Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 May 2021
301. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education the steps taken to meet the Programme for Government commitment to work to encourage increased participation in physical education in primary and secondary education. [25067/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is acknowledged that physical education has a particular contribution to make to the child’s personal and social development, it promotes diversity of experience and helps develop co-operative skills, fosters the concept of fair play and a balanced perspective on, and acceptance of, success and failure. Encouraging the child to focus on his/her goals, engenders positive attitudes and contributes to the enhancement of the child’s self-esteem. It contributes to cognitive development by developing estimation skills when judging time, speed and distance, it assists in developing mapping skills, aesthetic activities such as dance and gymnastics assist in the expression of ideas, emotions, creativity and imagination.
Calls for increased time to be allocated to existing curriculum areas such as Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) and to Physical Education (PE) are reflected within the draft Primary Curriculum Framework which was published in February 2020 for public consultation. The initial phase of this consultation concluded on December 31 2020, phase two, which will focus on consulting teachers, school leaders, parents and pupils will take place in September 2021.
Primary schools are also involved in initiatives such as the Department of Education’s Active School Flag (ASF). The initiative encourages schools to look at their current provision in terms of Physical Education, Physical Activity and Partnerships and thereafter to make improvements. The Initiative seeks to recognise schools that strive to achieve a physically educated and physically active school community.
In Junior Cycle, Physical Education is recognised as part of the Well-being area of learning as outlined in the Framework for Junior Cycle. Physical Education is allocated a minimum of 135 hours across the three years of Junior Cycle. Schools develop their programme of study based on the physical activity areas of, Health Related Activity, Athletics, Adventure Activities, Aquatics, Dance, Gymnastics and Games. A new Junior Cycle Physical Education specification that is designed for a minimum of 135 hours, aligned to the Framework for Junior Cycle, is currently under development by the NCCA.
