My Department is aware of the group the Deputy refers to through correspondence received in relation to the redevelopment and teaching of SPHE/RSE.
Access to Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) is an important right for students. This is reflected in the Programme for Government, which states that this Government will develop inclusive and age appropriate curricula for RSE and Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) across primary and post-primary schools. SPHE is a mandatory curriculum subject in all primary schools and in post-primary Junior Cycle. RSE is required at all levels in schools, from primary through to Senior Cycle.
Information about the updated Junior Cycle specification has been shared in a number of ways - through the consultation process that informed its development, through teacher education to support its introduction, and by publication of the specification itself, and the report of the consultation, on the website of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).
Consultation is a core feature of the work of the NCCA in developing curricula. The draft Junior Cycle specification was published in July 2022, which allowed all those with an interest to review the draft and to give their views on the content. Parents, students and teachers as well as organisations with an interest in the area took the time to participate in the consultation process. This specification was finalised based on feedback from this consultation and was published in May for rollout in schools from September 2023.
To introduce new and existing teachers of Junior Cycle SPHE to this updated NCCA specification, a series of two-day seminars were provided from March to May. During these, teachers had the opportunity to explore and engage with the content of the updated specification.
Furthermore, the NCCA has been working to develop an updated toolkit of resources to support the new specification. Some are published to date on its website and more will be added over the coming weeks. All the resources are carefully selected to support planning for quality teaching and learning.
