John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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125. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on the STEM education policy statement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30704/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Thank you for your question regarding the STEM Education Policy Statement 2017–2026.

Since the launch of the policy statement, the Department of Education and Youth has made significant progress towards enhancing STEM teaching and learning across all levels of education from early learning and care to post-primary school level. The STEM Education Implementation Plan to 2026 (published March 2023) was informed by the Gender balance in STEM recommendations (published March 2022) and STEM and the Arts recommendations (published March 2023)

Achievements include:

• STEM related curricular reform and embedding of the curricula throughout primary and post-primary schools to ensure students develop essential skills from an early age.
• Ongoing provision of STEM professional development for in-service teachers by the Department of Education and Youth support service for example in the 2023/2024 academic year, 2,408 primary-level NQTs from 1,316 schools applied to commence the Droichead process as part of the Oide STEM Support Programme.
• Pilot STEM projects rolled out in over 150 schools, focusing on project-based learning, coding, robotics, and real-world applications, which have increased student engagement.
• Equitable access STEM/STEM and the Arts role models and career awareness activity. Ongoing support of STEM Passport for Inclusion which is led by Maynooth University.
• A bursary announced in Budget 2025 for student teachers to increase the number of qualified STEM (including science, maths, chemistry, physics, engineering) teachers in post-primary schools.
• Support of national STEM competitions is ongoing to inspire young people to pursue STEM pathways.
• A bursary announced in Budget 2025 for student teachers to increase the number of qualified STEM (including science, mathematics, chemistry, physics, engineering) teachers in post-primary schools.
• 2024 also included the expansion of upskilling programmes, aimed at increasing the number of qualified teachers in high-demand subjects and reducing out-of-field teaching. New upskilling programme in computer science will commence in 2025 and complement existing programmes in maths and physics.

A progress report will be published in the coming months which will include next steps as we approach the policy’s conclusion in 2026.