The new primary school curriculum will teach children about consent in an “age appropriate way”, Helen McEntee has said. 

The current curriculum is now 26 years old and will be gradually replaced with a new one that encompasses five areas of learning; Arts Education; Language (including foreign languages); Social and Environmental Education; STEM Education; and Wellbeing - which includes sport. 

On Newstalk Breakfast, the Education Minister said it is vital that children are taught when they can say no to something. 

 “In terms of consent, we’re not talking about consent from a sexual point of view,” she explained. 

“This is about young children understanding how to say yes, how to say no. 

“What it is to be able to change your mind and still have your own decision making process. 

“That it’s about the ability to understand how you can say yes or no. 

“It’s not in a sexual context, it’s in an age appropriate way.” 

A lesson in primary school. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Minister McEntee added that the new curriculum will also bring Ireland more into line with other European nations, where children are introduced much earlier to modern foreign languages. 

She also promised support and training for teachers who do not speak foreign languages. 

“When they’re in fifth and sixth class, what they’ll be learning is the basics, how to say hello and to communicate in a basic way,” she said. 

“We’re not going to expect children to be leaving able to hold a conversation - whether it’s in French, Spanish or Italian. 

“But it is getting those basics.” 

Primary school classroom during a lesson. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Minister McEntee continued that there would be greater emphasis on computational thinking”. 

“So, problem solving for young people; how do we make it relevant to their lives? How do we introduce the likes of coding where maybe it isn’t in every school now?” she said. 

“There’s also going to be a greater emphasis on wellbeing - and I think this is going to be really important as well. 

“It’s so important that young people from the earliest stage possible, that they understand why it’s so important to look after their physical health. 

“But also that emphasis on their own wellbeing, on making sure that we have young children who are resilient, who are able to deal with the challenges in life and that we’re working with them and teaching them that at an earlier stage.” 

Other subjects would see their curriculums tweaked; with a greater focus on local history in history class and more coverage of climate change in geography.

Main image: Helen McEntee in the Newstalk studio.