Preparing to teach Relationships and Sex Education in secondary schools

Since September 2019, School of Sexuality Education has been working with academics at UCL’s Institute of Education – alongside other RSE experts and classroom practitioners – to develop and deliver a short course for trainee teachers. The course is the first of its kind, providing PGCE students with five full days spread across the 19/20 academic year to learn about the background and policy behind RSE in the UK, alongside vital topics such as gender and sexuality identity, consent, inclusivity and sexual health. The programme was developed as part of a knowledge exchange project with our partnership schools on the Secondary PGCE programme, to try and better understand the needs of teachers and schools in London in developing good practice in RSE.

This year, the course participants have included Social Science and Biology PGCE students with some specialists in Physics and Chemistry too. Student teachers opted into the course because they recognise the value of RSE and felt that developing expertise in the area would be important for their future careers in the classroom. The government has also recently acknowledged the need for comprehensive and up-to-date RSE in schools with the release of new guidance which states that the subjects involved ‘represent a huge opportunity to help our children and young people develop.’

During the planning phase for the course, we supported the convenors (Sarah Worton and Alison Wiggins of UCL’s IoE) in designing a series of sessions to offer core RSE knowledge and practical teaching ideas while building an awareness of what a whole-school approach to gender and sexuality inclusivity might look like. The intention was to equip teachers with the skills, knowledge and confidence required to deliver high quality, progressive Relationships and Sex Education. Beyond that, we wanted trainee teachers to feel comfortable in supporting students who had questions or struggles outside of the classroom linked to their gender identity, sexuality or relationships.

On day 1, Professor Jessica Ringrose delivered an intro to gender, sexuality and RSE then School of Sexuality Education’s CEO and founder, Amelia Jenkinson, delivered an interactive session about how to challenge heteronormativity in schools. She shared resources, key points on language and links to government guidance to support trainee teachers in understanding the context of RSE while providing pragmatic classroom solutions. On day 2, trainee teachers heard from Dr Sara Bragg who applied queer theory to our understandings and assumptions around education and young people. Following this, the student teachers heard from Lucy Emmerson (director of the Sex Education Forum) and Rachael Baker (senior RSE specialist at the Sex Education Forum) who discussed the government 2020 RSE guidance and interrogated the idea of ‘age-appropriateness’ in RSE. For day 3, student teachers were visited by Professor Emma Renold (Cardiff University) who shared creative ideas and resources for the RSE classroom based on her work on the Agenda positive relationships resource. All of these days were supported by sessions and talks from the course conveners at UCL.

The ranging perspectives provided by these different professionals, paired with the expertise of tutors and classroom practitioners, has provided great layers of insight for the trainee teachers on the course. One noted that ‘having the guest speakers was helpful… it gave us a community and showed us the array of people that are out there’ while another said ‘I loved having a range of people involved…it’s a really positive thing to have people who have different backgrounds and experiences.’

In the coming months, we hope to cement the learning of those first three days and will ensure that all the trainee teachers involved feel ready to try the ideas in the classroom in September. Being involved in the course has been a great experience for School of Sexuality Education – we’re thrilled to be part of a pioneering programme which is equipping the next generation of teachers with vital skills. We know that many existing teachers are keen to take part in this kind of training too. Like all subjects, educators need training to develop necessary knowledge, skills and confidence in order to teach well. In the coming months and years, we hope to develop opportunities like this one for all subject PGCEs and all teachers, wherever they are in their career. We want feelings of embarrassment to be replaced with empowerment, so that teachers can address important issues head on and support the young people in their care. We’re already certain that those involved in the short course this year will do just that!

If you’re interested in taking part in one of our future teacher training programmes, get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.

Illustrations by Evie Karkera, unless otherwise credited.

Our book ‘Sex Ed: An Inclusive Teenage Guide to Sex and Relationships’​ ​ is out​ ​now.

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Are you a current, prospective or trainee teacher interested in this course? we’d love to hear from you! please email info@schoolofsexed.org

Thank you for looking and feeling like me

written by School of Sexuality Education’S gayathiri KAMALAKANTHAN.

Decolonising Contraception is an organisation that promotes conversation about the unfair and harmful sexual and reproductive health practices that have stemmed from colonisation that impacts people of colour (POC). DC organise spaces to discuss how POC, and especially how queer POC can be empowered presently and in the future, with regard to their own sexual health and education. 

