Northern Ireland’s post-primary schools have been given guidance on changes to relationships and sex education (RSE).
Previously, each school in Northern Ireland has been required to teach RSE but the exact approach was for each school to decide, based on its ethos.
Changes from NI secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, however, will require schools to teach students about issues such as how to prevent a pregnancy, the legal right to an abortion and how relevant services can be accessed.
The Department of Education (DoE) held a consultation about when a student might be removed from such RSE sessions, which received 13,461 responses.
The new RSE guidance states that a student in years 8, 9, 10 or 11 may be excused if a parent makes a written request to a school. If a parent wants a student in Year 12 to be removed from part of the RSE programme, it must be confirmed that the student does not object to being excused.
The guidance notes that the change to RSE and how it approaches issues such as abortion rights and birth control “does not prevent teachers and pupils from discussing and commenting on moral, ethical or spiritual issues which may arise in relation to matters associated with the legislative change”.
The DoE has released some of the comments submitted to the consultation.
One parent said: “It is vital that pupils are taught accurate and appropriate information regarding these topics. I believe that pupils absolutely should know how to prevent early pregnancy and access abortions.”
Meanwhile, a school leader said: “Children are and should be just that - children. When we consider that they cannot vote until a certain age then why should being taught about such issues be any different?”
The Education Authority will provide training for teachers and governors around the new requirements. The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment will provide advice on addressing sensitive issues with students.
