Hundreds of organisations pressure Labour to overturn draft RSHE guidance
Amrit Virdi
Friday, July 12, 2024
Children's charities and teaching unions are among hundreds of organisations calling for a “fresh start and a new review” of relationships, sex and health education (RSHE).
The current statutory guidance, which has been in force since 2020, means all secondary schools are required to teach RSHE and all primary schools to teach relationships and health education “in an age-appropriate manner”.
However, the previous Conservative government launched a public consultation on new draft guidance in May, seeking views on plans to ban sex education for school pupils in year 4 and below.
It also suggested that RSHE should be taught from a “purely scientific standpoint”.
According to former Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, the changes came “following multiple reports of disturbing materials being used in RSHE lessons”, with the draft guidance also proposing that is should be compulsory for materials used in RSHE lessons to made accessible to parents.
After Labour’s landslide win in the general election, organisations joined forces to urge the new government, including Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, to overturn the draft guidance following the closure of the eight-week consultation on the proposals which closed yesterday (11 July).
Signatories of The PSHE Strategic Partners Group’s statement of concern include the NSPCC, Barnardo’s, Catch22, Stonewall, Internet Matters and the National Education Union, who are asking the government to “discard the draft guidance and start again”.
In the statement, the group says: “We are concerned that the draft new RSHE guidance out for consultation falls short of what is required to help keep children safe, healthy and prepared for modern life.
“Age restrictions and topic bans pose a threat to the preventative role of RSHE, limiting the prevention of harm in relation to issues including sexual health, violence against women and girls, mental health, safeguarding from sexual abuse, inclusion and tackling current and emerging threats like online misogyny.
“The limited scope and structure of the review, and reduced eight-week consultation, is also problematic, as is the general election falling during this consultation period (thereby removing the opportunity for planned Department for Education stakeholder engagement).”
The organisations are calling for future updates to RSHE to be “evidence-based”, “transparent” and “representative” of teachers, children, parents, careers, safeguarding organisations, charities and experts.
