Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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290. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the role played by her Department and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) with regard to the textbooks used for social, personal and health education at junior cycle; if they approved a book (details supplied) which included a section entitled ‘all different, all equal’ for this year, and its depiction of the traditional Irish family; if a named company had total discretion concerning the content of this book, without reference to her Department and the NCCA; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36247/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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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 my department that every child has access to equitable education and that each learner feels safe and happy in the school environment, at every stage.

The Curriculum specification and prescribed material for any subject are determined by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) www.ncca.ie. It should be noted that the material referenced by the Deputy was not contained within the curriculum or other material published by the Department. It is the responsibility of each individual school to select the resources (other than prescribed material) that it will use to support its implementation of the curriculum. Any concerns regarding material published in textbooks should be raised with the publisher themselves. I understand that the publisher in this case has withdrawn the text in question.

Following a recommendation from the NCCA Report on the Review of RSE in 2019, a portal site was developed by the NCCA where teachers can access SPHE/RSE teaching and learning resources. These online toolkits are published by the NCCA at curriculumonline.ie to provide supports for teachers in preparing for and teaching SPHE/RSE, and have been carefully selected to support planning for quality teaching and learning in SPHE linked to the current curriculum.