The Consent Ed Project

Who we are

The Consent Ed Project is a sexual violence prevention resource for young people in Ireland.

We develop learning materials for educators and practitioners working with young people that promote consent, healthy relationships and a society free of the spectrum of sexual violence. We believe an important key to ending sexual violence is to create cultural change through education.

Our mission is to create engaging, fact-based, and age-appropriate educational materials for young people that support them to have happy, healthy relationships as they grow. We work within real youth settings and with real young people to form the basis for our resources and project development.

Our Role within Zero Tolerance: the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.

The Consent Ed Project is a Cuan-led project and is situated in the Prevention pillar of the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (DSGBV).

Consent Ed is named in two objectives of the Zero Tolerance Implementation plan 2025-2026:

• Enhance the understanding of the general public of all forms of DSGBV and its root causes, and educate society to recognise the harm and prevent the human rights abuse that is DSGBV while making clear the pathways to safety and sanctions
• Enhance the understanding of children and young people on what creates gender inequalities and what constitutes gender equality, consent and healthy relationships (using best practice evidence)

Consent Ed delivers on these objectives through a comprehensive programme of facilitator training and learning resources for young people, supporting educators to embed DSGBV prevention within SPHE and non-formal education settings.

Facilitator Training

Adapted to meet the needs of the changing SPHE curriculum, the Consent Ed facilitator training supports teachers and youth practitioners to deliver sessions on consent, relationships, online harm and more both, confidently and effectively. The training focuses not only on how to facilitate these sessions in an engaging way, but also on why this work is so important.

This hybrid model of training is made up of 3 e-learning modules hosted on Consent Ed's Moodle, followed by a live Zoom training session. Teachers and youth practitioners can register now for training on Eventbrite.

What the training covers

Essential knowledge: Consent, DSGBV and emerging issues

• Facilitation methodologies and trauma-informed practice
• Experiential learning through classroom activities
• Consent Ed’s approach to pornography education
• Whole-School Approach
• Responding to disclosures

After completing training

Participants receive a full facilitator toolkit, including:

• Junior Cycle handbooks (English and Irish)
• Senior Cycle handbook (English)

Each handbook contains lesson plans, activity sheets, handouts, teacher guidance (including relevant laws, research and support services), and supporting media such as PowerPoints and videos.

Impact

• 96% of participants felt able to comprehensively inform young people about sexual consent.
• 94.3% of participants felt confident about dealing with a disclosure of sexual violence.
• 98% of participants found the training useful or very useful.

(Based on 2023-2024 academic year feedback)

What Teachers Say:

“There was great willingness among staff to tackle consent and healthy relationships, but we lacked the tools and structure - Consent Ed gave us both. It’s curriculum-aligned, works in the classroom, and builds consistently across year groups. The wide range of resources gives teachers the autonomy to select what suits the needs of their students. This flexibility ensures every class receives content that’s both engaging and appropriate. These are vital life skills, not just classroom topics.”

– Lydia Murphy, Presentation Secondary School, Wexford

“This training was incredibly well put together – both comprehensive and easy to learn. Our facilitators modelled exactly how the Consent Ed sessions should be delivered: informative and fun.”
– Dillon English, Coláiste Choilm, Cork

“As someone new to teaching SPHE, I found Consent Ed training very informative. It gave me the tools and confidence to teach these topics properly.”
– David O’Connor, Athlone Community College

(Based on 2024-2025 academic year feedback)

What do Consent Ed sessions cover?

Consent Ed SPHE lesson plans are designed in consultation with students, teachers and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to empower young people to have happy, healthy and safe relationships. Sessions explore the impacts of sexual violence, online harm, sexual media and abusive relationships, while signposting young people to trusted adults and support services.

These resources also align seamlessly with Youth Work goals and outcomes, including the 7 proximal outcomes.

