A report by a committee of MPs has backed parents who want to remove their children from sex education classes and recommended that schools consult with parents on the contents of lessons.
The report, which was prepared by the Education Select Committee, said there was no significant evidence that sex education has a negative impact on children’s behaviour.
It recommended that schools allow all parents to participate in regular consultations about Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) and said that Ofsted should inspect this engagement.
It also recommended that “the parental right to withdraw their children from elements of SRE should be retained”.
The Catholic Education Service today backed many aspects of the report and welcomed in particular its emphasis on the role of parents.
But it insisted that Catholic schools retain their autonomy over the SRE curriculum and that students be taught about sex within the context of church teaching.
The CES did not comment on the recommendation that children as young as five be given compulsory sex education amid concerns over the sexualisation of young people through the internet.
But asked about the point on Premier Christian Radio, Phillip Robinson, CES's Religious Education Adviser, said he backed relationships education for that age group, "to protect them from bullying": but he added: "I can't imagine any context in which it would be age-appropriate to teach four and five-year-olds about sex".
The CES praised the Committee’s renewed emphasis on the importance of relationships and endorsed a recommendation by the Committee that SRE be renamed Relationships and Sex Education to reflect this.
“Relationship and Sex Education is essential for young people to learn about the nature of marriage, family life and relationships, taught in an age-appropriate way. In Catholic schools, RSE must be taught in the context of church teaching and with the full consultation and involvement of parents,” the CES said.
The report, which was released last week, heard evidence from organisations including the CES.
The report noted that “a small but vocal minority” argued that sex education was the responsibility of parents and not the state, citing a trustee of the Family Education Trust, a secular pro-family charity, as arguing that "schools should not be compensating for bad parenting".
The report observed that the rate of teenage pregnancies was the lowest since 1969, having fallen more than 40 per cent since 1998, but said others – including the CES – argued that this “presented a superficial view of the purposes of SRE”.
The report concluded: “While a minority of parents strongly object on principle [to SRE lessons], it is clear that a large majority of parents and young people feel that schools should provide SRE.”
The John Henry Newman Catholic School, a secondary comprehensive school in Stevenage, was used by the Committee as an example of outstanding RSE teaching.
Above: Graham Stuart, chairman of the Education Select Committee
Loading ...
