Education Minister Richard Bruton TD is due to address the review at the annual conference of the ASTI teachers’ union this morning.
The Department of Education has ordered a review of relationships and sexuality education in schools to take into account “the needs of young people today”.
Education Minister Richard Bruton is keen to bring the review into focus, with particular focus on areas such as the meaning of consent, safe use of the internet, contraception and LGTBQ+ matters.
Bruton is due to address the annual conference of the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI) on Tuesday morning, with the review set to be at the top of his agenda.
According to the minister, certain elements of the Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) curriculum being taught in schools were up to 20 years old.
The current system offers no education on safe internet use or support or information regarding LGBTQ+ matters.
The decision follows a recommendation put forward by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment, which called for a “thorough review of sexual health and relationship education, including the areas of contraception and consent”.
As it stands, both RSE and Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) are mandatory for both primary and post-primary students.
In a statement announcing the curriculum review, Bruton said that both effective delivery and thorough communication between schools and parents regarding the teaching of RSE needs to be better maintained.
He said: “It is important that we review this area of learning to make sure that we are adequately providing information to students regarding sexuality and relationships through the curriculum.
“The RSE curriculum fulfils an important function. Every student has a right to access information about sexual health, relationships and sexuality, and this must be delivered in a factual manner in every school.
“This review will help to inform decisions regarding the content of the curriculum and how it is delivered. I want to ensure that the RSE curriculum meets the needs of young people today, who face a range of different issues to those faced by young people in the late 1990s.”
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