§ Lady HermonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the advice issued by the Department of Education on the teaching of sex education in Northern Ireland. [103628]
§ Jane KennedyFollowing a major consultation exercise with interested parties and organisations conducted by the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment, on 24 August 2001 the Department of Education issued to all schools a circular on Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE), together with comprehensive teacher guidance material, intended to help schools develop their own policy on RSE and provide a programme of RSE appropriate to the needs and maturity of their pupils.