Protests as sex ed legal fight begins
PROTESTERS gathered in Cardiff yesterday as campaigners took the Welsh Government to court over its new compulsory sex education.
Five claimants representing some parents and grandparents in Wales launched a High Court judicial review in a bid to remove its new relationships and sexuality education (RSE) from the mandatory part of Wales’ curriculum.
Protesters were seen chanting and holding signs outside as the two-day hearing got under way at Cardiff Civil and Family Justice Centre.
Campaigners from a group called Public Child Protection Wales (PCPW) are among the claimants and say the mandatory element of RSE, which began being rolled out in Welsh schools in September, means children as young as three will be taught about topics such as gender ideology, which the Welsh Government denies. They have also objected to the fact parents are not allowed to remove their children from sex education classes.
Campaigners against the new curriculum yesterday accused the Welsh Government of “state overreach” which it claimed would lead to “indoctrination” of children as young as three years old.
Paul Diamond, for the claimants, said this included showing children as young as three “graphic diagrams” of male and female body parts described using accurate sexual terms, which he said had left some parents “almost outraged”.
Mr Diamond said the curriculum was “infused” with information teaching children as young as 11 about LGBTQ+ issues, many of which he said had “no basis in law”.
He added that there was a lack of reflection of “traditional views” in the curriculum and that terms such as ‘boy’, ‘girl’, ‘man’ and ‘woman’ were “wholly absent”, adding: “There is no mention of anything traditional in this, or family life.”
Mr Diamond said Welsh Government’s claim that learners will only learn topics that are appropriate to their age and development was “glibly put in” and that in practice there was “no mechanism for resolving that question”, adding: “Nowhere in this is any mention of parental influence. They have no control over this, it will be done.”
He claimed that some parents felt “totally excluded from this process” and that the curriculum amounted to “unacceptable sexualisation of children” by encouraging them to explore relationships and sexuality at a young age.
Jonathan Moffett KC, representing the Welsh Government, argued that the claimants were not disputing the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021, which included provision for RSE, the curriculum itself, or its teaching but were objecting to the code and guidance published.
He said: “The claimants’ allegations have not pointed to anything in the code or the guidance that substantiate them.”
He added that the rollout of RSE had been “plagued by incorrect information” and that claims among some campaigners that RSE was part of a “global rollout of comprehensive sex
education” and an “ideological approach to sexualising children” were “simply not the case”.
Mr Moffett said the purpose of the curriculum was to help pupils form healthier relationships and aid understanding of bullying and changes in society. He said further claims that young children would be exposed to learning about sexual activities such as masturbation “do not form any part of the code or guidance”. He pointed out that this had not been challenged by the claimants and reiterated that the 2021 Act required RSE to be “developmentally appropriate and was about all kinds of relationships”, not just sexual ones.
Addressing the claimants’ assertion that the curriculum had been “specifically designed to frustrate the court’s oversight” Mr Moffett said this was “entirely unsubstantiated” and that the fact RSE must be approved by the Senedd guaranteed a level of oversight.
The hearing continues.