DfE proposes ban on teaching sex education to young children
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, May 16, 2024
The Department for Education has announced plans to ban sex education for school pupils in year four and below.
The government has published new draft guidance which states that schools must only teach children about sex from year five – when a child is nine – and above from a “purely scientific standpoint”.
This signals that the government is rowing back on its own 2019 guidance which put a duty on primary schools to teach compulsory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) to all children “in an age-appropriate manner”.
The changes come “following multiple reports of disturbing materials being used in RSHE lessons”, according to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan.
The new guidance puts stricter duties to schools to ensure all materials being used in RSHE lessons can be accessed by parents.
It also bans teaching about gender identity to pupils of all ages, describing the topic as a “contested theory”. Instead pupils will learn about protected characteristics, such as sexual orientation and gender reassignment, according to the guidance.
Keegan said: “This updated guidance puts protecting children at its heart and enshrines parents’ right to know what their children are being taught.
“It will support schools with how and when to teach often difficult and sensitive topics, leaving no doubt about what is appropriate to teach pupils at every stage of school.
“Parents can be reassured once and for all their children will only learn age-appropriate content.”
Teaching unions have hit out at the guidance with Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), describing it as “yet more culture war noise from an ill-informed and out of touch government”.
"Education about sex and about positive relationships is important, and it is vital for it to be delivered in an age-appropriate and phase-appropriate way. The government appears to be seeding doubts that this is not already being done and thought about carefully by school leaders and teachers up and down the land,” he said.
"Schools need clear and constructive support about how to respond to the issues children and young people face, read about online and chat about in the playground. Primary-aged children pick up information online and need the opportunity to discuss puberty and relationships and their bodies with trusted adults.
"We must also challenge widespread patterns like sexual bullying and homophobic bullying which start in primary, and all children must have the language to help them make disclosures where needed."
Information around the guidance was leaked to the national media 24 hours before it was made public by DfE.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Some of the topics covered are particularly sensitive and need considered and measured debate. It is utterly disgraceful that once again this government has decided to engage in private briefings and media leaks simply to grab headlines. The children and young people of this country deserve better.”
He added: “We cannot ignore the fact that some children and young people are already accessing information from different sources outside of school. This may lead to questions that need careful handling from trained professionals. It is hard to see how rigid limits on what can be discussed and when would be in the best interests of young people - and this may even risk them seeking information from less reliable sources.”
The draft guidance, which is now subject to a public consultation, also includes content on suicide prevention and the impact of time spent online on young people’s wellbeing.
