4.3.7 Social, Personal and Health Education

4.3.7 Social, Personal and Health Education

Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) provides particular opportunities to foster the personal development, health and wellbeing of the individual child, to help him/her to create and maintain supportive relationships and become an active and responsible citizen in society.

The overall findings in relation to provision for SPHE were positive but approaches to assessment require attention

The overall findings from inspections and surveys in relation to SPHE were positive. The quality of teaching approaches was good or very good in 81% of lessons observed during announced inspections. Inspection findings indicated good and very good levels of pupil engagement (86%), and enjoyment and motivation (87%) in lessons. Inspection reports in SPHE frequently referenced the positive, welcoming atmosphere and the respectful and caring relationships that existed in schools. Findings from child protection and safeguarding inspections (CPSIs), which commenced in February 2019, indicated that the quality of planning for, and implementation of, the SPHE curriculum and the Stay Safe programme was good or very good in 78% of primary schools during initial CPSIs, and in 88% of primary schools during final CPSIs.

Inspection findings also suggested that there was potential to improve aspects of teaching and assessment in SPHE, particularly the development of approaches to assessment and the enhancement of pupils’ ability to use subject-specific language to discuss their learning with confidence.

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Effective practices were prevalent in relation to wellbeing. Pupils demonstrated well-developed understanding of personal safety and bullying

Inspection findings pointed to the effective promotion of pupils’ understanding in relation to healthy living and their self-confidence and self-esteem. Key successes observed also included the pupils’ welldeveloped understanding of personal safety and bullying.

The Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-primary Schools 2013 highlight the importance of school culture in preventing and tackling bullying.75 Data from surveys administered during whole-school inspections from September 2016 to December 2020 pointed to high levels of positivity among pupils and parents in relation to key wellbeing indicators such as enjoying school, feeling safe and cared for, and feeling that the pupils are being treated with respect. In their responses to the Inspectorate survey, almost all pupils agreed that there were clear rules in their school in relation to bullying, that they had learned about different kinds of bullying, and that if someone was bullying them they could get help from a teacher or other adult in the school (Table 4.9). In their responses to the Inspectorate survey, 89% of parents reported that they had been informed of the school’s anti-bullying policy, and 92% asserted that they knew who to approach if their child experienced bullying. These positive findings are corroborated by the Growing Up in Ireland study which reported that socio-emotional and behavioural wellbeing among nine-year-olds in 2017 was relatively high.76

75 The Anti-bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-primary Schools 2013 define bullying as unwanted negative behaviour, verbal, psychological or physical conducted by an individual or group against another person (or persons) and which is repeated over time. 76 ESRI (2018) Growing up in Ireland- Cohort ’08 at 9 Years Old. Available at: https://www.esri.ie/publications/growing-up-inireland-health-and-physical-development

Table 4.9: Pupils responses (in %) to questions related to bullying in primary schools: September 2016 - March 2020

	Yes	Don’t know	No
In this school there are clear rules against hurting each other by what we say or do	94.1%	4.9%	1.0%
In school I have learned about different kinds of bullying	90.6%	5.6%	3.8%
If someone is bullying me I can get help from a teacher or other adult in the school	93.2%	5.2%	1.6%

Promoting pupil wellbeing was an important element of the successful return to school after COVID-19

The guidance documents made available by the Department to schools in preparation for their reopening in September 2020, after the period of closures due to COVID-19, emphasised that priority be given to activities to support the wellbeing of pupils and students. To support the wellbeing of school communities, the Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) psychologists developed advice and a range of resources for parents, students and school staff.77

Research conducted by the Inspectorate in the autumn term of 2020 indicated that promoting the wellbeing of school communities was an important element of the successful return to school in September 2020. Most primary teachers (85%) considered that schools were supporting pupils’ wellbeing. Similarly, parents expressed high levels of satisfaction with the supports available from schools for the wellbeing of their child(ren) during this period. Almost all primary pupils (93%) confirmed that they knew who to approach in school if they needed help. During the focus groups that inspectors conducted with pupils in September and November 2020, a key message from pupils was that school was very important in terms of their wellbeing and their socialisation, as well as their learning.

77 These resources from NEPS are available at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/af24b-wellbeing-guidance-documents-forparents-students-and-schools/?referrer=http://www.gov.ie/en/publication/0722b-wellbeing-resources/