At School of Sexuality Education, we are proud of our inclusive, comprehensive, and evidence-based approach to delivering Relationships and Sex Education. It is something we have always been transparent about and actively promoted. This includes sharing our work directly with parents and carers. We regularly take time to meet with them and not only show them our content, but talk through our approach to those interested in it.
As such, we are baffled by the recent letters issued by the Secretary of State for Education, Gillian Keegan. In these letters the Minister instructs schools and parents, (other carers and guardians of young people appear to be pointedly excluded in the address), on their rights to see teaching materials used by external providers who are delivering content around relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) within schools.
We regularly deliver sessions specifically for parents and carers, as well as working with students within homeschools. We know parents and carers are important stakeholders in meeting children and young peoples’ needs. The Education Minister’s letters portray the relationship between parents and specialist RSHE providers as an adversarial one. Not only is this an unhelpful view, but it also does not accurately reflect our experiences. Most of the parents and carers who take the time to engage with us are pleased (relieved even) that someone is taking the time to start conversations with their children about subjects that they often find embarrassing and difficult to tackle.
This is a sentiment often echoed by teaching staff. The current RSHE curriculum only became a mandatory subject in English schools in 2019 (with a grace period of a year granted due to the difficulties accompanying the pandemic). Since this time very little training, guidance or financial resources have been made available from the central government to support schools in implementing this change. This is especially shameful, considering how important high quality education in this area is to the wellbeing and secure development of young people.
Our organisation is made up of professionals with a range of backgrounds - including healthcare, education, safeguarding, academics and other specialisms. Expert RSE providers like ourselves exist precisely because of this failure to adequately support schools in meeting the RSHE needs of their students. Casting aspersions on the organisations which have come about to fill the gaps left by the government does nothing to improve education in this area.
The Minister’s letters suggest that specialist RSHE providers like ourselves are secretive organisations. This simply isn’t accurate. Like many experts in the field, we are proud of the work that we do and strive to actively promote our approach. We’ve even written a book about it, Sex Ed: An Inclusive Teenage Guide to Sex and Relationships - widely available to anyone with a library card.
When RSHE appears in the headlines, we invariably see an increase in the number of parents and carers who contact us directly. Although as a small charity this can feel overwhelming in terms of our capacity, ultimately it is a chance to engage and include more people who largely want the same thing as us.
Gillian Keegan ends her letter to parents encouraging them to read and respond to the upcoming RSHE review. We would seek and encourage all parents and carers interested in the wellbeing of young people to do the same - not just those who seek to politicise youth wellbeing with the aim of censoring evidence-based RSHE.