Northern Ireland Humanists call for inclusive curriculum

Northern Ireland Humanists has responded to the Department of Education’s consultation on the Northern Ireland Curriculum, calling for comprehensive reforms to make Religious Education (RE) fully inclusive and objective, and to make Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) unbiased, evidence-based, and mandatory for all pupils.

The Department of Education held the consultation as the start of a review of the curriculum. Northern Ireland Humanists stressed in its response that RE must be inclusive, giving pupils an objective understanding of different religions and humanism. It highlighted the particular need for equal treatment of non-religious perspectives, given that nearly 40% of young people in Northern Ireland are non-religious. Northern Ireland Humanists also called for an independent inspection of RE so that it meets the standards of other subjects and is free from confessional teaching.

Northern Ireland Humanists further urged that RSE be standardised and made mandatory for every pupil, delivering age-appropriate information about consent, contraception, abortion, and LGBT relationships. This teaching must be free from religious bias and teachers need to receive high-quality training and guidance to make sure that RSE is comprehensive and inclusive.

Northern Ireland Humanists Coordinator Boyd Sleator commented:

‘The information pupils receive about religions, humanism, relationships, and sexuality can have a huge impact on their wellbeing and understanding of the world. RE should fully reflect Northern Ireland’s changing society, and RSE should be high-quality and objective so that it prepares young people for adult life.’

Northern Ireland Humanists also highlighted the need to teach evolution and natural selection in the primary school curriculum and to prohibit the teaching of pseudoscientific ideas such as creationism as scientifically valid.