How long will the Relationships and Sex Education curriculum be discontinued in primary and secondary schools across the Island?
It was revealed earlier this month that the CSR Advisory Curriculum – launched last September – has been temporarily suspended pending an independent review.
It follows growing concerns from some parents about certain materials and topics being discussed.
Next week at House of Keys, Castletown, Arbory and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse will ask the Minister of Education how long the curriculum will be stopped.
He will also ask who was charged with establishing facts about recent concerns; what will be delivered in your place during the break; and what mechanisms exist to evaluate the content of classes.
3FM contacted the Department of Education for a statement, which you can see below:
“The DESC is aware of concerns raised around the Sexual Relations and Education (CSR) curriculum currently being taught in secondary schools. The Department is also aware of the broader online conversation that is highlighting a level of public concern. Contact your school principal.
In light of this public comment, the Department considers it appropriate to undertake an independent review, to obtain an independent understanding of what happened and the facts of the situation understood. As such, the Department has taken the decision to stop all RSE delivery to primary and secondary schools and cannot comment further until the facts are established. We ask the public not to speculate further until that time.
The purpose of the CSR Advisory Curriculum is to ensure that children and young people develop the knowledge, understanding, skills and attributes they need to support their physical and emotional well-being. Providing this guidance to schools helps work toward consistency across Island schools, provides staff with equal access to high-quality resources, and ensures that age-appropriate and stage-appropriate content is delivered to students. The RSE Advisory Curriculum, launched in September 2022, identifies themes and concepts from a variety of sources including, but not limited to, Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenting (RSHP), Childnet, The PSHE Association and Public Health England.
The structure and content has been guided by Resource Scotland (RSHP) to ensure content maps from Reception to Grade 11, quality assured and peer reviewed by a partnership of educators, healthcare professionals and third sector organizations . The content provided is bespoke and adapted for the Island’s schools and is not an exact replication. The guidance shares links to resources that faculty can access and adapt. However, there is no requirement to use any of the features; School professionals will select the resources they want to provide in their school to meet the needs of their students.
Each school creates its own individual CSR Policy which advises on its content and delivery, advising parents/guardians on how they can discuss this with the school”
You can click on the link below for the CSR Advisory Curriculum fact sheet which is available here.