Government Needs To Act Now On Sex And Relationships Education

The Government has today published a formal response to the Women and Equalities Select Committee report on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence in Schools. In response to the report’s recommendation to make Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) and Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) statutory subjects, the Government says that the ‘case for further action on PSHE and SRE delivery is actively under review.’

The Women and Equalities Select Committee is one of several Select Committees and other expert bodies to recommend statutory SRE. At the start of 2016, the Chairs of the Education, Health, Home Affairs, and Business, Innovations & Skills Select Committees wrote to the Secretary of State for Education calling for SRE to have statutory status.

Lisa Hallgarten, Coordinator of the Sex Education Forum said:

‘We would urge the Government to act, without further delay, on the recommendation of Select Committees to introduce statutory SRE. We believe the case for statutory SRE has been made very powerfully over a number of years and is settled. There is abundant evidence that good quality SRE helps protect children and young people and can positively impact on sexual behaviour; and that current delivery of SRE is patchy and often inadequate to meet the needs of children and young people.

‘We urge the Government to act now to ensure that every child and young person in every school is able to get the good quality SRE they so desperately want and need.’

-ENDS-

Notes to editors 

For more information, please contact the National Children's Bureau's media office on 0207 843 6047 or email media@ncb.org.uk. For urgent enquiries out of office hours call 07721 097 033.

Further information:

·                                       Download the full Women and Equalities Select Committee report here.

·                                       Download the Government response to the report.

·                                       The Sex Education Forum (SEF) has collated the evidence to support provision of good quality SRE in this document.

·                                       In a recent article in Sec Ed magazine we discuss a pragmatic approach to teaching about pornography within SRE (a specific recommendation of the Women and Equalities Select Committee).

·                                       SEF Curriculum Design Toolkit sets out what we should be teaching at each Key Stage in SRE

About the Sex Education Forum
The Sex Education Forum is the national authority on sex and relationships education (SRE). We believe that good quality SRE is an entitlement for all children and young people and we are working with our core members, who all support statutory SRE and include local authorities, children’s, religious, health and family organisations, to achieve this. The Sex Education Forum is based at the National Children’s Bureau (NCB). For further information visit: www.sexeducationforum.org.uk  

About the National Children’s Bureau
The National Children’s Bureau (NCB) is a leading children’s charity working to build a better childhood for every child. We champion children’s right to be safe, secure and supported, by using evidence and our expert knowledge to influence government policy, and help practitioners to do the best job possible, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people.

For more information visit www.ncb.org.uk