The government opened a consultation1 in July (closing on 7 November) on Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education, seeking views on the draft regulations and statutory guidance to schools.
This is already part of the curriculum in most schools as PHSE, but is due to become compulsory. Many parents, including Christians, are abdicating their responsibility to teach sex and relationships to their own children. Aware of this, the government has taken the chance to construct a curriculum which includes some helpful elements, but also some unhelpful teaching about sex and family life.
Marriage sidelined
Although marriage is mentioned, the overall sense is that it has been sidelined. Paragraph 55: ‘families of many forms provide a nurturing environment for children’. Further: ‘that stable, caring relationships, which may be of different types, are at the heart of happy families, and are important for children’s security as they grow up’. Later; ‘[learn how] these relationships might contribute to human happiness and their importance for bringing up children’.
Ten questions with Chris Sugden
Chris Sugden has been married for 52 years to Elaine, a retired consultant cancer doctor, with three married children and …