Northern Ireland abortion and sex education: Presbyterian Church publishes final submission on Chris Heaton Harris's RSE plans

His plans have been endorsed by the NSPCC and Human Rights Commission but severely criticized by a House of Lords committee for failing to include a normal public consultation. They have also been criticised for apparently forbidding any ethical or moral content - a statutory requirement in RSE in England.

Critics have claimed the 12-week consultation, which closes this Friday, is much too narrow and brief.

The State Education Committee of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) has responded to the Department of Education’s consultation.

The Committee’s Acting Convener Karen Jardine said: “In an increasingly pluralistic context RSE should be taught in a sensitive and inclusive manner, in line with a school’s ethos. In our submission, we make the point that young people should have the opportunity to explore their own personal morals, values and beliefs, including the moral and ethical considerations around sensitive issues like abortion and contraception.”

PCI regrets Mr Heaton' Harris' “pick ‘n’ mix” policy approach to Northern Ireland, she said. This has placed “unnecessary and unrealistic demands” on the Department of Education, based on a "flawed" report from a UN committee in New York, which insists on teaching of RSE "without a particular view on moral, or ethical, considerations".

Ms Jardine added that it was “naïve to suggest that any aspect of education, including these most sensitive of topics, can be presented in a morally-neutral, or value-free environment, as there is no ‘neutral’ understanding of human identity and human sexuality”.

Subsequent resources produced for schools should therefore be open to full scrutiny, and acknowledge differences in worldview positions, she said.

It is also important to remember, she said, that the Education (Curriculum Minimum Content) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007, still places a responsibility on governors, teachers and parents to develop school policies – including for RSE - which promote "the spiritual, emotional, moral, cultural, intellectual and physical development of pupils".

See full submission at: www.presbyterianireland.org/Resources/Public-Affairs/PCI-s-submission-to-the-Department-of-Education-s.aspx