Age ceilings enforced for explicit sex education in schools
DfE review to stop the teaching of ‘inappropriate or contested content’
‘We have to accept that some things can’t be taught safely or sensibly’
SEX education classes could be given age “ceilings” limiting what school pupils of a certain age can be taught under plans being considered by the Department for Education, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
The aim of the revised guidance would be to take a “more robust” approach on the use of materials to “make sure reliably that no one is being taught things that aren’t age-appropriate”, a DfE source said.
The department would have to strike a “balance” so that pupils continue to receive “the education they need to be safe”, they added.
But the source said existing guidance on political impartiality in schools meant teachers already had a duty not to teach contested theories as fact. This would apply to teaching on “types of genders” or use of pronouns, they said.
Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, has said his “concerns” about what was being taught had convinced him to bring forward a review of relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance to “ensure that schools are not teaching inappropriate or contested content”.
His intervention came after The Telegraph revealed evidence of children being taught that there are 100 genders, while in some schools children as young as 12 have been asked how they “feel” about oral and anal sex. A textbook called Great Relationships and Sex Education advised teachers to “emphasise that love and affection are often important parts of good sex, but not always. For others, good sex is quick, rough and anonymous”.
Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector of Ofsted, said last week that current DfE guidance “sets clear minimum expectations but no maximum”. She told The Telegraph this meant Ofsted had “no reference point” to say a school is “doing too much”.
Mark Lehain, a former teacher and DfE adviser who is now head of education at the Centre for Policy Studies think tank, said ceilings could specify what information was inappropriate for children in different age brackets, and could make clear that certain information should not be taught in sex education at any age.
He told The Telegraph: “All school curriculums have limits on what they cover. This might be because of the time available, pupils’ ability to properly understand an issue, or because it’s just not appropriate for a teacher to be the one introducing it. It’s the case in history or RE [religious education], and no different for sex ed too.”
He said current guidance deliberately “has no mention of sexual pleasure or the infinite range of possible sexual acts”, because “as soon as you wade on to issues like masturbation or ‘rough anonymous sex’ ... large swathes of people would withdraw their support”.
He added: “We just have to accept that with sex ed ... some things can’t be taught in school safely or sensibly.”
The DfE review’s first phase will gather evidence on materials currently being used in schools, before a consultation process on changes to the guidance, which could come later this year.