Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context

423. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the educational initiatives currently being undertaken to promote equality and inclusion in schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [64720/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

A core value of the curriculum, across all levels of schooling in Ireland, is inclusivity and diversity. The curriculum at primary and post-primary is for all learners, from all backgrounds – regardless of gender, socioeconomic background, race or creed. It aims to foster inclusivity where equality and diversity are promoted.

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment plays a key role in the development of the curriculum for early childhood education, primary schools and post-primary schools. Inclusion and diversity is called out as a key principle of the NCCA’s work.

In recent years, the diversity of our school communities has been added to through immigration. At primary level, Social and Environmental Education explores social, environmental, cultural, religious and political themes through history and geography. It is framed by global learning themes which include human rights, democracy, equity, social and environmental justice and sustainable development.

Social and Environmental Education looks at personal, Irish, European and global issues—past, present and future. It helps children understand local, national and global events and challenges, and supports them in becoming active, informed, and responsible citizens who value and care for the world around them. It includes an awareness of the motivation for people’s migration to and from Ireland over time and the impact of these movements.

The inclusion of learning about religions, beliefs and worldviews is to support children’s awareness, appreciation and understanding of the rich diversity of religions, beliefs and worldviews in different times, places and circumstances. Worldviews are a framework of beliefs, values and attitudes that can be religious, philosophical, moral, personal, or a combination of these.

Inclusive education and diversity is one of the key principles of the Primary Curriculum Framework. Inclusive education provides for equity of opportunity and participation in every child’s learning, celebrating diversity and responding to the uniqueness of each learner.

The new Primary Wellbeing Curriculum, which includes Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE), places inclusion and diversity at its core. It recognises the rich diversity of cultures, identities, backgrounds, and families represented within Irish classrooms and ensures that no child is discriminated against on the basis of gender, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race, or membership of the Traveller community.

The curriculum aims to create equitable and inclusive learning environments where all children feel valued, respected, and empowered to contribute to their communities. It supports the development of children as active citizens, fostering empathy, teamwork, fairness, and respect for diversity. Key features of the curriculum include challenging stereotypes and recognising and affirming diversity within classrooms and the wider society.

For post-primary level, the NCCA is currently reviewing and updating the Intercultural Guidelines for primary and post-primary schools to support the further integration of intercultural education in the curriculum. The guidelines will be updated this year.

Many subjects that students take at both junior and senior cycle are based on learning outcomes which allow teachers autonomy to work with students in choosing themes that are of interest or relevance to students’ lives. As some issues become topical in society and prominent in the media, teachers can adjust their plans to reflect this and bring these issues into the classroom. The way these courses are designed means that recent political or social developments can be discussed in the classroom and can be incorporated into the curriculum.

Regarding our anti-bulling initiative, Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying, was published on 1st December 2022. Cineáltas is my department’s whole-education approach to preventing and addressing bullying behaviour in schools.

Cineáltas is dedicated to the prevention and addressing of bullying behaviour including cyber bullying, racist bullying, gender identity bullying and sexual harassment, among other areas, in schools. It is centred on a child rights-based approach and provides a collective vision and clear roadmap for how the whole education community and society can work together to prevent and address bullying behaviour in our schools.

The Bí Cineálta procedures are centred on a child rights-based approach and support a partnership approach where all members of the school community work together to prevent and address bullying behaviour. The procedures have been updated to take account of gender identity bullying, cyberbullying, racist bullying, sexist bullying, and sexual harassment. They support schools to develop clear strategies to prevent and address these bullying behaviours. The Bí Cineálta procedures must be implemented in schools by the beginning of the 2025-26 school year.

We also have the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, or DEIS, programme. Tackling educational disadvantage and helping students reach their full potential is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and Youth and for Government. Currently, the DEIS programme supports almost 1,200 primary and post-primary schools, reaching approximately 260,000 students, with an annual investment of over €180 million. Budget 2026 allocates an additional €16 million in 2026, rising to €48 million in 2027, to support the implementation of the new DEIS Strategy and introduce the DEIS Plus scheme, which will commence in 2026.

The new DEIS Strategy will set out the Department of Education and Youth’s strategic vision, goals, and objectives to tackle educational disadvantage in all schools. The Strategy has a focus on developing more innovative approaches and working towards a more flexible system of support to ensure that all schools can receive the right support at the right time. This will involve a more dynamic resource allocation model where levels of resources more accurately follow the levels of need identified by objective data.

The DEIS Plus scheme will provide additional support to schools with the highest levels of need, in line with the Government’s commitment. It will target a cohort of schools with high concentrations of children and young people experiencing intergenerational disadvantage where there is a significant gap in outcomes and there are barriers to those children and young people achieving their potential.

The details of the DEIS Plus scheme are currently being finalised within an overall programme of work to tackle educational disadvantage and will be outlined in the new DEIS Strategy, which will be published before the end of the year. Future allocation of overall resources will be considered within the context of the new DEIS Strategy and the availability of resources.