The thorny issue of sex education was brought under the spotlight again on 8 March as the Commons passed plans for relationships education in primary schools, and sex and relationships education (SRE) in secondary schools.
The government amendments to the Children and Social Work Bill, will make it compulsory that secondary schools teach SRE, which will be rebranded RSE to show the emphasis being placed on relationships. As it stands, the biological aspect of sex is compulsory to teach. But schools are not required to teach about consent, the illegalities around sexting, exploitation around pornography, the addictive nature of pornography, facts around infection rates for sex outside of marriage, or any moral issues surrounding sex.
Public consultation
The Department for Education website states that it will consult on its plans and: ‘With stakeholders … set out suitable, age-appropriate content on RSE which focuses on mental wellbeing, consent, resilience, age-appropriate relationships and sex education, and keeping safe online. Regulations and statutory guidance will then be subject to full public consultation later this year, and we expect to see children and young people being taught this new curriculum in schools as soon as September 2019.
Schools will have flexibility over how they deliver these subjects, so they can develop an integrated approach that is sensitive to the needs of the local community; and, in the case of faith schools, in accordance with their faith.’
Parents will still have a right to withdraw their child from sex education lessons, but not from the relationships education at primary school.
Christians disagree
Christians are not united over this issue. Some believe it is only in the home that sex and relationships should be taught; others, although in principle agreeing that something needs to be said in school for the sake of those children whose parents do not speak well about sex, are very wary of what their school might teach children, especially with regard to ‘relationships’, which is likely to encompass non-traditional family types; others believe that the statistics of abuse, naivety regarding online hazards, figures of children viewing pornography, and incidents of abuse all point towards a desperate need for something to be done.
Anecdotally, the prevalence of sex education and more freedom to talk about sex openly has not apparently led to a more ‘moral’ or safe society for children and young people. Others argue that revelations about sexual abuse, including the trafficking of children from the UK to Australia in the early part of the 20th century, point to the idea that perhaps society was never more moral, it was just better at covering up the exploitation of people.
Regardless of opinion on the role of government in RSE, Christians can be united over the need to educate their own children well and not be shy of covering topics they’d rather avoid at an age younger than they might prefer, even if their children are home schooled, as liberal beliefs seep in almost unseen at a very young age. Alongside this, keep on top of what is taught at school and lobby your local MP with facts that support biblical teaching on relationships.
