Prime minister Rishi Sunak has announced that a review of the 2019 statutory guidance on relationships, sex, and health education (DfE, 2019) will be brought forward, with consultation “starting as soon as possible”.
Confirming his plans during Prime Minister's Questions on March 8, Mr Sunak said: "I've asked the DfE to ensure that schools are not teaching inappropriate or contested content in RSHE. Our priority should always be the safety and wellbeing of children, and schools should also make curriculum content available to parents.”
The story has generated a lot of headlines, not least after PMQs on March 8 heard a complaint that some relationships and sex education (RSE) lessons were “age-inappropriate, extreme, sexualising and inaccurate”. There are fears from some quarters that the review is politically motivated.
However, it is important to stress that a review of RSHE was already in the pipeline for later in 2023. For educators working in RSHE, this review is a timely and welcome opportunity to monitor the roll-out of mandatory provision.
The journey to compulsory RSE
Mandatory RSE was secured through the Children and Social Work Act 2017 with overwhelming cross-party support. Recognising the safeguarding benefits of RSE, no less than 538 MPs voted for the RSHE guidance that is now subject to review.
The government guidance includes a fairly comprehensive raft of topics across relationships, sex, and health.
When covered in full, it ensures that every child leaves primary school with the knowledge and confidence to recognise abusive behaviour and how to get help, and that every young person leaves secondary school with a secure understanding of issues like consent, healthy relationships, the harms of pornography, and how to look after their sexual health.
Gaps in RSHE provision remain stark
However, three years on from the start of statutory RSHE, it is clear we have a long way to go.
Recent polling by the Sex Education Forum of more than 1,000 young people aged 16 and 17 in England found that only 40% rate their RSE as “good” or “very good’ (SEF, 2023).
Many of the required topics are not being covered. More than half of young people report that “how to tell if a relationship is healthy” (54%) and “power imbalances in relationships” (58%) are not covered enough or at all in their school RSE.
RSHE does not function in schools in isolation. It provides preventative education that safeguards children and young people and is needed to fulfil the statutory Keeping children safe in education guidance. As a curriculum subject it goes hand-in-hand with a whole-school approach on tackling sexism and violence against women and girls and addressing bullying, including homophobic bullying.
A welcome opportunity to get RSHE right for all pupils
The announcement of the RSHE review has been framed around concern for children’s safety, and that is as it should be.
The international evidence is clear that comprehensive RSE safeguards children and young people’s physical and mental health. A developmentally appropriate approach to RSE is already recommended in current guidance. More detailed advice for schools on what this looks like in practice and what the research evidence says would be useful.
Great caution is needed in pursuing the idea of prohibiting information to do with physical and mental health and equalities. The safeguarding and health consequences are grave when children and young people’s questions are stifled, and they turn to the “wild west’ of the internet for answers.
Sadly, many teachers, parents and politicians lived through Section 28 and will hear the warning echo when the rhetoric is designed for political gain and not children’s safety and wellbeing.
RSHE educators need greater support
The greatest pity about the first three years of implementation of statutory RSHE is the lack of consistency. This shows in the allocation of lesson time to teach RSHE. Our polling found young people were divided on their experiences of this, with 37% reporting that their school spent enough time on RSE, and 38% disagreeing.
The quality of any curriculum subject rests on the shoulders of appropriately trained and supported teachers. Investment in training teachers on RSHE has been sorely lacking since the mandatory subject was introduced, and government is yet to follow-through on the budget promised for this.
Meanwhile, a survey from the NSPCC and NASUWT (2022) found that 46% of secondary teachers say they don’t feel confident teaching RSE.
So a key question is: Will the review ask teachers what training they need? With adequate training and proper lesson time, teachers are able to facilitate open discussions with confidence, giving young people the chance to explore different points of view.
Of course, teaching materials are important too. Teachers want to make careful judgements about which resources to choose and how to use them. However, the route to good quality RSE is not to externalise the problem, but to take an honest, open look at where the gaps are. Dialogue is essential, and further involvement of parents and carers will be beneficial to building understanding about what is actually taught and sharing of resources that can help families and their children to navigate the challenges of their realities today.
In fact, 42% of the young people we surveyed feel that schools are not informing their parents enough about RSE. Many parents are looking for support to fulfil their role with RSE at home. Will the review ask parents what further support they need?
Final thought
Young people will be the judge of whether the education they receive puts their health, safety, and wellbeing first. When education is lacking, young people pay the price, with higher incidences of abuse, sexual violence, and poor mental and sexual health.
The spotlight is now on the government and its RSHE guidance review. Ministers need to deliver for young people and that starts by putting the needs of pupils at the heart of this process.
- Lucy Emmerson is chief executive at the Sex Education Forum. Read her previous articles for SecEd via http://bit.ly/seced-emmerson and visit www.sexeducationforum.org.uk
Further information & resources
- DfE: Statutory guidance: Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education, June 2019: http://bit.ly/2kQwtgL
- NSPCC & NASUWT: Half of secondary school teachers don’t feel confident delivering sex and relationships education, 2022: http://bit.ly/3TePrJK
- SEF: Young People’s RSE Poll 2022, March 2023: https://bit.ly/42epb67