AQW 10991/22-27

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 29/04/2024
Answered On Date: 09/05/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail his plans for integrating education on understanding and addressing intergenerational loneliness in the schools curriculum.

Answer:

The Northern Ireland Curriculum provides a range of opportunities to address the issue of loneliness, in all its forms. Personal Development and Mutual Understanding (PDMU) and Learning for Life and Work (LLW) are statutory Areas of Learning within the curriculum. From foundation stage pupils can explore a range of topics including responsibilities and respect for self and others, social responsibility, forming healthy relations and the importance of family as a caring unit.

As with all Areas of Learning within the curriculum, it is a matter for teachers to decide which specific topics, including the incorporation of contemporary issues, should be covered to best suit the needs of their pupils. This flexibility presents opportunities to equip students with skills such as empathy, understanding and relationship building that can help to combat loneliness within our society through fostering meaningful connections across different age groups.