Foróige are delighted to announce that our Relationships and Sexuality Education Programme, REAL U (Relationships Explored And Life Uncovered), has undergone a complete review, update and redesign. REAL U is an evidence based, comprehensive, and holistic personal development and sex education programme aimed at equipping young people with the skills, knowledge and confidence to develop healthy relationships and delay the onset of early sexual activity.
The programme is designed to be facilitated with 12-18 year olds in a non-formal educational setting. For more information on the REAL U Programme please click here.
The review of the REAL U programme incorporated surveys and focus groups with young people,trained facilitators, and staff, and a review of best practice in relationships and sexuality education both nationally and internationally.
819 people working in a variety of organisations all across the country have been trained in REAL U since 2015.
Having compiled the research some of the key updates to the programme include: an additional core module session ‘Influences & Perceptions’ that includes activities on gender norms, influences in young people's lives and how this can impact them, and societal privilege, additional elective module sessions on HIV, your body and online safety. Keeping in line with best practice in relationships and sexuality education and to enhance delivery to young people, throughout the programme the language used has been updated, additional facilitator notes have been added and activities have been updated or altered.
Alongside updating the content of the programme, the manual and supporting materials have undergone a complete redesign giving it a fresh feel.
Foróige partnered with many organisations in the update of the programme including the Health Sevice Execiative Sexual Health Crisis Pregnancy Programme, The Marie Keating Foundation, HIV Ireland, Rape Crisis Network Ireland, BeLonG To and Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. We would like to thanks these organisations for their time, energy and expertise.
All previously trained facilitators of the REAL U programme can avail of REAL U Updates training, a half day interactive training to bring participants through the updates to the programme, after which they will get access to the updated programme manual and supporting materials. Those not previously trained can apply for our interactive 2 day training.
For more information or to express an interest in either training please contact Michael Kiernan at [email protected]
