Comprehensive Sexuality Education
1. Context and background
The Republic of Ireland is a country in the north-western region of Europe. Youth under the age of 25 comprise more than one-third of the total population. Ireland’s fertility rate, maternal mortality rate, and HIV rate are quite low. Contraceptives use in Ireland is high, with about two-thirds of women aged 18-45 reporting regular use. STI and HIV & AIDS rates have been increasing consistently. Early and unplanned pregnancies have been decreasing. The majority of women’s family planning needs are met. The Relationships and Sexuality Education course was introduced by the Minister of Education in 1995 through the Circular M4/95 and has been part of Ireland’s curriculum since 1996. Relationships and Sexuality Education was made a part of the primary and junior cycles of education in 1999 and 2000 respectively. The Circular states that schools may implement Relationships and Sexuality Education programmes in accordance with ‘the ethos of individual schools’. The Catholic Church has a strong influence on education in the country, with over 90% of primary schools operating within a Catholic ethos. As a result, not all schools implement Relationships and Sexuality Education. Of those that do, many may follow Flourish (Relationships and Sexuality Education resources created by the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference) or omit certain parts of the curriculum provided by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. In 2018, the Minister of Education requested that the curriculum be reviewed and ensure that it meets the needs of youth in modern Ireland. The new curriculum development began in 2021 and is ongoing. It is currently facing backlash from conservative parents and religious organizations, which is causing delays. The new curriculum may not be rolled out until 2025-2027. There have also been two recent attempts to mandate sexuality education by law – in 2018 and again in 2021 – regardless of a school’s ethos. According to the 2015-2020 National Sexual Health Strategy, embarrassment about talking about sex and contraception remains a barrier to delivering education and information and accessing services. Fewer parents are talking with their children about reproductive health at home compared to a previous study in 2001.
2. Terminology
Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in Ireland is referred to as ‘relationships and sexuality education’. Relationships and Sexual Education forms part of the Social, Personal and Health Education broader curriculum.
According to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment’s General Information about Relationships and Sexuality Education across Primary and Post-Primary Schools FAQs, Relationships and Sexuality Education is ‘teaching and learning about the cognitive, emotional, physical and social aspects of relationships and sexuality. It aims to equip children and young people, in an age-appropriate manner, with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that will enable them to develop self-awareness and self-esteem; realise their health, wellbeing and dignity; develop positive and respectful, social and intimate relationships; consider how their choices affect their own wellbeing and that of others; and understand their rights and responsibilities in relation to themselves and others.’
In the 1995 Circular M4/95, Relationships and Sexuality Education is introduced as ‘a lifelong process of acquiring knowledge and understanding and of developing attitudes, beliefs and values about sexual identity, relationships and intimacy. In the school setting it is an integral part of general educational provision, which seeks to promote the overall development of the person, and which includes the integration of sexuality into personal understanding, growth and development.’
In the curriculum for the Social, Personal and Health Education senior level of post-primary education, gender studies is defined as the development of students’ understanding of how a person’s gender impacts on their physical, emotional and social health. Gender, in this context, refers to socially determined differences between females and males, as opposed to biological ones. These differences are changeable over time and can vary widely both within and between cultures. The characteristics and roles ascribed to males and females in different cultural groups within a given society affect the behaviour, experiences, expectations and opportunities of both male and female individuals.
Sexual health is defined in the 2015-2020 National Sexual Health Strategy and in the 2014-2020 Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People as ‘a state of physical, emotional, mental and social wellbeing in relation to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity. Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence.’
