Ms Annette Honan:

Absolutely. That is endorsed by lots of other evidence, including feedback sent from the principals of schools into the Department in response to a survey on the number of RSE lessons given in their schools each year. We know therefore that it is factually true that RSE is not being provided in many schools or is being provided at a very inadequate level.

There is also the quality of the RSE that is being delivered. The reasons for that are multiple. In some cases, it is down to the high turnover of teachers and the lack of training and support available for teachers. That is being addressed to some degree. We need to welcome and affirm the initiative being made by the Minister recently on providing a qualification for SPHE teachers at level 9. That is really important. It will be a game-changer in many ways but it will take time for that to create a cohort of qualified and competent teachers in our schools. In the meantime, it is a matter of providing professional development and other supports for teachers, an updated curriculum and clarity in the curriculum regarding what they are to teach. That was one aspect of the feedback we received in our review of RSE, as was the fact that while we have quite a progressive curriculum in place already, it was not clear to teachers exactly what they were expected to teach. For example, as regards the learning outcome on sexual health, teachers asked what that meant and wondered whether they were to teach about hygiene or contraception.