Foley says students in SPHE classes will “under no circumstances” view sexually explicit material – The Irish Times

As part of the new Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum, students will “under no circumstances” be shown sexually explicit material or asked to watch pornography, Education Minister Norma Foley said.

It follows a call from the minister’s colleague, Sean Fleming TD, to withdraw material from the SPHE course after a teacher claimed in a viral YouTube video that young people were being exposed to inappropriate sexual material.

Last year a new junior cycle SPHE curriculum was introduced for all second level freshmen. Topics covered include self-confidence and self-esteem, emotional well-being, relationships and sexuality.

In a video viewed more than 425,000 times, Tipperary teacher Mary Creedon said she had resigned from her role as SPHE teacher and coordinator in protest at being expected to teach “graphic” material to students .

Ms Creedon, who attended a training course at Dublin City University (DCU) for the new curriculum alongside more than 30 other teachers, said she was “appalled” by some of the materials used.

She said it included a video of an illustrated female character demonstrating masturbation and an animated “sex map” of heterosexual and homosexual couples performing various sexual acts.

She also described a range of activities such as classifying various statements about sex – such as “It’s okay to have sex with 10 different partners” – into “porn world”, “real world”; and classifying sexual terminology as “sexual” or “intimate.”

Ms Creedon, who has previously been vocal in her criticism of SPHE and gender identity, made the comments in a video released by the Natural Women’s Council, which describes itself as “a not-for-profit grassroots group protecting children, women and families in Ireland”.

Mr Fleming TD has since called on Ms Foley to retract the material, which he described as a “complete disgrace”.

However, Ms Foley said the video was “rife with misrepresentations” and that the teacher training course material was intended for adults only.

“I want to be clear that graphic or explicit material will never be shown in the classroom. I want to say this very, very clearly. And that was completely misrepresented here,” she said.

The Education Ministry also said any claim that teachers would be expected to teach explicit content or topics was “false.”

“The curriculum categorically does not expose children to graphic or explicit content, nor does it normalize the use of pornography,” it said. “On the contrary, the core message would be that pornography is not a good place to learn about sex, that it can be disturbing and even harmful to young people, and that it is incompatible with values ​​such as human dignity, respect and gender equality.”

The department said that at a time when young people are bombarded with often distorted online information, the curriculum is designed to give them the tools to help them safely navigate this new world.

DCU, meanwhile, said teachers taking part in the Graduate Diploma in SPHE/Relationships and Sexuality Education course are involved in “critically exploring resources and content related to SPHE and RSE”, which includes material directly accessed by children and young adults can access.

“Therefore, these materials are provided to them as adults and no graphic or explicit materials are intended for use in the classroom,” it said.