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.
