Mr. David Byrne:

The point the Senator made about culture is very important. We can consciously focus on teaching RSE in terms of consent and raising awareness of gender- or sex-based violence, but many lessons will come within what is called the hidden curriculum. It is all the things that are implicitly or tacitly learned in the school place. That comes down to the culture of the school. We should also be conscious of a proposed school culture or ethos, which may be very altruistic and aim to be inclusive and open, compared to culture as performed.

As much as we may want to have inclusive culture where we are diverse and open to steering boys towards caring professions or steering girls towards STEM professions, the reality may be that, subconsciously and unbeknownst to some teachers, they may inadvertently steer them towards their gender-type subjects. It is very important to incorporate that into CPD and initial education to raise awareness of those implicit things.

The big thing from my perspective is also to involve students. This is highlighted in the report by the NCCA on its review of the RSE curriculum. Students seem to be unaware of what exactly they are supposed to be learning in RSE. This is for them and their feedback on the RSE curriculum would be very much valued.