3. Laws and policies
3.1. Relevant international/regional agreements to which the country is a signatory
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INTERNATIONAL |
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Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Ratified in 1985 |
Acknowledges the need to guarantee sexuality education free from discrimination and stereotypes, conveying gender equality values. |
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Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Ratified in 1992 |
Commits to the right to access appropriate health-related information. |
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Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) Ratified in 2018 |
Commits to the highest attainable standard of health for persons with disabilities. |
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International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Ratified in 1989 |
Acknowledges that the right to sexual and reproductive health is an integral part of the right to health. |
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UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education Not ratified |
Reaffirms that education is a human right. It highlights states' obligations to ensure free and compulsory education, bans any form of discrimination and promotes equality of educational opportunity. |
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The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action Attended the conference |
Calls for sexuality education, counselling and support mechanisms for adolescents, and identifies essential topics. |
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UN General Assembly 2016 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS |
Includes commitments and calls to scale up and/or attention to scientifically accurate age- and culturally appropriate comprehensive sexuality education. |
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Commission on the Status of Women 2016 Resolution on Women, the Girl Child and HIV and AIDS |
Includes commitments to make universally accessible and available quality comprehensive sexual and reproductive health-care services, commodities, information and education. |
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REGIONAL |
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The European Social Charter (1996) |
States must "to provide advisory and educational facilities for the promotion of health". There have been court cases which have expanded on this to specify/include SRH education. |
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3.2. Relevant national laws and policies mandating comprehensive sexuality education
The 1937 Constitution of Ireland (amended in 2019) states that the state must provide free primary education and ensure the strength and health of its citizens. The Education Act 1998 (as amended in 2020), which governs education from early childhood to secondary level in Ireland, in section 9(d), tasks schools to ‘promote the moral, spiritual, social and personal development of students and provide health education for them, in consultation with their parents’.
The Education (Health, Relationships and Sex Education) Bill 2021 seeks to amend the 1998 Education Act by deleting ‘provide health education’ in section 9(d) and adding a paragraph which states, ‘provide evidence informed health education (being evidence of an objective nature), including cognitive, emotional, physical and social aspects of relationships and sex education and ensure that the education provides students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable students—
(i) to understand health, wellbeing and dignity,
(ii) to develop respectful social and sexual relationships, and
(iii) to consider how choices affect the student’s wellbeing and the wellbeing of others,
and for the purposes of the other provisions of this paragraph, to understand and ensure the protection of constitutional rights of all persons.’ The Bill also instructs the Inspectorate to ‘evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching, development and promotion of health education, including relationships and sex education, in schools and to report to the Minister on those matters.’ The Bill explicitly states that health education, including relationships and sex education, must be provided by schools solely in accordance with the curriculum prescribed by the Minister of Education. It also includes a provision for the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment to review the curriculum every five years.
A similar Bill, the Provision of Objective Sex Education Bill 2018, was considered but never passed. The 2018 Bill guaranteed the right of students to receive factual and objective Relationships and Sexuality Education without regard to the characteristic spirit of the school.
Relationship and Sexuality Education was first introduced by the Minister of Education in 1995 in the Circular M4/95. This began the process of curriculum development and Circular M20/96 helped with the timing and delivery of the programme in the following year. Other relevant policies regarding the Social, Personal and Health Education curriculum implementation include Circulars M22/00 and M11/03. Every school is required to have a Relationship and Sexuality Education policy as per the Circular Letters, M37/2010, M27/2008, and M42/2018. The circulars state that these Relationship and Sexuality Education programmes are delivered in accordance with ‘the ethos of individual schools’.
The Department of Education and Skills, Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools (2017) Section 8.4 reminds schools that the Social, Personal and Health Education programme is a mandatory part of the curriculum for all students in primary schools and in the junior cycle of post-primary schools and must be fully implemented. All post-primary schools are also required to have a Relationship and Sexuality Education programme at the senior cycle. The aim is to prevent child abuse and neglect.
The Department of Education’s 2015-2023 Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice assists schools in ensuring that well-being promotion is embedded within the school’s existing practice. It also calls for a review of the content and delivery of the relationship and sexuality curriculum.
The 2014-2020 Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People aims for youth and children to have a ‘positive and respectful approach to relationships and sexual health’.
The 2015-2020 National Sexual Health Strategy is Ireland’s first strategic framework for the sexual health and wellbeing of the Irish population. The strategy is a part of the Healthy Ireland – A Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013–2025. The National Sexual Health Strategy’s goal is for the population to experience positive sexual health and wellbeing, and have access to high-quality sexual health information, education and services. The three key goals of the strategy are to: increase access to appropriate sexual health education and information; ensure available and affordable high quality sexual health services; and gather quality data to be made available to guide the service. Recommendations include ensuring young people have ‘continued access, and knowledge of how to access, age-appropriate sources of trustworthy and accurate information and support on relationships and sexual health’, as well as supporting ‘all children and young people in addressing issues that impact on sexual wellbeing such as stigma, homophobia, gender, ability/disability, mental health, alcohol and drugs’. The Strategy also aims to educate parents so they can communicate effectively about relationships and sexuality with their children; continue to provide teachers with Relationship and Sexuality Education / Social, Personal and Health Education training; providing youth with information on where and how to access sexual reproductive health services; and evaluating the existing Relationship and Sexuality Education programme for improvement.
