Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham Yardley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the impact on women of the policy of forced adoption during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
Answered by Will Quince
The government has great sympathy for those affected by historical adoption practices. Our hearts go out to the parents and children of those involved. Although from a modern perspective these practices are clearly wrong, they took place at a time when society shared very different values.
Thankfully society today takes a very different attitude to single parents. Lessons of the time have been learned and led to significant changes to legislation and practice. Single parents are now supported to help ensure that children and their families stay together, and children are only removed permanently by a court, without the consent of the parents, if it is satisfied that the child is suffering significant harm or is likely to suffer significant harm.
Parents now have legal representatives appointed to support them, to ensure their views are heard and that evidence put forward can be challenged. In addition, NHS maternity services now have robust policy guidance and processes in place to safeguard care for vulnerable women and babies.
A range of help and support is available for those affected by historical adoption practices. For example, they can access intermediary services, provided by local authorities, voluntary adoption agencies and registered adoption agencies, to help them trace their birth children or birth parents and establish whether contact is possible. Birth relatives and adopted adults can also add their details to the Adoption Contact Register at the General Register Office to find a birth relative or an adopted person.
We recognise that none of the above can change the heartbreak and impact of things done in the past and repeat again our deepest sympathy for all those affected.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham Yardley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that the teaching of relationships and sex education on (a) contraception, (b) fertility and (c) abortion is based on scientific evidence; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is committed to supporting schools to implement relationships, sex, and health education (RSHE) and has published non statutory implementation guidance titled ‘Plan your Relationships, Sex and Health Curriculum’, alongside teacher training materials. Both are designed to provide teachers with further clarity and practical advice on how to implement the RSHE curriculum, to help all teachers increase their confidence and quality of teaching.
The teacher training module on intimate and sexual relationships, including sexual health, covers contraception, fertility, and abortion. Information on this is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-relationships-sex-and-health. Specifically, pupils will be taught the facts about contraception, reproductive health, and medically and legally accurate, impartial information regarding pregnancy.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham Yardley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to prevent misogynistic and homophobic relationships and sex education (RSE) resources from being used in schools as RSE is rolled out; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools must be aware of issues such as everyday sexism, misogyny, homophobia, and gender stereotypes, and take positive action to build a culture where these are not tolerated, and that any occurrences are identified and tackled. As part of the statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum, all pupils should be taught, at an age-appropriate point, how stereotypes, particularly stereotypes based on sex, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or disability, can cause damage.
To support the teaching of these subjects, the Department has published implementation guidance and teacher training modules to equip all schools to construct a comprehensive curriculum.
There are many external resources available to support the delivery of RSHE lessons. The Department does not play a role in assessing these. Any material used should align with the teaching requirements set out in the statutory guidance. Schools should assess all resources carefully to ensure they are age appropriate, meet the outcome of the relevant part of the curriculum, and are in line with the school’s legal duties in relation to impartiality and the Equality Act.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham Yardley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the appropriateness of the language in RSE teaching resources in terms of references to gender roles.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools must be aware of issues such as everyday sexism, misogyny, homophobia, and gender stereotypes, and take positive action to build a culture where these are not tolerated, and that any occurrences are identified and tackled. As part of the statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum, all pupils should be taught, at an age-appropriate point, how stereotypes, particularly stereotypes based on sex, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or disability, can cause damage.
To support the teaching of these subjects, the Department has published implementation guidance and teacher training modules to equip all schools to construct a comprehensive curriculum.
There are many external resources available to support the delivery of RSHE lessons. The Department does not play a role in assessing these. Any material used should align with the teaching requirements set out in the statutory guidance. Schools should assess all resources carefully to ensure they are age appropriate, meet the outcome of the relevant part of the curriculum, and are in line with the school’s legal duties in relation to impartiality and the Equality Act.