Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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451. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her Department’s procedures for ensuring that all primary and post-primary schools provide a clear opt-out process for parents who do not consent to elements of the Bí Cineálta policy or associated materials; and the direction issued to schools on the administrative arrangements for accommodating such pupils. [66186/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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452. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the statutory basis on which her Department requires schools to implement the Bí Cineálta anti-bullying policy on a whole-school basis; and her Department’s assessment of whether such implementation is compatible with parental rights under the Education Act and the Constitution. [66187/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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453. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the measures by which her Department has assessed the Bí Cineálta policy against recent safeguarding evidence reviews, including the Cass Review and the HSS report; and the steps being taken to ensure full compliance with national child-protection obligations in all schools. [66188/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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454. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the specific guidance issued by her Department to schools regarding the treatment of pupils whose parents do not consent to elements of anti-bullying policies or SPHE-related content; and her Department’s instructions on ensuring equal access to the curriculum for such pupils. [66189/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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455. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to list all external organisations whose materials or programmes are included in, endorsed by, or linked to the Bí Cineálta policy; the vetting process undertaken by the Department before including such organisations; and the criteria used to evaluate the safeguarding suitability of associated materials. [66190/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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456. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the training provided by her Department and Oide to school leaders and staff on the implementation of the Bí Cineálta policy; the extent to which this training addresses safeguarding concerns raised in recent evidence reviews; and the means by which schools are instructed to handle parental opt-out requests. [66191/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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457. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her Department’s monitoring arrangements for ensuring compliance with statutory safeguarding obligations during the implementation of the Bí Cineálta policy; and the number of compliance checks undertaken in 2024 and 2025. [66192/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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458. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the arrangements schools are required to put in place during Anti-Bullying Week for pupils whose parents do not consent to participation in activities or materials associated with the Bí Cineálta policy; and her Department’s guidance on how schools should plan and record such arrangements. [66193/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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459. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills whether an equality-impact assessment has been carried out on her Department’s implementation of the Bí Cineálta policy; and whether safeguards are in place to ensure that children whose parents do not consent to specific elements are not disadvantaged or labelled inappropriately. [66194/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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460. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the means by which her Department has ensured that the implementation of the Bí Cineálta policy respects parental rights under Articles 41 and 42 of the Constitution; and whether her Department has issued guidance to schools on avoiding conflicts between parental rights and Department-mandated programmes. [66195/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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461. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department intends to review the Bí Cineálta policy in light of recent clinical and safeguarding evidence; the timeline for such a review; and whether stakeholder consultations with parents will form part of that process. [66196/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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462. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to set out the guidance issued to Boards of Management regarding handling parental objections to the Bí Cineálta policy; and her Department’s instructions to boards on decision-making where there is a conflict between Department policy and parental consent. [66197/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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463. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way her Department has assessed the impact of recent directives, including Bí Cineálta, on the operational autonomy of schools and Boards of Management; and her Department’s position on ensuring that schools retain the ability to address local safeguarding concerns. [66198/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, 456, 457, 458, 459, 460, 461, 462 and 463 together.

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.

Cineáltas incorporates each of the nine components of UNESCO’s Whole Education Approach to prevent and address bullying behaviour. It is rooted in four key principles: prevention, support, oversight and community. Implementation of Cineáltas is well advanced. The first annual implementation report was published on 02 July 2025.

One of the more significant actions under Cineáltas is to update the 2013 Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools. This action has been completed with the publication, on 19 June 2024, of Bí Cineálta: Procedures to Prevent and Address Bullying Behaviour for Primary and Post-Primary Schools. These updated procedures were developed in collaboration with the education partners, including the National Parents Council, and are heavily informed by the views of children and young people, parents, school staff, Board of Management members and the wider education community.

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 are being implemented in all schools since the beginning of the 2025/2026 school year.

Implementation of the procedures was supported by a suite of professional learning resources and information sessions for school staff, Board of Management members and parents.

In relation to Wellbeing at primary level, the redeveloped Wellbeing Curriculum, which includes the subjects of PE and SPHE was published on 22 September 2025. Alignment with the Bí Cineálta procedures was a key consideration throughout the development process.

The curriculum aims to provide all children with a balanced, inclusive, age and developmentally appropriate understanding of human development and sexuality. This includes fostering healthy attitudes and relationships while recognising the diversity of human experience.

New areas of learning include consent, diversity in family structures, media and digital wellbeing, as well as a renewed emphasis on emotional and relational learning.

It is recognised that the development of children’s wellbeing goes beyond any specific curriculum area and is also shaped by a variety of other influences within the broader community and society.

At post-primary level, the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum strives to foster an understanding and appreciation of all children and young people. Through the curriculum objectives, our children and young people are supported to develop self-confidence and a positive sense of self, and to appreciate and respect the human and cultural diversity that exists in society. To this end, the curriculum aims to foster in learners a sense of care and respect for themselves and others and an appreciation of the dignity of every human being.

The updated Junior Cycle SPHE curriculum, which was rolled out for first years in all schools from September 2023, includes three learning objectives that focus on gender. Through these learning outcomes, students should be able to:

• Recognise the factors and influences that shape young people’s self-identity, such as family, peers, culture, gender identity, sexual orientation, race/ethnic background, dis/abilities, religious beliefs/world-views.
• Reflect on gender equity and how gender stereotypes impact on expectations, behaviour and relationships.
• Appreciate the breadth of what constitutes human sexuality, and how sexual orientation and gender identity are experienced and expressed in many ways.