Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:1070. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education further to Parliamentary Question No. 468 of 14 July 2022, when a response will issue to the matters that were raised in the question. [40278/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 26 July 2022
Ceisteanna (1070)
Freagraí scríofa
The role of the school is to provide an appropriate education for all its pupils. Schools have autonomy in choosing the resources and programmes that best support the work within their own classrooms.
The curriculum, as approved by the Minister, at both primary and post primary level, is considered to be for all learners regardless of race, religion, socioeconomic background, gender or orientation. It is the aim of the Department of Education that every child has access to equitable education and that each learner feels safe and happy in the school environment, at every stage.
Materials are developed to support the delivery of the curriculum as approved by the Minister.
The Social, Personal, and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum highlights the importance of using inclusive language and states that ‘Language is also powerful because it both creates and reflects a culture’. Support materials on the SPHE Toolkit, developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), have been developed to support primary school teacher’s professional learning in SPHE and Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE). An inclusive classroom is one that is grounded in a positive view of individual differences that enrich the lives and learning of all children. The support material entitled ‘An inclusive approach to SPHE/RSE – LGBTI+ identities’ aims to support teachers to create positive and inclusive experiences in SPHE/RSE to ensure that the needs and experiences of every child is recognised and met. The support material entitled ‘Using inclusive and respectful language’ aims to support teachers in considering the importance of effective and inclusive language usage in SPHE/RSE and in the whole school environment.
All support materials on the Toolkit include a further reading section. The inclusion of further reading is to enable teachers to develop their own knowledge and understanding, beyond what is made available about a given topic in the support material documents. In relation to the aforementioned support materials, further reading materials have been recommended to direct teachers to reliable information and the definition of terms pertaining to LGBTI+ identities. These resources include a glossary of terms that contain the terms referred to in the PQ’s details. It is important to state that these materials are not intended as teaching materials for the primary school classroom. These are informational materials for primary school teachers which can enable them to better understand the language pertaining to LGBTI+ identities and in doing so, support them in their further reading about the ways in which to create a welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ children and families in their school.
The support materials encourage teachers to use resources that reflect the spectrum of children’s lives and identities. Picture books are a useful resource in this regard in recognising different family types, gender identities and to support children in expanding their understanding and perceptions of gender in an age-appropriate way. Picture books can support children to explore topics from a distance or through a fictional lens, an approach to teaching which is internationally recognised and supported. Stories with diverse characters can be used to promote inclusion and celebrate diversity, develop understanding and empathy for others, and support the well-being of the children who identify with the characters or see their family members represented.
In general, the decisions on which textbooks, programmes and resources, if any, to use in primary and post-primary schools are taken at school level.
The current policy of the Department of Education is not to endorse or promote any particular programme, product or publication to support the teaching of subjects. There are limited exceptions where the department has procured textbooks or resources in order to fill a specific and urgent need, for example Leaving Certificate Japanese and Italian.
All Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes provided by Department-funded support services to teachers include provision for teaching and learning in the inclusive classroom through differentiated teaching methodologies.
As part of this Department’s ongoing curricular reform, issues in relation to inclusivity and diversity will be considered as part of the ongoing reviews in relation to the curriculum at both primary and post-primary level.