Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Lord Northbourne (Crossbench) on Wednesday, 27 April 2016, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 12 May 2016. It was answered by Lord Nash (Conservative) on Tuesday, 10 May 2016 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Relationships and Sex Education

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce legislation to require all schools, including academies, to provide high quality sex and relationship education as part of their syllabus.

Answer

Maintained secondary schools must continue to meet their existing statutory duties. All maintained secondary schools are required to teach sex and relationship education and we expect academies to teach it as part of a broad and balanced curriculum.

As announced in February, we will continue to keep the status of PSHE under review and work with a group of leading headteachers and practitioners to identify further action we can take to ensure that all pupils receive high quality, age appropriate PSHE and sex and relationship education.

When any school, including academies, teaches sex and relationship education, they must have regard to the Secretary of State’s statutory Sex and Relationship Education Guidance (2000). The guidance makes clear that all such lessons should be age-appropriate and that schools should ensure young people develop positive values and a moral framework that will guide their decisions, judgments and behaviour.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL8058
Session
2015-16
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Relationships and sex education
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk