New schools sex ed guidance is good news for Christians

The new draft  government guidance on relationships, sex and health education (RHSE) in schools has now been published. Julie Maxwell explains how it came about and what it contains - as well as how Christians can continue to hold schools to account

September 2020 saw the introduction of compulsory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in all UK secondary schools. The year before, the government released guidance to support it, promising a review after three years. Then Covid happened. Implementation of the guidance was somewhat hampered due to restrictions imposed by the pandemic and, in particular, parental engagement was difficult.

At the beginning of last year, two important reports were published. Miriam Cates MP commissioned The New Social Covenant Unit (NSCU) to explore “concerns about the implementation of the RSE curriculum in schools, and to set out the mounting evidence of widespread indoctrination and age-inappropriate teaching”. Ultimately, it called for an urgent government review. The Policy Exchange’s Asleep at the Wheel report examined issues around gender and safeguarding in schools and concluded that “schools are increasingly becoming influenced by gender ideology”.