MHK to query pause of Relationships and Sex Education curriculum

How long will a Relationships and Sex Education curriculum be paused at primary and secondary schools across the Island? 

It was revealed earlier this month the RSE Advisory Curriculum - which launched last September - had  temporarily been halted until an independent review is conducted. 

It comes following growing concerns from some parents about certain material and themes being discussed.

In the House of Keys next week Castletown, Arbory and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse will ask the Education Minister how long the curriculum will be paused for.

He'll also ask who has been tasked with establishing facts about recent concerns; what will be delivered in its place during the pause; and what mechanisms are in place to assess the content of lessons.

3FM contacted the Department of Education for a statement, which you can see below:

"The DESC is aware of the concerns being raised around the Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) curriculum currently being delivered within secondary schools. The Department is also aware of the wider conversation online which is highlighting a level of public concern, I would urge those concerned to contact the head teacher of their school.

In light of this public comment, the Department feels it appropriate to deploy an independent review, to gain an independent understanding of what has taken place and the facts of the situation understood. As such, the Department has taken the decision to pause all RSE delivery across both primary and secondary schools, and will be unable to comment any further until the facts have been established. We would ask the public not to speculate any further until such time.

The purpose of the RSE Advisory Curriculum is to ensure that children and young people develop the knowledge, understanding, skills and attributes they need to support their emotional and physical wellbeing. Providing this guidance to schools helps work towards consistency across the Island’s schools, provides staff with equal access to high quality resources, and ensures that age and stage appropriate content is delivered to students. The RSE Advisory Curriculum, which was launched in September 2022, identifies themes and concepts from a number of sources including, but not limited to, Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood (RSHP), Childnet, The PSHE Association and Public Health England.

The structure and content has been guided by Scotland’s (RSHP) resource to ensure content is mapped from Reception to Year 11, which has been quality assured and peer reviewed by a partnership of educators, health professionals and third sector organisations. The content provided is tailored and adapted for the Island’s schools and it is not an exact replication. The guidance shares links to resources that teaching staff can access and adapt. However, there is no requirement to use any of the resources; school professionals will select the resources they wish to deliver within their school to meet the needs of their students.

Each school creates their own individual RSE Policy that advises on their content and delivery, advising parents/carers how they can discuss this with the school"

You can click the link below to the information sheet on the RSE Advisory Curriculum, which is available here.