Brolly slams Alliance Parenting Diktat
Aontú Deputy Leader Gemma Brolly has spoken out against the Alliance Party's RSE implementation motion scheduled for this Monday.
"Monday's motion is yet another step in the pathway impinging upon the role of the family in society. 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. Aontú have consistently advocated for children and their parents. Parents are their children's chief protectors and educators in life, no government should ever contemplate challenging this.
Yet on Monday 22nd April, the Alliance Party have scheduled a motion to the executive which will seek to enforce "compulsory, standardised, inclusive, high-quality, evidence-based and age-appropriate" RSE teaching into classrooms.
The motion also incorrectly states that it "regrets that children and young people in Northern Ireland have not had access to such a curriculum." 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.
To use the term 'age-appropriate' is also extremely misleading. Many children development 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.
Aontú have consistently worked to uphold the rights of all, parents and children, trusting in parents to know what is in the best interests of their children. There are many resources available to assist parents in teaching what they deem appropriate. This is certainly not for the Alliance Party to decide, or any other party.
It is also vital that parents are fully informed with full access to materials being taught in school prior to consultation.
Unfortunately, it has been brought to our attention this is not always the case with instruction in some cases in fact to keep teaching materials in school.
As a parent, teacher and Special Needs Coordinator I can assure the Alliance Party there is most certainly a long list of priorities in dire need of addressing within our education system, it's time attention was directed there."
