I'm proud to speak in a debate today in support of Welsh Government's plans for high-quality, developmentally appropriate, inclusive, equality-based RSE for all children in Wales. Those Members who have read our Stage 1 committee report will know that the Children, Young People and Education Committee gave our unanimous support to the plans, having listened carefully to the evidence we heard. The fact that a cross-party committee of Members of the Senedd came to such a clear and unequivocal view on this is a testament to the power of the evidence we took. Those of you present for the Stage 1 debate will, I'm sure, remember Laura Jones's powerful contribution, describing how, as a parent, she had been worried about the plans for RSE, but having listened to the evidence, she now recognised the benefits that high-quality RSE will bring to children and young people, and I'm really grateful for the constructive engagement of the whole committee on this.

I'd like to recognise all those organisations and individuals who made such a strong case for RSE to the committee: NSPCC Cymru Wales, Welsh Women's Aid, Stonewall Cymru, Brook Cymru, Professor E.J. Renold, and the Children's Commissioner for Wales. Many of these organisations have written individually to MSs in recent days, making a case for high-quality RSE from a position of far more expertise than I could ever claim to have.

I also want to thank Kirsty Williams for her commitment to doing what's right for children and young people on this. This is not an easy issue, and it would have been all too easy for her to put this in the 'too difficult' tray. But that is not the Kirsty Williams I know, and I want to commend her for her courage and steadfastness on this. It will make a huge difference to children and young people.

Now, there has been a lot of what could be described as, at best, misinformation circulating about these plans. I hope that Members are reassured by the checks and balances that are in place, not least the statutory RSE code, which will have to be approved by this Senedd. I hope too that Members are willing to trust our teachers, the professionals who we'll be asking to deliver RSE. So, I don't want to focus today on the misinformation or what RSE is not; I want to focus on the positives, what high-quality RSE is.

RSE is a child's right. We rightly pride ourselves in this Senedd on our commitment to children's rights. Sometimes, we, myself included, take the opportunity to say in the Senedd that we'd like the Welsh Government to go further. Well, the commitment to RSE in this Bill is children's rights in action. RSE is about keeping our children safe. As NSPCC Cymru told our committee:

'We know that high-quality RSE is associated with a range of positive outcomes for children, but as its most basic function, it helps to keep children safe from harm. And the new compulsory RSE curriculum in Wales really brings an exciting potential to ensure that all children are equipped with the information and the language they need to understand that they have a right to safety, to recognise all forms of abusive or controlling behaviour and to empower them to speak out and get support at the earliest opportunity.'

But this is of course more than about children; it's also about building the foundations for those children and young people to grow up to thrive in safe, respectful relationships.

Finally, mandatory RSE is about protecting our children's mental health. Strong, positive relationships are the essential foundation for good mental health, and I particularly welcome the commitment that RSE should be LGBT-inclusive and equality based. There is nothing more important to me than protecting the mental health of our children and young people, and in particular, preventing young suicide. And there are, tragically, young people who have died by suicide because of homophobic bullying or because their sexuality was not accepted. When the RSE plans were first published, a constituent contacted me to say how much he welcomed the plans. He told me how he had barely survived growing up as a gay teenager in a family where his sexuality was not accepted, and he told me what a difference having access to inclusive RSE would've made to him. So, I say to Members today that it is the children and young people who are not getting messages of support and inclusivity at home who need mandatory RSE more than anyone else. Make no mistake about it, for some children and young people, this is a matter of life and death.

I welcome amendment 40 in the name of Suzy Davies, and I thank her for tabling it. As she said, it implements a recommendation in our Stage 1 report and ensures that the benefits I've described are also available to our post-16 learners. But I ask Members to reject Darren Millar's amendments in this group and to support Welsh Government's plans for RSE, which will be life-changing for so many young people, and even life-saving for some. Diolch yn fawr.