Research shows that sex and relationships education (SRE) fails to meet young people’s needs and falls short of their expectations (1).
The content of SRE is largely limited to the biological aspects of sex, with a predominant focus on puberty and the negative outcomes of sexual activity such as unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. As a result, SRE provision tends to be somewhat narrowly focused on heterosexual activity (and health), where sex is defined as intercourse between a man and a woman.
SRE is therefore currently failing to provide more comprehensive provision to all young people and most specifically, pupils who identify as lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB).
These pupils are subsequently prevented from receiving tailored information allowing them to develop sexual competence and safe sex practices. While SRE (taught outside of the national science curriculum) remains non-statutory, schools (and therefore all teachers) still work under legislation (such as the national curriculum or Equality Act 2010) that requires provision to be inclusive to young people’s sexual diversities.
Promotion of inclusivity within their SRE is therefore extremely important, with the potential to circumvent potential barriers that pupils identifying as LGB may face in this context.
This need for inclusivity within SRE has been highlighted in a recently published study (2), which explored how teachers responsible for leading SRE within schools tackle issues around sexual inclusivity. Despite claiming to focus on inclusivity, provision inherently focused on content relevant to heterosexual pupils.
This was often reinforced by the assumption that most pupils are heterosexual, with LGB pupils perceived as isolated cases. As a result, many felt their main provision should be focused on “key messages” around (hetero)sexual health. When there were attempts to be more inclusive to LGB pupils, this tended to be a referral to services outside of the classroom, and seemed to be based on concerns regarding their sexual identity only, rather than information that is delivered within the context of SRE. As such, although presented in the pupils’ best interests, this works to exclude them from the classroom based on their non-heterosexuality.
Many teachers also discussed their work to limit homophobia as a way of presenting their SRE as inclusive. While an important issue in its own right, this fails to constitute SRE for LGB young people.
Despite teachers’ claims around inclusivity, the findings therefore appear to highlight a lack of understanding around what constitutes real inclusivity within the context of SRE. Specifically, there needs to be a greater attempt to acknowledge and address young people’s diverse SRE needs, given they are set among provision that privileges heterosexuality.
The findings from this research highlight the fact that SRE needs to acknowledge the increasing variability and fluidity of young people’s sexual identities and practices. In order to do this, teachers need to be supported by a strong policy context from which they can gain clarity and confidence.
The importance in establishing statutory SRE becomes crucial here: establishing legislation that proscribes clear practice to acknowledge young people’s sexual diversities would be of great use for this issue.
Notwithstanding, individual teachers play a crucial role, and need to be willing to critically reflect on all aspects of their SRE content and delivery. This will enable identification of the more limiting aspects of their provision and any of their own assumptions that influence their provision.
It is crucial that time is allocated to regularly updating their knowledge on sex, sexuality and young people through avenues such as training and workshops. Such training is crucial for equipping teachers with the knowledge and skills to develop an inclusive curriculum that takes account of young people’s varying sexual identities, relationships and cultural backgrounds.
This of course requires support from senior managers and key interest groups (parents, school governors).
- Dr Keeley Abbott is a lecturer in social psychology at Birmingham City University.
References
- Young People’s Experiences of HIV & AIDS Education (Sex Education Forum, 2011): www.sexeducationforum.org.uk
- “We Don’t Get Into All That”: An analysis of how teachers uphold heteronormative sex and relationship education, Abbott K, Ellis & Abbott R, published in The Journal of Homosexuality, vol 62, issue 12, 2015: http://bit.ly/1IextQz