AQW 16818/17-22

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 24/03/2021
Answered On Date: 01/04/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education what action has been taken to implement the recommendations of the Gillen Review Report into sex and relationship education for school children in Northern Ireland.

Answer:

All publicly funded schools in Northern Ireland are required to deliver the statutory curriculum which includes Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) through Personal Development and Mutual Understanding at primary level and Learning for Life and Work at post-primary level.

The recommendations of the Gillen Review falling to my Department are currently covered within these areas of the learning. Beyond the statutory minimum content, as in all areas of learning across the curriculum, schools and teachers have the flexibility to decide the topics and approaches that best suit their pupils and how that fits with the school’s overall ethos. This presents a number of advantages in relation to the teaching of RSE. Schools and teachers are able to use their professionalism to update and align curricular learning to reflect evolving societal thinking and behaviour.

During the last number of years my Department has provided additional funding to the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) to support the production of RSE resources and guidance materials, particularly on a range of sensitive topics. In June 2019, CCEA launched a new online RSE Hub to facilitate easy access to these resources. This approach is aimed at enhancing the teaching of RSE in schools by providing teachers with resources and support to increase their competence and confidence in this area. It is a matter for schools to decide which, if any, of these resources they use to inform the development and delivery of an RSE programme.

This year, I have provided additional funding to CCEA to enable further development of the RSE hub including the production of new resources and guidance materials and adaption of existing resources for those children with special educational needs. The hub will be updated with these new resources following piloting and consultation with key stakeholders.

CCEA is also developing a Curricular Progression Framework which will set out clearly for schools the key issues that should be covered at each Key Stage.

My Department is also liaising closely with colleagues in the Department of Justice (DOJ), who have lead responsibility for taking forward the recommendations set out in the Gillen report. Officials are part of DOJ’s Education and Awareness Working Group which is a cross departmental multi-agency group established to raise awareness and education in Northern Ireland of issues highlighted in the review.