The Programme for Government (2020) states that the government will: ‘Develop inclusive and age-appropriate RSE and SPHE curricula across primary and post-primary levels, including an inclusive programme on LGBTI+ relationships and making appropriate legislative changes, if necessary’.
The Report on the Citizen’s Assembly on Gender Equality (2021) includes a recommendation which states that: ‘a curriculum review and development should: (a) Promote gender equality and diversity and (b) Explicitly cover gender power dynamics, consent and domestic, sexual and gender-based violence – both online and offline – within the revised Relationships and Sexuality curriculum’.
The 2022-2026 Third National Strategy for Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence tasks the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment in the implementation plan with ‘updating of the primary, junior cycle and senior cycle SPHE/RSE curriculum specifications’.
3.3. Curricula
Mandatory or optional
Social, Personal and Health Education is a mandatory curriculum subject in all primary and post-primary schools. Relationships and Sexuality Education is required at all levels, from the primary through to the senior cycle.
Model of delivery
Currently, Ireland teaches the Relationships and Sexuality Education programme within the broader curriculum area of Social, Personal and Health Education.
Comprehensiveness of content
The new Relationships and Sexuality Education curriculum is currently under development by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. According to a review of the current RSE/SPHE curriculum, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment intends to create one integrated curriculum that sets out the learning for Social, Personal and Health Education / Relationships and Sexuality Education as one subject. Topics will include aspects of both, such as: the effects of the internet and social media on relationships; self-identity and self-esteem; consent and its relevance to all interpersonal relationships; LGBTQ+ matters; healthy positive sexual expression; and developments in contraception.
The current curriculum includes the 1999 Primary curriculum, 2016 Post-primary Junior level– short course, and 2011 Post-primary Senior level – Social, Personal, Health and Education framework. The primary Social, Personal and Health Education curriculum is presented in three strands: ‘Myself’, ‘Myself and others’, and ‘Myself and the wider world’. Students learn about their own identity and growing body as well as their relationships with their families, peers and community. Relationships and Sexuality Education is introduced in the junior level. The short course is expected to take 100 hours of instruction and is comprised of four strands: ‘Who am I?’, allows students to explore their own self-identity and the rights of others; ‘Minding myself and others’ teaches students to take care of their own health and avoid substance abuse and bullying; ‘Team up’ covers relationships, sexuality, gender identity, and sexual health; ‘My mental health’ discusses mental illness and how to practise positive mental health. The draft for the newest iteration of the Social, Personal and Health Education curriculum 2022 is under consultation and may be implemented starting in 2023. The senior level is designed as a 90-hour course in the senior-cycle of education. It consists of five areas of learning: mental health, gender studies, substance use, relationships and sexuality education, and physical activity and nutrition. In gender studies, students learn how a person’s gender impacts on their physical, emotional and social health. The objectives of Relationships and Sexuality Education are for students to: understand and explore relationships; promote empathy with others who might be different; develop their knowledge, understanding and skills in support of sexual and reproductive health; develop their understanding of sexuality and sexual orientation; develop personal and interpersonal skills; and develop skills for coping with peer pressure, conflict, and threats to personal safety. The curriculum does contain content on puberty, the reproductive process, STIs, contraception, sexual orientation, and sexual assault and harassment.
Learning resources
Teachers are currently provided with interim learning toolkits for Social, Personal and Health Education / Relationships and Sexuality Education at the primary, junior, and senior levels. These toolkits are to provide guidance for teachers to teach the current curriculum effectively while the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment develops the new curriculum and resources for teachers. The toolkits contain resources such as lesson plans, activity plans, websites, and books. The resources were selected or developed for the different age group by a state agency or organisation and mapped against the learning outcomes of the Social, Personal and Health Education courses to facilitate planning. However, the page does make it clear that the teacher should determine with materials to use and which materials to differentiate to fit each class's unique needs, stage of development and school context. Other resources have been compiled by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and the Health Service Executive Sexual Health Crisis Pregnancy Programme webpage.
