Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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655. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to address concerns that schools may be accessing and utilising age-inappropriate material supplied by an organisation (details supplied) as part of the relationships and sexuality education curriculum and that 6th class pupils may be exposed to profoundly inappropriate material from this organisation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57951/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Apart from a small number of prescribed texts at post-primary level, determined by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), there are no requirements placed on a school by my Department to use any individual textbooks or resources. My Department does not generally approve, commission, sponsor or endorse educational textbooks and it would not be feasible to do so.

Textbooks are commissioned and published by educational publishers, and schools select their textbooks, if they choose to use them, from those available from a number of educational publishers. The decision on the content of a particular textbook would rest entirely within the publishers themselves.

The learning outcomes of the updated Primary Wellbeing curriculum are set out in the specification to guide the intended learning for Wellbeing. These can be viewed at www.curriculumonline.ie. The curriculum is designed to be age and stage appropriate. The decision on what is age and stage appropriate is based on research and best practice including engaging with experts. It is also informed by extensive consultation with parents and guardians, teachers and young people and children themselves. I want to make it clear that under no circumstances would teachers be expected to teach or introduce sexually explicit content or topics as part of teaching and learning in the Primary Wellbeing curriculum.

As textbooks are not commissioned, approved or endorsed by either the NCCA or my Department, concerns regarding material included in specific books should be raised with the relevant publisher.