Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he will take to support schools in teaching the new, LGBT-inclusive relationships and sex education curriculum.

The Department has previously announced up to £6 million in this financial year to develop a programme of support for schools – the funding will not be distributed to individual schools. Further funding beyond the next financial year is a matter of the forthcoming Spending Review.

The programme of support will focus on tools that improve schools’ practice, such as an implementation guide, easy access to high quality resources, and support for staff training. The Department is currently working with schools and teachers to develop a programme of support that is suited to their needs.

The Department will ensure that all of the materials supporting implementation of the new subjects are inclusive. The Department is also encouraging schools to start teaching the subjects from September 2019, so that it can improve and share good practice ahead of compulsory teaching from September 2020.

The Department has published guides that set out clearly the nature and content of the subjects, as well as explaining parents’ rights and how they should be engaged in the development of the curriculum.

The Department will support any school that has engaged with parents and listened to their views, and takes reasonable decisions on their relationships education curriculum, including the teaching of topics sensitive to parents.