Toolkits, teaching manuals, and teaching resources such as books, videos, workbooks, and activities are also provided by the Professional Development Service for Teachers for Relationships and Sexuality Education at all levels. Resource materials are also available from the Professional Development Service for Teachers (Junior and Senior Infant Classes, first and second, third and fourth, fifth and sixth). Units of learning are also developed by the Health Service Executive Health and Wellbeing (the Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme and the Education Programme) with support from the Department of Education and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.
3.4. Teachers
The learning toolkits for Social, Personal and Health Education / Relationships and Sexuality Education at the primary, junior, and senior levels contain guides to teachers to prepare them to teach Relationships and Sexuality Education. For example, teachers are taught to incorporate student voice and the experiential learning cycle method in their Relationships and Sexuality Education classes, which uses student experiences to ensure meaningful learning. Most teachers have noted that the instruction they receive in for Social, Personal and Health Education / Relationships and Sexuality Education was not enough.
The Professional Development Service for Teachers and Junior Cycle for Teachers provide introductory training in Social, Personal and Health Education and Relationships and Sexuality Education. There are no explicit reference to Relationships and Sexual Education in the sample of publicly available Initial Teacher Education programme documentation; however, Social, Personal and Health Education and Relationships is mentioned.
2015-2020 National Sexual Health Strategy tasked the Professional Development Service for Teachers with providing Relationships and Sexuality Education in-service training in 2015–2016. Furthermore, the strategy aims to: ‘Incorporate training on sexual health for professionals who deliver sexual health education and prevention activities or who can incorporate sexual health into their core work as part of continuing professional Development.’ In 2022, the Minister of Education proposed a new postgraduate course to be developed for teachers in post-primary schools teaching Social, Personal and Health Education / Relationships and Sexuality Education. This was announced in Circular 0073/2022.
3.5. Schools
The Education Act states that effective liaison and consultation between schools and centres for education and health services is necessary. Under the Social, Personal and Health Education Post-primary Senior level – framework, students research the services offered by statutory and voluntary agencies in the community which support the sexual health and wellbeing of young adults.
4. Governance
4.1 Responsible ministries
The Department of Education and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment are responsible for the development and implementation of the Relationship and Sexuality Education programme. The Professional Development Service for Teachers is responsible for providing professional learning opportunities to teachers and school leaders in Ireland. It receives funding from the Teacher Education Section of the Department of Education and also has a Technology in Education team which specializes in education technology.
The Health and Wellbeing Programme in the Department of Health is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Sexual Health Strategy 2015–2020. The Health Service Executive HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme is also instrumental in the implementation of the strategy and also partners with the Department of Health, Department of Education, and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment in evaluating and improving the Relationship and Sexuality Education curriculum. The Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme’s primary goal is ‘sexual health promotion, education and prevention’.
4.2. Level of responsibility/decentralization and autonomy
Schools are mandated to develop and implement their own Relationship and Sexuality Education policy in accordance with Circular Letter, M37/2010 and M27/2008. This is frequently done by principals and teachers in the schools. Relationships and Sexuality Education is taught by teachers, health professionals, or Accord, the Catholic Marriage Care Service.
4.3. Government budget allocation
No information was found.
5. Monitoring and reporting
The Department of Education Inspectorate is responsible for the evaluation of primary and post-primary schools and centres for education. This includes schools’ Social, Personal and Health Education / Relationships and Sexuality Education programmes.
Social, Personal and Health Education is not formally assessed in the Junior Certificate examination. Teachers are encouraged to creatively assess their students by doing ongoing assessments and more formal assessments. All existing curricula (Primary, Post-primary Junior level– short course, and Post-primary Senior level – SPHE framework) contain sections on in-classroom assessments. For example, the senior level framework encourages teachers to have students create a Social, Personal and Health Education portfolio, which include the following elements: opening statement, diary and review, summary report of group action, case study/personal action plan, and a final statement. Schools are also expected to engage in ongoing evaluation of Social, Personal and Health Education by incorporating student, teacher, and parent feedback.
According to the 2015-2023 Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice, the DES Lifeskills Survey provides data on the Relationships and Sexuality Education programmes in schools. The surveys help to determine how many schools have implemented Relationships and Sexuality Education policies and which subjects are taught. It does not measure student knowledge or performance and is self-reporting.
The Minster of Education called for formal reviews of the Social, Personal and Health Education / Relationships and Sexuality Education curriculum in 2007 and again in 2018. The reviews were conducted by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.
