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Covid-19 Pandemic

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 July 2020

Thursday, 30 July 2020

Ceisteanna (40)

Claire Kerrane

Ceist:

40. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will allow discretion for primary schools to reduce the curriculum areas temporarily in the first term of the new school year to allow teachers to give more time to SPHE with a focus on well-being following young children returning to school and the impact that Covid-19 will have had on them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19332/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

As Minister for Education and as a teacher myself, I am very conscious that the wider physical, mental, emotional and relationship implications of social distancing, lockdown and possibly bereavement may be significant for some pupils.  There will be a need therefore for a focus on pupil’s wellbeing as a foundation for learning and SPHE will be key in responding to the impact of COVID19 on the pupil’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours.  SPHE curriculum content will also be useful in providing general and specific support to pupils who are finding the transition back to school difficult.

Teachers will play an important role in supporting positive interactions and routines for the pupils and in encouraging healthy behaviours as the pupils make sense of their new realities and come to feel safe and secure in their school surroundings.  As the new school year begins, schools need to enable pupils to communicate their own needs, and to acknowledge and respond to those needs.  Exploration of the views of pupils about their experience of school closure, their feelings about returning to school, and what they need to help them in the coming year, should be a central part of teachers’ preparation for the year ahead.  This can be done through, for example, activities in Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) lessons, through art, through imaginative play in infant classes, and/or through conversations.

It will be necessary for schools to prioritise certain aspects and to re-orientate their work with the curriculum especially during the initial weeks of the first term to give greater time and attention to areas such as Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE), Physical Education (PE), Language and Mathematics.  SPHE and PE will be important in supporting pupils’ wellbeing while language and Mathematics will be central in supporting pupils’ overall learning.  Mandatory aspects of SPHE such as Stay Safe and Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) should be taught early in the year.  While teachers will be best placed to consider what aspects of their SPHE programme should be prioritised or revisited in light of the particular context of their class or pupils, the Return to School guidance issued by my Department this week highlights particular SPHE strands that it may be pertinent to focus on.  Pupils should also continue to have experiences in Social, Environmental and Scientific Education (SESE) and the Arts; the use of cross curricular or thematic approaches may be particularly useful in this regard.  

Building on their assessment of pupils’ learning, teachers will make key decisions about what pupils learn, the sequence in which they learn, the pace at which they learn, and the activities and experiences through which they learn. Gradually, as schools build comprehensive pictures of where pupils are in their learning, they will work towards more ‘typical’ curriculum plans. 

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