The development of a Core Outcome Set for evaluating the impact of Relationships and Sex Education with children with intellectual disability

From September 2020, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) will be compulsory in schools in England
for all pupils including those with intellectual disability (ID). Pupils with ID are twice as likely to
experience unintended pregnancies and sexual abuse compared to the general population. Yet little is
known on how to deliver RSE for ID, what its aims and objectives should be, or what effective RSE
actually means. There is thus an urgent need to identify the important outcomes of RSE for ID. I propose
to do so by developing a 'Core Outcome Set' (COS); I will engage key stakeholders and identify what they
think RSE for ID should be achieving and therefore what should be measured after its delivery. I will
undertake: 1) a systematic search of the literature looking for any outcome measures currently used with
RSE for ID 2) workshops with key stakeholders (pupils with ID, parents, teachers, school staff,
policymakers and expert researchers) to gather potential outcomes that are meaningful for each group;
3) an online survey and if needed a final workshop, to reach consensus on the COS content across
stakeholders; 4) exploration of whether the identified COS is usable with pupils with ID in a busy school
environment. My PhD will contribute a significant first step in the successful implementation, evaluation
and sustainability of RSE for education settings. Pupils with ID for the first time will be involved in the
development of COS making sure their needs and opinions are incorporated in the RSE.