The teaching of relationships and sex education (RSE) has been a thorny issue since it was first mooted. And it burst back into the headlines last week during Prime Minister’s Questions thanks to Conservative MP Miriam Cates.
This is what she said: “Graphic lessons on oral sex, how to choke your partner safely and 72 genders – this is what passes for relationships and sex education in British schools. Across the country, children are being subjected to lessons that are age-inappropriate, extreme, sexualising, and inaccurate, often using resources from unregulated organisations that are actively campaigning to undermine parents.”
She called on the prime minister to commission an independent inquiry into “the nature and extent of this safeguarding scandal”. In response, Rishi Sunak said he shared her concerns, and the government was “bringing forward a review of RSHE statutory guidance and will start our consultation as soon as possible”.
This latter point is not quite the bombshell news as reported in much of the media. The relationships, sex, and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance (DfE, 2019) made it clear that these new requirements would be reviewed every three years.
And a Department for Education blog published a couple of days after the exchange at PMQs said a consultation on the review will begin later this year (DfE, 2023). This seems very close, if not identical, to the original timetable.
On the wider point about the “age-inappropriate, extreme, sexualising and inaccurate” lessons that Ms Cates says are being taught to children, I am sure that most teachers and leaders reading this article do not recognise that portrayal of RSE teaching at all.
Ms Cates has published a report supporting her claims (NSCU, 2023). It is a long and involved document, but my impression is that it amounts largely to criticisms of some organisations that provide RSE resources, rather than evidence about what has actually been taught in schools.
Certainly, our experience tells us that the vast majority of schools teach RSE sensibly, cautiously, and in line with the statutory guidance. And that it is delivered by teachers who are working very hard to navigate this sensitive territory alongside all their other responsibilities and with very little government support for training.
Ms Cates’ sweeping generalisation about the teaching of RSE appears to me to be extraordinarily unfair. And the prime minister’s evidently staged response seems to be yet another dispiriting sortie into the so-called “culture wars” that the government appears to think will help salvage its political fortunes ahead of a General Election.
However, as is always the nature with sweeping generalisations, it is impossible to prove that nothing untoward is ever taught in RSE lessons somewhere at some time. And there is a steady drip-drip of allegations of inappropriate teaching being made in the media and social media which will turn this into a narrative that will take root in some quarters.
So, what can teachers and leaders do to avoid getting caught in the crossfire while ensuring that pupils continue to benefit from a subject that is vitally important in navigating relationships in an increasingly complex world?
First, it would be prudent to double-check any external resources being used in RSE teaching. Second, and most importantly, it would seem eminently sensible to strive to ensure parents are able to view lesson resources themselves.
Absolute transparency is the best defence against the suggestions being made about inappropriate content. We know that there can be issues with copyright over resources, and we are talking to the industry bodies about how they can be made available without any infringement.
Third, the government review of RSE guidance should look at the question of training and how teachers can be better supported.
As Lucy Emmerson, chief executive of the Sex Education Forum, wrote in SecEd in her commentary last week: “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.”
My PGCE training as a maths or geography teacher won’t necessarily have prepared me well to teach aspects of RSE in a 20-minute tutor time. It’s not fair to teachers.
So let’s address that. Here is a subject that should really be delivered by teachers who are specialists, with experience and training. Given the government’s track record on education, however, it seems unlikely that ministers will provide the funding that would be necessary for training and recruitment, but this might be the moment at least to ask more urgently for it.
And we can surely at least do better than the government’s current lacklustre contribution to RSE training which comprises a series of PowerPoint slides published on the DfE website three years ago – see an example here.
Ultimately, what is in danger of being lost in this debate is the importance of this subject to children and young people, and it is good that this is reasserted in the DfE’s recent blog, which states: “Children and young people are growing up in an increasingly complex world and they need to know how to be safe and healthy.
“RSHE helps them embrace the challenges of creating a happy and successful adult life. These subjects support children and young people to develop healthy relationships, and to keep themselves and others safe, both on and offline.”
Quite so. All we need now is for the government to match those words with better support for teachers – and for the prime minister to be less quick to join in with crowd-pleasing criticism of schools and give greater recognition for the seriously good work they are doing in their communities.
- Geoff Barton is general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders. Read his previous articles for SecEd, via http://bit.ly/seced-barton
Further information & resources
- DfE: Statutory guidance: Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education, June 2019: http://bit.ly/2kQwtgL
- DfE: What do children and young people learn in relationship, sex and health education, March 2023: http://bit.ly/3mXHOLM
- Emmerson: RSHE Review: A chance to get this vital subject right for all students, SecEd, March 2023: https://bit.ly/3LkL9yx
- New Social Covenant Unit: What is being taught in relationships and sex education in our schools? (a report commissioned by Miriam Cates MP), 2023: https://bit.ly/3Fv01qr