Compulsion or context: the future of Sex and Relationships Education

Last updated on: February 13, 2015 at 2:38 pm by Gill Robins

Compulsion or context: the future of Sex and Relationships Education 2015-02-13T14:38:40+00:00 Gill Robins

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Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) is a very current topic. There have been regular calls from a range of groups for an overhaul of SRE education programmes and on 21 October, a Ten Minute Rule Bill was introduced to Parliament outlining proposed changes to the current law.

As the current law stands, SRE provision beyond the requirement to teach about reproduction and growth in science is at the discretion of each school. This is decided by governors, in consultation with the Head and parents, and any teaching programme can reflect the faith position of a school. Information, including all resources, must be available for parents to review. Parents can opt their child out of any part of the SRE programme apart from the science element.

Secondary schools must meet the requirements of the science curriculum and in addition provide a framework for teaching about sexuality and sexual health. Teaching should not promote sexual activity or any particular sexual orientation, but faith schools can teach sexual ethics informed by their doctrinal position. Most teenagers don’t regard their SRE provision as being particularly useful and most adult professionals working with teenagers probably agree. In particular, students feel that it focuses too much on facts and the mechanics of reproduction, and doesn’t give any opportunity to explore relationships or emotions. I doubt anyone would dispute that a revision is long overdue, but it’s important that any changes to the law protect diversity, respect the views of parents, and show consideration for the moral and ethical frameworks within which children are being raised.

The new Bill proposes a statutory programme which protects all children against abuse, to raise awareness of violence against women and girls, and protect against domestic abuse, sexual violence and online grooming. In presenting the Bill, Diana Johnson MP said:

‘of course we want parents and families to be part of the discussions with youngsters about relationships and keeping safe, but … leaving it to parents, which is the current approach and the approach of decades past, is not working, it’s failing and it isn’t fit for the challenges of the future.’

Is compulsory sex education for all our children really the most effective way to eradicate the social evil of abuse? Some parents and carers can’t or don’t fulfil their responsibility, but is sweeping away the rights of all other loving, caring parents and the personal knowledge that teachers have of their pupils’ needs the way to deal with it?

But following various incidents recently in which young children have been grilled by Ofsted inspectors about issues relating to single sex relationships and gender identity, it might be reasonable to wonder if there’s another agenda going on here. Because while Ten Minute Rule Bills rarely make it into law, this isn’t the first attempt to wrest control of SRE from parents and schools, no longer allowing them to contextualise what they teach and to decide when is the right time to teach it. The Labour Party has pledged that if it forms the government this summer, not only will SRE be made compulsory without the right of parental opt out, but that it will contain compulsory LGBT education.

Yes, SRE needs overhauling. And yes, of course the most vulnerable children in our society need protection, but creating a statutory programme that doesn’t allow contextualisation or interpretation through faith or a parent’s own moral framework not only doesn’t solve the problem, it’s an abuse of parental rights.

(This is the updated version of an article which was first published at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/adrianwarnock)

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