The last panel discussion centred around POC LGBTQIA+ visibility - that is, the importance of seeing queer people of colour in local spaces, particularly, in hospitals and sexual health clinics. And not just that, but seeing people who look like you, openly speaking about their experiences, without shame. 

One of the panelists, Dr Ronx, a queer, black A&E doctor, spoke about how patients in the paediaitric wards they work on open up to them (often for the first time) about their queer feelings. Dr Ronx carefully considers their words when speaking to young people - something which is apparent in their incredibly significant opening question when beginning these conversations: 'Hi, nice to meet you. What are your pronouns?'

There's a lot to learn from this. 

As a Sexual Health Education facilitator, the first interaction I have with students in a session is important - my approachability is key. The colour of Dr Ronx's skin, the androgynous way they present, their open body language and immediately inclusive language mean that young queer patients recognise that Dr Ronx is someone they can confide in. Dr Ronx’s words are simple, but mean that a young person is given the nod to be themselves.

🙌🏿🙌🏾🙌🏽🙌🏼🙌🏻
TONIGHT
We talk all things visibility &access 2sexual/ reproductive health services as brown/black/POC folk.

2many ethnic minority women I speak2 don’t have smears!

Pelvic pain in black/brown women - does anyone care?

Y are we dying post childbirth
etc

Let’s talk https://t.co/DdKuo8POGs

— Ronx (@Dr_Ronx) April 29, 2019

I asked how they talk to young people about sex - a topic which can be sensitive and where one can easily trip up over assumptions about the other person. When having to ask young people about their sexual and mental health for their own safety, I've at times found it difficult to land on the right words.

Aside from the training provided by the NHS to safeguard underage and young people regarding their sexual health, Dr Ronx has had a wealth of practice at asking non-leading, open ended questions:

What do you mean by sex?

Have you put your lips on anyone?

Has anyone put their lips on you anywhere?

Have you touched anyone who has been naked?

Do you like anyone at school?

Are they a boy or a girl? ('male presenting' or  'female presenting' depending on the age and understanding that the patient may have)

Do you feel a fluttering feeling when you see anyone in particular?

Having heard these questions spoken in an understanding and non-bias tone, I'm reassured that conversations with young people about their sexual health do not have to be one-sided interrogations or quick and embarrassing exchanges. People often mirror the feeling and body language presented to them. The more comfortable and non-restrictive we are as adults when talking sex, the more willing, young people will be to share.   

Here's my own experience of visibility in the field of mental health.

I recently finished a block of counselling sessions with my therapist, who is a women of colour. At first, this did not strike me as important - she was a mental health professional and they all did the same job right? Not quite. 

The more of myself I revealed, the more she proved that she was listening and deeply understood my anxieties that stemmed from cultural pressure. It made a difference that she didn't shrug off my dual lifestyle (nice, academic, Hindu daughter at home, queer sexual health educator everywhere else) as unnecessarily over-complicated or dramatic. Her understanding nods and hums were validating and in contrast with other counsellors I have seen who were dismissive of these inherited, cultural  difficulties and the resulting pain.

What an amazing night discussing visibility, access & much, much for #LGBTQIofcolour
‘We need more sex educators like us - showing young people we are here & that we are visible.’ -Saaqib Afzal @Dr_Ronx @sophiedukebox @IdiosyncraticXL @Jo_zinaC #LGBTQIA #decolonisecontraception pic.twitter.com/AvptKIqZxr

— Decolonising Contraception (@DecoloniseContr) April 29, 2019

A black audience member at the last DC event mentioned how her black midwives were the ones who alerted doctors to her continuing, severe pain. They were the ones who gave her the appropriate attention she deserved, who took her seriously and who she credits for saving her life. 'Black women both in the UK and globally have some of the worst reproductive health outcomes; black women are five times more likely to die in pregnancy'.

It's not that I can't be treated or seen by people who don't look like me or who haven't shared my experience. It's that there seems to be a disparity between the outcome of the treatment received by POC and that of their white counterparts.

So yes, visibility - seeing people that look like us - is important.

It gives us the confidence to voice ourselves and to believe that those words will be truly heard. We are emboldened by those in our community who feel like we do and who have said so.

Non-heteronormative, non-white pathways are not well-trodden and every step helps make our experience the known normal. 

Our book ‘Sex Ed: An Inclusive Teenage Guide to Sex and Relationships’​ ​ is out​ ​now.

