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MINISTER FOR EDUCATION Helen McEntee has said the newly revamped primary school curriculum includes updates to sex education because children are starting school later than they used to.
The Department of Education launched its redeveloped curriculum for primary school students today, which it has dubbed “the most comprehensive transformation of primary education in over a generation”.
The Department said the new curriculum is designed to support “high-quality, inclusive, and evidence-based learning for all children”.
Among the changes to the curriculum are the introduction of foreign language learning and updates to social, personal and health education (SPHE), which is designed to “equip children with the knowledge and skills needed to lead active, healthy, and fulfilling lives”.
The changes mean that children in fifth and sixth class will be taught about puberty and sexual orientations.
McEntee noted that sex education was more relevant now because children are starting primary school later.
This is because parents can avail of the two-year Early Childhood Care and Education Programme (ECCE).
“By the time they get to fifth and sixth class, you know, they’ve reached puberty. They’re 13, and some of them 14.
“So what is it to be attracted to another person? What does that mean for me? What does that mean for you? And it’s doing that in an age appropriate way.”
There are five new curriculum specifications for the redeveloped Primary School Curriculum
“Building on the strengths of the 1999 curriculum, they respond directly to today’s challenges, changing priorities, and the evolving needs of learners,” the Department said.
McEntee also said there has been “an element of misinformation” about what the new primary school curriculum contains.
The way SPHE is taught in schools, particularly at secondary level, has been a point of some controversy in recent years.
It has been misrepresented by some of its critics, some of whom have falsely claimed the educational materials used to teach the subject include pornography.
Speaking to RTÉ Radio this morning, Minister McEntee sought to assuage any concerns parents might have, saying that “SPHE has always been taught in our schools”.
“It’s being done in an age appropriate way,” she said, adding that the curriculum had been developed with the help of children and parents.
In a statement accompanying the launch of the new curriculum today, the Department of Education said it had been “designed for the children of today and tomorrow”.
“It reflects the world they are growing up in – one that is fast-changing, interconnected, and full of opportunity. Our goal is to ensure every child in Ireland receives an education that is inclusive, empowering, and deeply relevant to their lives.”
Asked today if there had been “pushback” regarding the changes, McEntee said, “absolutely, there’s been an element of misinformation, I would say, in terms of some of what’s actually in the curriculum and what’s not”.
She said that parents, including herself, want children to “understand basic attraction is to understand what it is to respect each other”.
She said that misinformation spread about the material on the new curriculum had been about how “age appropriate” it is.
“I think any suggestion that what teachers are going to be teaching in the curriculum is not age appropriate is incorrect,” she said.
“Sex education has always been taught in schools. It’s always been taught in primary schools. But how do we make sure it’s done in an age appropriate way?
“So the focus on consent, it’s not about consent and sex. It’s about a young person understanding what it is to say yes or to say no, to have their own opinion, to be able to change their opinion.
“Everything has been done through engaging with not just teachers and parents, but also children as well, and understanding what they’re going through at this stage in their lives.”
In recent years, there have been false claims made about how sex education is taught in Ireland and the material used to teach it.
These campaigns have often been organised by religious and anti-trans organisations or groups.
Sex ed books that recognise the existence of gay and transgender people in particular have been targeted by people who have invaded and protested outside public libraries while harassing the people who work there.
At DCU, staff who taught a sex ed teacher programme were targeted with abuse and threats after false reports that they were encouraging educators to show children pornographic material.
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