Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the implementation of the Relationships and Sex Education curriculum does not lose schools the trust of parents who may disagree with the content or timing of it.

The Department is committed to supporting all schools in their preparations to introduce relationships education (primary school pupils), relationships and sex education (secondary school pupils), and health education (all state-funded school pupils) from September 2020.

All schools will be required to have in place a written policy for relationships education, and relationships and sex education. Schools must consult parents in developing and reviewing their policy. Schools should ensure that the policy meets the needs of pupils and parents and reflects the community they serve. Schools should also consider how they can adopt a whole school approach to teaching the content of the statutory guidance.

The statutory guidance is clear that schools should ensure that when they consult parents, they provide examples of the resources they plan to use. They should also allow parents time and space to provide input, ask questions and share any concerns.

The Department has published parent guides explaining the subjects. They set out parents’ rights and how they can engage positively in the development of their schools’ policy. The guidance has advice, tips and case studies on how to carry out effective parental engagement, including where to go for help, and it sets out the role governors and trustees can play in the engagement process. The parent guides are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-sex-and-health-education-guides-for-schools.

A thorough engagement process has informed the key decisions and implementation of these subjects, including responses from parents, schools, leading charities, teaching unions and subject associations.