Our response to recent reports about school sex and relationships education policies

We are aware of recent media reports about the sex and relationships education policies of some schools (see, for example, coverage in the Daily Telegraph and the Independent). We welcome the Department for Education’s statement that it intends to investigate these reports further.

It is worth noting that all schools, whatever their status, have legal duties (including those under the Equalities Act 2010) to ensure that they cater for all pupils, irrespective of disability, educational needs, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sex, gender identity, religion or sexual orientation or whether they are looked after children. The overarching principle of education should be to ensure the present and future wellbeing of all pupils at all times and to meet their learning needs. Direct or implied prejudice in any school policy, either by accident or by design, is clearly incompatible with these basic principles and should be immediately addressed.

We believe our role, alongside our partners, should be to use our expertise to help schools meet their obligations and raise standards in PSHE education. Our colleagues at the Sex Education Forum hold a huge selection of useful resources and guidance notes which we believe will be of great use to schools in putting together their SRE policy. We strongly recommend visiting their website. We have also produced guidance for schools on producing an SRE policy which we hope will help our members to negotiate this highly important aspect of their work.

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