Dear Sir/Madam
It has been brought to my attention over the weekend , that on Monday 22nd April 2024 a motion is to be introduced within the Northern Ireland Assembly, proposed by Alliance Party in the names of Ms Kate Nicholl, Mr Nick Mathieson, Ms Connie Egan and Miss Nuala McAllister that,
“recognises the value of compulsory, standardised, inclusive, high-quality, evidence-based and age-appropriate Relationships and Sexuality Education” and “regrets that children and young people in Northern Ireland have not had access to such a curriculum.”
Now the chief question is what does this motion mean in practical terms and how will it impact the current law for education throughout the province?
If possible I would like answers to the following questions:
- Does the Alliance Party want to impose a standardised curriculum for all schools irrespective of status? The word standardised means a one size fits all. It has to do with commonality. Is this what the Alliance party is advocating for with this motion? The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster have been alarmed about the imposition of the new RSE curriculum and any attempt to foist teaching abortion and a new morality on our schools. This new morality is dangerously open to the sexual exploitation of vulnerable children. Surely this is a new low even for the Alliance Party. They are coming for our children. If it’s illegal for under 16 year olds to engage in certain practices that are deemed harmful under the law, why would politicians advocate a policy that children be forced to embrace material that’s detrimental to their mental health. To teach children that there are more than two biological genders, that it is ok to affirm your are a cat, dog or stardust, to take proscribed puberty blockers, to advocate changing ones biological gender identity, to teach abortion as a fundamental right to under age children (which it is not), and much more connected to the transgender lobby is neither scientific or safe regards their physical or mental well being.
- Does the Alliance Party want to take away the schools right to a particular ethos by standardising RSE ? Traditionally schools in Northern Ireland have been allowed to teach in accordance with their own ethos. Many schools came from a church background and it is important that the ethos of our schools be maintained. This was agreed away back in 1948. This is a direct attack on the freedom of religion , conscience and free speech. Is the Alliance Party wanting to restrict Protestant and Roman Catholic churches having a say in the education of children?
- Does the Alliance Party want to restrict or remove the rights of the School principal and Boards of governors to tailor the compulsory teaching of the new RSE legislation within their schools ethos? Boards of Governors and teachers will know their own community and their pupils accordingly and are therefore better placed than ideologically driven politicians to know what is best for their pupils.
- Does the Alliance Party want to remove or restrict the overwhelming desires of parents to have a full say in the education of their children? Surely parents are best placed to tailor the education curriculum to the needs of all children under their care. Let me remind the Alliance Party members who are proposing this motion that 73% of Parents who responded to the recent government consultation on RSE stated that they wanted a full say in what their children or child was being taught in schools.
The introduction of this motion by the Alliance party representatives Ms Kate Nicholl, Mr Nick Mathison, Ms Connie Egan and Miss Nuala McAllister in calling for a compulsory standardised RSE, is another attempt to impose their liberal left-wing values on everyone in Northern Ireland. This motion is a ploy to indoctrinate and sexualise the children of Northern Ireland which takes away the right of schools to adapt to their own ethos, and at the same time, removes the rights of parents to have their say in the education of their own children.
Rev. David G McLaughlin
Carryduff FPC
