, Hotline.ie and the National Parents Council under the umbrella of the Irish Safer Internet Centre to provide a range of complementary online safety services.

Webwise (webwise.ie) promotes the autonomous, effective and safe use of the internet by young people through a sustained information and awareness strategy targeting school leaders, teachers, parents and children themselves with consistent and relevant messages. The webwise.ie resource includes a dedicated School/Teachers Hub, a Parents Hub and a Youth Hub which give practical information and advice on the safe, ethical and responsible use of the internet and addresses key issues such as cyberbullying, sexting, image sharing, respectful communication, social media, popular apps and more.

Webwise also creates, develops and disseminates resources that help teachers integrate digital citizenship and online safety into teaching and learning in their schools (mostly through delivery of the Social Personal and Health Education curriculum). With the help of its Youth Advisory Panel, Webwise develops youth-oriented awareness raising resources and training programmes that promote digital citizenship and address topics such as online wellbeing, cyberbullying and more.

Webwise is jointly funded by the Department of Education and the EU Internet Safety Initiative. Over the latest EU funding period, which covers the 18 months from July 2024 to December 2025, EU funding of €263,000 has been allocated to Webwise. In addition, the Department has provided funding of approx. €265,000 per year to Webwise over the last three years.

Oide’s Technology in Education Unit (Oide-TiE), promotes and supports the embedding of digital technologies in teaching, learning and assessment in primary and post-primary schools. In addition to specific support for the school sector, Oide-TiE has a key function in ensuring that the effective use of digital technologies is embedded in all professional learning programmes delivered across the Oide support service.

The National Parents Council, also partners in the Safer Internet Centre arefunded to provide online safety education for parents. The aim is to provide parents with the information and skills to be able to engage in children's online lives. Parents will be introduced to strategies to help their children be responsible, effective and safer Internet users.

Funding of €263,700 was provided to the DCU Anti-Bullying Centre over the two-year period 2023 to 2024. This included funding for the roll-out of their FUSE Anti-Bullying and Online Safety programme and other anti-bullying initiatives.

It was with the wellbeing of learners, and the empowerment of parents and school communities through education and information, in mind, that the Department published guidelines in November 2023 for parents called Keeping Childhood Smartphone Free. The aim is to support parents of primary school children who wish to agree collectively on a voluntary agreement on the use of smartphones for their primary school age child. Following the publication of the guidelines, the Department hosted a number of Parents Information Sessions across the country and a series of parent webinars on children's use of digital technology and supporting children online.

To support this initiative Oide-TiE has developed the Digital Citizenship Champion programme in collaboration with Webwise. The programme is designed to equip primary teachers with essential knowledge, skills and resources to effectively teach and champion digital citizenship in schools and through their local Education Centre. This initiative aims to upskill up to 90 primary teachers from across Ireland to become ‘Digital Citizenship Champions’ through a range of face-to-face professional learning events and online support.

A pilot online safety initiative, titled the “Agree to Agree” project, is currently underway across three education centres and involves 21 primary schools. It will facilitate each school in collaborating, designing and implementing an Internet and Technology Use Agreement particular to their individual circumstance. It will also raise awareness of the ‘Keeping Childhood Smartphone Free’ guidelines and all the education resources available through Webwise. Funding of €22,684 has been provided by my Department for the initiative.

In August 2024, all schools both primary and post-primary, were instructed to implement a ban on the use of mobile phones during the school day. This policy approach is based on the growing concerns expressed about the impact of the use of mobile phones during the school day. It is recognised that many schools already have well-developed and managed policies in place in this area and this initiative will build on that foundation and on the “Keeping Childhood Smartphone Free” policy aimed at primary school children. Funding of €9 million has been made available for schools under Budget 2025 provisions for the procurement of mobile phone storage solutions to facilitate the ban. Further guidance is being developed and will be issued to schools shortly, including easily accessible advice on the procurement of phone storage solutions.