A new Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) program has been offered to Catholic primary schools in Northern Ireland.
Flourish has been approved by the Irish Bishops’ Conference and adapted to the Northern Ireland curriculum.
It covers topics such as conception, bullying, same-sex attraction and puberty – including discussing periods and wet dreams.
However, contraception is not included.
The Trustee Service of Catholic Schools (CSTS) said that’s because Flourish was “designed to encourage age-appropriate conversation.”
“For this reason, contraception is not mentioned in the primary resources as it would not be age appropriate,” she told BBC News NI.
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The Department of Education (DE) in Northern Ireland requires each school to develop its own RSE policy.
The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) has previously developed RSE guides and resources for schools, including material on subjects such as consent, healthy relationships, sexual violence, LGBTQ+ issues and contraception.
However, what students are actually taught about RSE is for each school to decide based on their school ethos.
This has been criticized by some experts as “inconsistent and inadequate”.
Retired judge Sir John Gillen has also previously said sex education should be compulsory in Northern Ireland’s primary schools.
The Flourish program was made available to Catholic primary schools in the Republic of Ireland in 2021 and has now been adapted for primary schools in Northern Ireland.
Classes are age appropriate and developed by CSTS and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS).
For example, children in Elementary School 1 are taught about their bodies, friendship and family, where children are taught that “God wants us to respect our parents and guardians.”
However, there has been some controversy surrounding the program in the Republic of Ireland, with some parent groups and politicians complaining that issues such as contraception and same-sex relationships are not being adequately addressed.
However, some Flourish lessons published in Northern Ireland mention same-sex attraction.
For example, in a 7th grade love lesson, children are encouraged to discuss, “Is romantic love always between a man and a woman?”
“Explain to the children that a person who is romantically attracted to someone of the same sex is called homosexual or gay,” the lesson continues.
“Female homosexuals are known as lesbians.”
Another lesson says, “Remember, children can raise, babies can come into families through adoption, surrogacy, foster care, and to same-sex couples.
“Emphasize that babies are a gift from God in all circumstances and that God is the center of love in all families.”
However, the Flourish program makes no mention of contraception.
In the lesson on how babies are made, 7th graders are taught that babies are “precious gifts from God.”
“From the moment they are tiny cells in the womb, they must be attended to and they are born utterly helpless,” a lesson in nurturing new states of life.
In a statement to BBC News NI, CSTS said “the reference to the stage of pregnancy at which a baby is born is consistent with the ethos of Catholic parenting”.
“It is Catholic understanding that a baby exists from the moment of conception,” they said.
There is also a lesson plan on climate change inspired by activist Greta Thunberg.
In a statement accompanying the class, CSTS executive director Fintan Murphy said Flourish will ensure students are taught to form “healthy and supportive relationships.”
“Based on the feedback we have already received, we are confident that schools will find the resources extremely valuable to enhance the work they are already doing in this important area of the curriculum,” he said.
“We encourage all of our schools to review the materials in consultation with their school community, particularly parents and carers, to assess the appropriate use of the resources in their particular school context.”
A similar RSE program for Catholic secondary schools in Northern Ireland is also being developed.
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