Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 May 2022
125. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Education the programmes that are available at primary and secondary-school level in relation to teaching internet safety to children; and the funding that was made available to each of these programmes in 2019, 2020 and 2021. [25056/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra126. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Education the funding that was provided to the professional development service for teachers to teach internet safety to children in each of the years 2021, 2020 and 2019; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25057/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 125 and 126 together.
There are extensive training and curricular supports already available to schools, including through the Social Personal Health Education (SPHE) curriculum, the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST), Webwise.ie and the Department funded national anti-bullying website www.tacklebullying.ie to assist schools in the development of policies and practices on the prevention of bullying and harassment, including cyberbullying, and on the safe and responsible use of the internet. The Report on the Review of Relationships and Sexuality Education in primary and post-primary schools places a strong focus on issues such as safe use of the internet, social media and its effects on relationships and self-esteem.
There is a wide range of training material available through the Webwise Internet Safety Programme to support teachers, students and parents on online safety. Funded by the Department of Education and the EU Internet Safety Initiative, webwise.ie promotes the autonomous, effective and safe use of the internet by young people through a sustained information and awareness strategy targeting school leaders, teachers, parents and children themselves with consistent and relevant messages. The webwise.ie resource includes a dedicated School/Teachers Hub with extensive SPHE curricular supports, a Parents Hub and Youth Hub which gives practical information and advice on the safe, ethical and responsible use of the internet and addresses key issues such as cyberbullying, sexting, image sharing, respectful communication, social media, popular apps and more. A new online course for primary and post-primary teachers, Understanding, Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying in school , is planned for 2022. The course will be provided by Webwise and the PDST Technology In Education on their online platform: www.pdsttechnologyineducation.ie/.
My Department’s Digital Strategy for Schools also promotes the development of digital literacy in our young people and the importance of respectful online communications. A new Strategy, the Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027, was published in April. The Strategy will advance the embedding of digital technologies across teaching, learning and assessment, building on the work done under previous strategies. It aims to further support the school system so that all students across our schools have the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills they need to navigate an ever-evolving digital world successfully.
The Strategy was developed following an extensive consultation process with all relevant stakeholders. This included students at primary and post-primary level, parents/guardians, teachers and school leaders as well as the education partners, initial teacher education institutions, disability groups, non-governmental organisations, the industry sector, EU colleagues in a number of member states and other relevant Government Departments.
Delivery of the Strategy will involve ongoing collaboration and engagement with all key stakeholders. It allows for the establishment of both a consultative and an industry group which will further help support the implementation of the objectives of the Strategy and ensure its currency over its lifetime to 2027.
Online safety and the safe and ethical use of digital technologies is a key component of the new Strategy. The Strategy will continue to work towards ensuring learners have the opportunities to develop their digital skills so that they can navigate the digital world in a confident and competent manner and that their voices are heard and taken into account in further developments in this area. This will be further examined in the Implementation Plan. Ultimately a fundamental focus of the Strategy is learners and their wellbeing and ensuring that all of the policies, supports and resources are aimed at providing opportunities for learners to develop their digital skills so that they can navigate the digital world in a confident and competent manner.
Throughout the implementation of the Strategy, Webwise will continue to develop and disseminate relevant resources and run campaigns addressing key topical issues as they arise. This will take into account relevant recommendations and advice such as those arising from the review of the Action Plan on Bullying and from the National Advisory Council for Online Safety.
A ‘Research Observatory on Cyberbullying’ has been established at DCU which is focused on providing up-to-date research, advice and resources related to cyberbullying, cyberhate, and online harassment, and the implementation of Coco’s Law. The Observatory team has put together an outline of an online research repository of resources on cyberbullying, cyberhate and online harassment which will be made available in early 2022 for researchers and the general public.
The funding details requested by the Deputy are not immediately available and once collated they will be provided to her separately by written reply.
