The House of Lords has rejected an amendment to the Children and Families Bill which would have made Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) mandatory in state-funded schools. The amendment would also have updated the content of SRE teaching. 142 peers voted in favour of the amendment, and 209 voted against. The British Humanist Association (BHA) supports the call for good quality compulsory SRE in all state schools, briefed peers ahead of the vote and is disappointed by the result.
The amendment, which was voted on in the Lords Tuesday night, would have added SRE to the national curriculum, and would have made SRE compulsory not only at maintained secondary schools (in which it is already required), but across all state-funded primary and secondary schools. The amendment would also have ensured that SRE teaching must include information on same-sex relationships, sexual violence, domestic violence and sexual consent. It would also have lowered the age at which the right to opt out of SRE is transferred from parents to the pupil, from 16 to 15. A similar amendment to the Children and Families Bill to make SRE compulsory was blocked in the House of Commons last year. The previous Government had also originally planned to put SRE on the national curriculum, but later dropped the proposal.
The 142 peers who voted in favour of the amendment included many members of the All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG). APPHG members also contributed to the debate: Baroness Tonge described her experience teaching sex education when working as a GP and family planning doctor, and said that ‘sex education has to occur in schools, because parents simply cannot be relied on to give their children the right information…a lot of parents find it very difficult to talk about these things, especially if they do not know much about it themselves.’ Baroness Massey of Darwen also said that ‘I remember a parent once saying to me, “I find it difficult enough to talk to my Johnny about his maths homework, let alone about sexual relationships”. That is the position of many parents. Schools are put in the position of having to do that work as appropriately as they can.’
Pavan Dhaliwal, BHA Head of Public Affairs, commented ‘The result of the vote is disappointing. When decent SRE is not compulsory for schools, it is inevitable that some schools will not provide it, which puts the young people who attend those schools at risk. All young people should receive full and comprehensive SRE, so that they can receive unbiased information on issues such as STIs, contraception, abortion and sexual orientation, and so that they can understand appropriate and inappropriate behaviour, make safe choices, be clear about personal boundaries and know who to talk to if they need help.’
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For further comment or information contact Pavan Dhaliwal, BHA Head of Public Affairs at pavan@humanists.uk or on 0773 843 5059.
Pink News – House of Lords votes against mandatory sex and relationship education in schools: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2014/01/28/house-of-lords-votes-against-mandatory-sex-and-relationship-education-in-schools/
Previous BHA news item – BHA welcomes announcement of new Government-backed supplementary sex education guidance: https://humanists.uk/2014/01/16/bha-welcomes-announcement-new-government-backed-supplementary-sex-education-guidance/
Previous BHA news item – David Cameron calls for update to sex and relationships education guidance: https://humanists.uk/2014/01/15/david-cameron-calls-update-sex-relationships-education-guidance/
Read about the BHA’s campaigning on PSHE and Sex and Relationships Education: http://humanists.uk/campaigns/schools-and-education/school-curriculum/pshe-and-sex-and-relationships-education/
The British Humanist Association is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity. It promotes a secular state and equal treatment in law and policy of everyone, regardless of religion or belief.