North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called on the Welsh Government to act on the calls of Welsh Women’s Aid for schools to be better equipped to deliver and publicise the benefits of the new Sexuality and Relationships Education curriculum.

Mr Isherwood raised the matter with the Education Minister in the Assembly Chamber yesterday after concerns were raised with him by Welsh Women’s Aid earlier in the day.

He said:

“Welsh Women's Aid believes that schools need to be equipped with the resources they need to properly publicise the benefits of the new RSE curriculum—relationships and sexuality education—in order to ensure and protect children's rights.

“How do you respond to the reinforcement by Welsh Women's Aid of the need for a designated and trained RSE lead practitioner to develop and deliver the RSE curriculum and embed RSE in a whole-school approach, as recommended by the Expert Panel to improve impact and access for children across Wales?”

In her response, the Education Minister dodged Mr Isherwood’s question, stating that “the Welsh Government has funded Welsh Women's Aid to help us develop materials and resources to go into schools. Additional resources have been made available specifically to help train teachers and professionals working in our schools to discuss these issues with children and with young people.”

Mr Isherwood added: “It is more than regrettable that the Minister evaded my question, especially when this had only been raised me a couple of hours earlier by Welsh Women’s Aid”.

ENDS