Schools should spend more time on sport, says Minister

Minister for Health Leo Varadkar says he wants to see schools spending more time on exercise and sport as part of a review of "Well-Being" programmes in education.

Speaking at the launch on Wednesday of a “lifeskills” survey for primary and secondary schools, the former minister of state for sport said: “I want to see more schools spending more time on physical activity.

“Sport and physical activity have so many benefits for physical and mental health and wellbeing. The earlier we can get young people to be active, the better.”

Mr Varadkar said the information from the survey, the third to be run by the department of education, would inform public health initiatives like the National Physical Activity Plan and the Healthy Ireland Strategy.

Minister for Education Jan O'Sullivan encouraged all schools to complete the survey which had been "streamlined and made more user friendly" for principals.

The 2015 survey includes questions for the first time on the links between primary schools and early years settings, schools’ engagement with “education for sustainable development”, and their links with local enterprise.

At post primary level, the survey is also being used in 2015 to support an evaluation of Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) by the HSE Crisis Pregnancy Programme.

The survey will also be used to gain data on anti-bullying, substance use, and road safety programmes.

A renewed emphasis is being put on physical education under the junior cycle reforms. PE is scheduled to form part of a 400-hour, compulsory programme of “Well-Being” that also incorporates Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE) and Social, Personal and Health Education (which includes RSE).

Meanwhile, the national suicide prevention and bereavement charity Console has announced details of a special training programme to help teachers spot the distress signals that could lead to student suicide.

Console’s “Supporting Our Students” suicide prevention training, will take place in the Hilton Hotel, Kilmainham, Dublin on Friday, April 17th.

"A host of complex problems from exam stress, bullying and social media harassment to self-harming behaviours, can lead to suicidal ideation among students in our second level schools and third level colleges," said Console ceo Paul Kelly.

The programme is based on the suicide prevention training known as QPR, question, persuade and refer.

See: www.console.ie