Welcome to the second issue of Parent Talk for 2021. I hope you and your extended families were not too badly affected by the recent torrential rain and flash flooding across NSW. 

On 5 March we held the first CCSP Council meeting for 2021. There was a positive energy in the room with representatives from every diocese in NSW/ACT, making meaningful contributions to the meeting. More about this later in the newsletter. 

Wayne Davie, CCSP Chair, and I travelled to Hay to attend the Isolated Children's Parents' Association (ICPA) Conference. We had the opportunity to connect with parents from far flung parts of the state as well as the Hon Sarah Mitchell, MLC, Minister for Education and Early Childhood, during the two day meeting. 

It was wonderful to have many members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Committee meet in Sydney on 18 March. More about this later in the newsletter.  

As you are aware, the issue of sexuality and consent education has been a major topic of  discussion in the media, in families and in the education sector. I was invited by Dallas McInerney, Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Schools NSW, to be part of a panel to review the current teaching strategies and resources, provided by dioceses and schools, used for teaching about consent in Catholic schools in NSW/ACT. Based on a sample of materials, our report identifies how PDHPE, RE and Pastoral care programs work together in Catholic schools to educate children and young people in the areas of right and respectful relationships and sexuality and consent. This review serves to highlight examples of best practice while also identifying areas in which we can do better. What is already clear is that there does not appear to be a need for an additional off-the-shelf consent education teaching program mandated in every school across the state. While schools have a crucial role to play, the issues of consent and right and respectful relationships are societal issues and ones in which parents and carers need to exercise their responsibilities as the first educators of their children.

It is important that parent bodies like CCSP work closely with dioceses and schools to ensure that, in partnership, we provide our children and young people with respectful and life-giving instruction on what is an important matter for our social fabric.

In this edition of Parent Talk, we have collated information from several reputable sources to assist parents to continue to talk with their children about this significant, and potentially vexing, topic.

Finally, Pope Francis has encouraged all Catholics to support all families during Amoris Laetitia Family Year, which was launched on 19 March, the Feast Day of St Joseph.

My prayers are with you and your family during this Holy Season of Lent.

Kind regards,

Peter Grace | Executive Director