Ms Clare Griffin:

It is. It is a challenging area for schools. Alongside the mandatory SPHE curriculum which runs from infants to sixth class and then up to junior cycle, there is also the Stay Safe programme at primary level. That has been a mandatory programme since 2011. It is specific to the prevention of child abuse. It covers certain topics such as "Feeling Safe and Unsafe", "Friendship and Bullying", "Touches", "Secrets and Telling" and "Strangers". All of these topics are addressed in an age-appropriate manner in a way which is relevant to the children and which will not frighten them. Again it lays the groundwork for looking at consent at a later stage but it also looks at understanding appropriate boundaries and touches and builds the children's confidence to tell and to say "no". All of those issues are dealt with through the mandatory Stay Safe programme, which runs from infants to sixth class.