ASCL responds to report of new Relationships, Sex and Health Education guidance

Responding to reports that the government is to introduce age limits as part of new Relationships, Sex and Health Education guidance, Pepe Di'Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“We do not think the government has handled the important matter of the teaching of sex education with the care it deserves. It has not consulted with school leaders and we have not seen the guidance that is planned other than through leaked reports to the media.

“It is important to understand that schools are already following government guidance on the teaching of relationships and sex education – the new guidance is a revised version of this. The gist of the new guidance is apparently the setting of age limits on what children can be taught. There does need to be some flexibility for school leaders to respond to the circumstances in their context. For example, there is often damaging misinformation circulating on social media which they may need to address in order to safeguard the wellbeing of their pupils.”