Junior Cycle

First year:

Session 1: Boundaries
Session 2: Relationships
Session 3: Benefits and Difficulties of Relationships
Session 4: Healthy, Unhealthy and Abusive Relationships

Second year:

Session 1: Sexual Harassment & Healthy Sexual Expression
Session 2: Online Sexual Harm
Session 3: Sexting and Intimate Image Sharing
Session 4: Online Exploitation and Grooming

Third year:

Session 1: Introduction to Consent
Session 2: Consent Skills
Session 3: Sexual Media and Pop Culture
Session 4: Pornography

NCCA SPHE outcomes covered across Junior Cycle sessions:

1.7 Communicate in a respectful and effective manner and listen openly and sensitively to the views/feelings of others.

2.7 Assess the benefits and difficulties associated with their online world and discuss strategies for dealing with a range of scenarios that might arise.

2.9 Explore why young people share sexual imagery online and examine the risks and consequences of doing this.

3.1 Reflect on the values, behaviours and skills that help to make, sustain and end relationships respectfully with friends, family and romantic/intimate relationships.

3.2 Examine benefits and difficulties experienced by young people in a range of relationships –friendships, family relationships, and romantic/intimate relationships.

3.3 Identify signs of healthy, unhealthy and abusive relationships.

3.4 Appreciate the importance of setting healthy boundaries in relationships and consider how to show respect for the boundaries of others.

3.7 Explore the pressures to become sexually intimate and discuss ways to show respect for people’s choices.

3.8 Appreciate the importance of seeking, giving and receiving consent in sexual relationships, from the perspective of building caring relationships and from a legal perspective.

3.10 Discuss the influence of popular culture and the online world, in particular, the influence of pornography, on young people’s understanding, expectations and social norms in relation to sexual expression.

3.11 Demonstrate how to access and appraise appropriate and trustworthy advice, support and services related to relationships and sexual health.

4.4 Discuss ways to support themselves in challenging times and where / how to seek support, if needed.

4.6 Examine different kinds of abusive and bullying behaviour that can occur in online and face to-face interactions.

Senior Cycle:

Session 1: Heathy Relationships
Session 2: Consent and the Law
Session 3: Sexual Violence
Session 4: Online Sexual Harm
Session 5: Pornography

NCCA SPHE outcomes covered:

2.1 Demonstrate the awareness and skills needed for nurturing healthy in-person and online relationships, including respecting boundaries, communicating effectively, navigating difficult conversations, preventing and managing conflict and dealing with break-ups.

2.3 Discuss the need for consent and the importance of care, respect, empathy, trust and mutual pleasure within a sexual relationship.

2.5 Identify and consider common signs of abusive relationships, including coercive control.

2.7 Investigate the influence of pornography on attitudes, behaviours and relationship expectations and what supports are available for those impacted by pornography.

2.8 Discuss image-based abuse, sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape and what to do and how to seek support if they or someone they know has experienced any of these.

Parents Resources:

Developed in partnership with the National Parents Council, Consent Ed’s parent resources support parents to continue classroom learning at home on topics including consent, online safety and healthy relationships.

Parents play a vital role in shaping young people’s understanding of respect, boundaries and relationships, yet many don’t feel equipped to start these conversations. Consent Ed’s resources recognise that learning doesn’t end in the classroom. By supporting parents with trusted guidance and practical tools, we help create consistent, holistic learning between home and school.

What do these resources include?
Digital mini-guides for talking to your child about a range of issues in a way that is age-and-stage appropriate, including:
* Consent for Junior Cycle students
* Consent for Senior Cycle students
* Relationships and friendships for Junior Cycle students
* Relationships for Senior Cycle students
* Online sexual harm

Recorded webinar on online sexual harm, covering:
* What is online sexual harm?
* Parental controls - the benefits and the limits
* Understanding online platforms
* Intimate image sharing and Irish law
* Digital abuse and online grooming
* Pornography
* Online misogyny
* Top tips to help your child stay safe online
* Support services

Self-guided presentation on having the consent conversation with your child, covering:
* What is consent?
* Why it’s important to talk to your child about consent
* Consent and the law in Ireland
* Answer guide for tricky questions

If you have any questions for the Consent Ed team, please get in touch by emailing: consented@grcc.ie