I was surprised—. No, I wasn't surprised with what Caroline had to say, because she said something last week that was equally appalling in my view. I cannot understand why it is derisory that a child has no understanding of what is going to happen to them aged nine when they start menstruating. About 30 per cent of all children do not know what is happening the first time they menstruate, and that is because parents are too embarrassed to actually talk to them about it. We have the worst of all worlds in our culture, both here and in the United States. We use women's bodies to sell all manner of products, from cars to perfume to chocolate, but we don't want to talk about what our bodies do and how we can keep ourselves safe from it. So, in the balance between children's rights against parents' rights, I firmly come down on the right of the child both to know what their bodies are for, the fact that it belongs to them, that nobody else has the right to invade this space, and nothing should be done to them that they are not content with. That is what we are up against, Caroline, and, in the world where the internet is everywhere, we absolutely have to provide children with the knowledge to keep them safe, and we are absolutely against everything that we need to do to keep them safe if we are not teaching them about how we have good relationships, respectful relationships, respecting difference and ensuring that we're not entering into abusive relationships because we're so desperate to please somebody. 

So, those are really, really important issues, and, not least, we know about all the research that's been done on adverse childhood experiences—if children are experiencing domestic violence, they must at least have the tools to understand that this is not normal, because otherwise they will simply go on to being either an abuser themselves or being abused, entering into abusive relationships. This is so important. Of course, all children must have mandatory RSE. So, I hope that the code will include mandatory menstrual education, because not just girls, but boys as well, need to understand that this is something to celebrate, not to be regarded as a curse, because if we don't have periods we won't have the human race. So, it's as simple as that.

I think the whole curriculum is absolutely brilliant and I think the education Minister has so much to be proud of. Just turning to the slightly more contentious issue of religion, values and ethics, I think that Catholic and Church in Wales leaders have, to some extent, interpreted this as a Trojan horse for undermining the denominational character of their schools. I think the obligation to provide both a denomination-led pluralistic education and, also, allow parents to opt-out and demand another type of religious education seems to be utterly burdensome on individual schools. How would we manage that?

I think if parents choose a school of a religious nature, they know what they're entering into. They are going to get something that's slightly different from the county school that they've chosen not to go to. So, I was interested to hear Suzy Davies talk about the recommendation to insist that all religious education needs to be of a pluralistic nature with due regard to the multiple religious feelings and none of the whole community. So, I think that this is an important distinction, but I think we also have to make a complete difference between religious education and an act of worship, because they are two completely different things. After 30 years of religious conflict in Northern Ireland still fresh in our minds and, sadly, it could come back, as a result of negotiations going on elsewhere in Brussels, we absolutely need to ensure that all pupils have respect for people of all religions and none. So, I think this is such an important issue, but I look forward to reading the report from the committee of young people, because I think this is such an important part of the work of the Senedd.