Consent to be taught to schoolgoers in full review of sexual education teaching

The Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) module contains elements that are 20 years old and therefore potentially out of date. Bruton said that it is important to carry out a review to ascertain whether the course was fit for purpose and meeting the needs of students.

The areas Bruton considers particularly important are: consent – meaning and importance, developments in contraception, healthy and positive sexual expression and relationships, safe use of the internet, social media’s effects on self-esteem and LGBTQ+ issues.

Recording an interview with @TodaySOR about the major review of the relationships and sexuality curriculum which I'm announcing today. Last big review was in the late 1990s. Young people today face a range of different challenges. Tune in after 10am! pic.twitter.com/vY80ETK1sS

— Richard Bruton (@RichardbrutonTD) April 3, 2018

Within Bruton’s proposals, which he wrote to the National Council on Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), the Education Minister said that teachers, school staff, students and parents will be consulted over the current experience of RSE teaching in schools.

The announcement is a welcome one for many who have called for mandatory consent levels at both secondary and primary school levels following prolonged periods of allegations of sexual assaults in the media. Additionally, in its final report, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the 8th Amendment recommended that improvements must be made in “sexual health and relationship education, including the areas of contraception and consent, in primary and post-primary schools, colleges, youth clubs and other organisations involved in education and interactions with young people”.