Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 May 2016
203. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Education and Skills to include cardiopulmonary resuscitation education in the junior certificate curriculum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11853/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe curriculum in second level schools meets an extensive range of needs in catering for the cognitive, emotional, imaginative, aesthetic, social, physical and moral development of students, and in preparing them for the demands of citizenship, lifelong learning and social and economic participation.
The Social Personal and Health Education curriculum, which is currently mandatory for junior cycle students, is focused on promoting the health and well-being of children, including their personal safety. Teachers can include CPR/first-aid in their SPHE programme but it is not a mandatory requirement.
Schools are encouraged to engage actively with community groups and a wide range of stakeholders to provide for extra-curricular learning opportunities. Many schools invite organisations such as the Red Cross or the Order of Malta to provide some first aid training or to give talks to students.
Under the new Junior Cycle, the curriculum will be made up of a combination of full subjects and short courses. Short courses are designed for 100 hours of engagement over the three years of junior cycle. Some short courses have been designed centrally by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and others by schools themselves or other bodies, using the template provided by the NCCA.
It is therefore open to a school or other body to develop a short course in first aid training, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation, for use in schools. Further details on how to develop a short course for Junior Cycle can be accessed at the following link: http://www.juniorcycle.ie/Planning/Short-Course-Development.
