Aontú candidate Gemma Brolly Deputy Leader of Aontú Gemma Brolly has criticised the recently passed Alliance Party motion which seeks to enforce “compulsory, standardised, inclusive, high-quality, evidence-based and age appropriate” RSE teaching into classrooms. Ms Brolly has described some of the language used in the motion as “misleading”. The motion was passed on Monday by a margin of 49 votes to 33.
Ms Brolly, a teacher, described the motion as “another step in the pathway impinging upon the role of the family”.
“Monday’s motion is yet another step in the pathway impinging upon the role of the family in society,” she said. “It seeks to impinge upon the rights of parents and respecting that parents know their children best, wrongfully and needlessly setting the rights of children and their parents against one another.”
Ms Brolly also said that the motion incorrectly states that it “regrets that children and young people in Northern Ireland have not had access to such a curriculum” and that “we in Aontú would argue quite the contrary. RSE teaching has been present for many years in many classrooms and more importantly in many homes, as deemed appropriate by parents and by school ethos”.
Ms Brolly also said that the use of the term “age-appropriate” is misleading and that “many children develop maturity at various rates and levels. Their age does not dictate their maturity, nor does it take into account any medical or educational needs. Parents will not be fooled by smokescreens and misleading language”.