The Commissioner has told the Education Committee at Stormont that every child in Northern Ireland “deserves to be taught Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) so they know what a healthy relationship looks like”.
Giving evidence at the Committee alongside the Commissioner, Chris Quinn, were members of the NICCY team and Youth Panel member, Maddison Blair.
NICCY were asked to provide the Committee with an oral and written briefing on the key areas around RSE.
Maddison set the scene at the Committee for NICCY and told members that “RSE is vital for preparing children and young people for life”.
She added: “Children and young people need to be taught about what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour in relationships. We need to ensure they can determine what is right and wrong for themselves.
“All children and young people should be able to access the same information on RSE and parents should not be able to opt-out for their children.”
Maddison, along with the Commissioner and NICCY team, highlighted the key areas to the Committee including participation of children and young people in RSE teachings; parental opt-out provision; RSE curriculum and resources: and evaluation and monitoring.
NICCY has consistently highlighted the need for provision of comprehensive, factual, age-appropriate and scientifically accurate RSE in schools.
In June 2023, NICCY welcomed the Relationships and Sexuality Education (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) 2023, which introduced a mandatory requirement for the inclusion of age-appropriate, comprehensive and scientifically accurate education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, covering prevention of early pregnancy and access to abortion, for adolescents in the Northern Ireland (NI) curriculum.
Chris Quinn, told the Committee RSE is not a new issue and throughout his 30-year career he has come across numerous organisations calling for a curriculum for life.
He added: “It is imperative that we consult with young people, who are experts in their own lives, on how they want to receive RSE.
“The Education Teaching Inspectorate (ETI) report supports this and states that it is more effective when pupils views are used to develop the preventative curriculum.”
In response to questions from the Committee, the NICCY panel said more engagement is needed at every stage of the process in terms of informing the process, the delivery and the evaluation of RSE.
Policy Officer and Research Officer at NICCY, Dr Arlene Roberston, said: “This should be an ongoing process and it should also be continually monitored to ensure it is a quality piece of education.
“Young people need to be able to see themselves in the resources also. The Teaching needs to be inclusive and be representative of everyone in the school.”
The Commissioner concluded: “There are half a million children in Northern Ireland, and I will represent the views of everyone.
“I believe NICCY is proactive in doing that. We target, we listen and we will serve and support every young person in their views on RSE.”
The full RSE briefing paper can be found here.