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TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DECOLONISE CONTRACEPTION INCLUDING UPCOMING EVENTS, VISIT THEIR WEBSITE.

Why do pronouns matter?

School of Sexuality Education’s youth consultant Jessi Borg explains about pronouns and their importance.

One main thing that affects my daily life are pronouns. I identify as non-binary and I use they/them pronouns. We hear about pronouns a lot, especially as a lot of celebrities have marched on social media to talk about them, such as Piers Morgan and Boy George (ironically!). But what are pronouns?

To me, pronouns are an extension of someone's name, it’s how someone feels comfortable with being identified, for example “Hi I'm Jess and my pronouns are they/them”. Saying this, you wouldn’t then call me Marty or Lilly because that is not my name, the same way you wouldn’t refer to me as she/him as those are not my pronouns. Pronouns are a form of self-identification to help battle gender dysphoria in daily life.  Gender dysphoria is a condition where a person experiences discomfort or distress because there is a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity (NHS definition). For example, a transgender person may alter their appearance to make them feel more comfortable in their own skin and body. Pronouns are a form of this: by calling someone by their pronoun you help people feel more comfortable and help fight gender dysphoria. This is also why many transgender people undergo top surgery or gender reassignment surgery, hormones, name changes and pronouns, as these help them battle gender dysphoria. 

What do we mean by being transgender? Transgender is when a person’s gender is different from the one they were assigned at birth. This includes trans men, trans women, non-binary and gender fluid people. The opposite of this is cis-gender, which refers to people who identify with their gender assigned at birth. 

A term also associated with pronouns are dead names. The dead name is the name given at birth which they no longer identify with and have changed. Instead, transgender people often change their names to fit their gender. Their new name may be similar to their birth name, or it may be completely different. Imagine you are called a turtle your whole life, treated like a turtle, made to act like a turtle, but you are human. You want to be called a human and act like a human. That is what gender dysphoria feels like and pronouns and calling people by their names (not dead names) can help someone connect with their gender in daily life. 

But what is gender? 

Gender itself is an idea that has been made up by society to put people into different categories and define people by certain attributes. In other words, gender is a social construct. Women are pictured to be feminine, docile and more motherly due to society's view of  women, while men must be strong and masculine. This is portrayed throughout the media and has been enforced for years, so much that it has become second nature to understand the stereotypical 'man' and 'women'. This is gender.

So what do we mean by ‘non-binary’ or ‘gender fluid’? Well, non-binary is feeling either both or neither of the things that society push on gender norms. A non binary person  may feel that they do not fit in the boxes of man or woman, or fit in both instead of just one.. Gender-fluid is similar, but a gender-fluid person may feel a man one day and a woman the next day, or neither. Their gender is not solid, and moves around a lot.

But gender identity only exists now, so these identities can't be real, right? Wrong! There is actually a long history of non-binary and different gender identities in the past. The most famous example of non-binary gender identity in historical culture is the Native American 2-spirit. Native Americans believed that people are born with feminine, masculine or a mix of both spirits. These spirits are our gender, rather than the biological bodies we are born into.

Inclusivity through language

So how do we conduct gender inclusive language in our daily lives? Well, as mentioned above, introducing each other with names and pronouns e.g. "Hi I’m ... and my pronouns are ..." . Although I understand that we may not always be able to ask/say pronouns in every interaction so non-gendered language can help. For example, instead of saying 'ladies and gentlemen' say 'everyone' (though I know it is less dramatic if you are in the theatre business).

Another one I like is, 'guys, gals and non-binary pals' if you want to be less formal. Or if you still want to be dramatic, 'ladies , gentlemen and all that fall in-between'. Those are a few greetings to use. Another one, if just referring to someone is to use they/them pronouns. For example, "they are by the bookshelf" or "they went to the toilet". Or simply just using 'person' instead of women and men. For example, instead of 'that woman/man', 'that person'. 

If a particular term or name feels right for you, then use it. If you want to be called he/she/they then ask for people to call you that, and it’s their responsibility to not be transphobic and be respectful. Whatever pronoun you use, you are valid and that is what matters.

Illustrations by Evie Karkera, unless otherwise credited.

For more information about School of Sexuality Education’s work including training, get in touch.

Our book ‘Sex Ed: An Inclusive Teenage Guide to Sex and Relationships’​ ​ is out​ ​now.