Presbyterian General Assembly 2023 expresses ‘Grave concern’ at Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris' sex education plans
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church has expressed "deep regret" and "grave concern" at the Secretary of State’s "patronising imposition" of new plans for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in post-primary schools across NI.
The church's Council for Public Affairs presented a report to elders and ministers from across the island this week on the subject, with Council Convener, Rev Daniel Kane of of West Church in Ballymena offering his assessment.
“The autonomy afforded to school Boards of Governors in Northern Ireland to develop their own RSE policy, based on the ethos of the school, has come under sustained attack from many quarters," he said. "Recently the Secretary of State introduced legislation, which could affect how RSE is taught in post primary schools in Northern Ireland. There are obvious concerns around the implications this will have on the education of our young people.”
He also referenced the recent Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission report on RSE, which affirmed Secretary of State Chris Heaton Harris' plans.
Rev Kane said the commission's approach would result in RSE which is "value-neutral and outside the parameters of school ethos" which he said would be "a further challenge to the independence of School Boards of Governors in Northern Ireland to determine the ethos of their particular school".
The resolution passed by the church states that its leaders "deeply regret and express their grave concern at the Secretary of State’s patronising imposition of a series of measures” based on a UN committee’s recommendations for RSE in NI from 2018.