Older post-primary students will learn about the importance of consent and the influence pornography can have on behaviours and expectations under a new Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) syllabus that is being published today in draft form.
They will also learn how to recognise an abusive relationship, RTE News is reporting.
Public consultation on the senior cycle proposals is under way, with the aim to have a new programme in place in schools by September of 2024.
Unlike the current SPHE programme, which is timetabled in fewer than one in five schools, the new curriculum will be mandatory across the post-primary sector.
It will be taught across both fifth and sixth year.
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment said the draft programme has been designed to be “inclusive of all genders, sexualities, ethnicities, religious beliefs, social classes and abilities/disabilities”.
It said it should be taught in a way that fully integrates and reflects LGBTQ+ identities, relationships and families.
The “more effective” programme is being introduced as a result of “growing evidence of the challenges that young people in Ireland face as they navigate growing up today, coupled with evidence of the important role that school-based health education programmes can play in supporting young people’s social, emotional and physical well-being”, according to the NCCA.
National policies also state that a redeveloped curriculum should specifically address gender equality, healthy and unhealthy relationships, consent, and domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
Read the full report on www.rte.ie
