Specialised training for SPHE teachers needs to be “rolled out much faster”, a teacher has said. 

Social, personal and health education (SPHE) is an optional subject schools can include on the curriculum and teaches pupils about sexual health, personal relationships, LGBT issues and mental health.  

Speaking to Moncrieff, SPHE teacher Eoghan Cleary said the State needs to do more to help teachers teach the subject. 

“We’ve been promised that teachers will get two days for training if they’re teaching SPHE,” he said. 

“There’s a postgraduate course that is booked out every year; there were 30 places on it this year and 60 places will be on it next year. 

“But just to put that in context, I have 25 teachers in my SPHE Department teaching this every day. 

“So, we need it rolled out much faster in a much wider way.” 

Mr Cleary said many of the issues covered are topical and complex, meaning proper training is essential. 

“There’s a whole topic on the law and how to know what your rights and responsibilities are - particularly around consent,” he said. 

“You do need to be an expert in those things because the students need to be experts in them and they’ll certainly have, in my experience, as many questions as you have answers.

“So, personally, I don’t know if two days will be enough.” 

'We’re the ones that are informing them'

Mr Clearly said young people are “crying out” for SPHE and there is now a “huge expectation” for schools to include it on their curriculum. 

“The majority of teachers I’m working with, they really want to provide the students with the skills and the information so that they become healthy adults in the world that they’re expected to live in,” he said. 

“That requires talking about these things and teaching them, so that we’re the ones that are informing them… as opposed to social media or the porn industry.”

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Main image: A school notepad about sex education. Picture by: designer491 / Alamy Stock Photo