Schools: Sex and Relationships Education

Monday 24th October 2011 Lords Chamber

Question

15:13

Asked by

[Baroness Gould of Potternewton]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to improve the teaching of sex and relationships education in schools.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford)]

My Lords, we are reviewing personal, social, health and economic education, including sex and relationships education. The review is considering how to improve the quality of teaching, the core outcomes that we expect PSHE to achieve and the core of knowledge and awareness that the Government should expect pupils to acquire at school. It is looking at existing research and also welcomes submissions of evidence and good practice before 30 November.

[Baroness Gould of Potternewton]

I thank the Minister for that reply. I am very pleased that we now have a date for the ending of the review, but it does seem to be taking rather a long time. Why, when all the evidence was already available, has it taken so long? He will appreciate that the majority of parents, teachers and school governors believe that PSHE and SRE should be taught in schools, and that advice should be given for use in the home as well. Can he elaborate on what support parents are receiving to give them the confidence to discuss the issue along with the school? Further, when the review is over, when will the teaching start?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, I know that there has been a lot of eager anticipation about the review starting and that a number of noble Lords wish that we could have started sooner. We were keen to try to set up the review properly and I am glad that it is now going. We recently had a very useful meeting with a number of noble Lords in which they gave us a lot of helpful advice. I welcome contributions from all noble Lords in this House who have a range of different perspectives and who would like to contribute to the review. One important issue that the review is looking at is how to improve the quality of teaching. When Ofsted looked at PSHE, it found that it was good or outstanding in three-quarters of schools but that there were problems in some. That is important. Clearly, the role that parents play is vital as well. The guidance from the Secretary of State—it was issued by the previous Government and we have retained it—talks about that, and it is something that we will need to look at as the review progresses.

[Baroness Sharples]

Can my noble friend explain why children here go to school at the age of five when in virtually every other country they go to school at the age of six or seven?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I am not sure that I can provide an easy answer to that, other than to say that practices vary from country to country in all sorts of different ways.

[Lord Clarke of Hampstead]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that many parents are concerned about the teaching of sex and relationships education to very young children and that sometimes the children are too young to understand these subjects? Do the Government have any plans to force sex education on to the national curriculum, and does the Minister think that it is teachers who should decide whether such things are taught in their schools?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, of course I am aware of the sensitivities around this issue, and I agree with the noble Lord about the important role that parents play. Perhaps I may read from the guidance which the previous Government issued in 2000 and which is still in place. It is very clear on this matter:

“Schools should ensure that pupils are protected from teaching and materials which are inappropriate, having regard to the age and cultural background of the pupils concerned. Governors and head teachers should discuss with parents and take on board concerns raised, both on materials which are offered to schools and on sensitive material to be used in the classroom”.

That seems very clear and it is absolutely right. We are not proposing any change to the current legislation on sex education or to make the whole of PSHE statutory.

[Baroness Tonge]

My Lords, the Minister will know that teaching children how to avoid sexually transmitted disease and HIV/AIDS is a compulsory part of the curriculum. Can he explain to me, as a doctor, how you can teach children that without teaching them about sex and relationships?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I agree with my noble friend that children understanding STIs and HIV/AIDS is extremely important, and I am glad that the most recent figures show that there has been some improvement in that respect. I also take the point, which is often raised in this House, that, when we talk about sex education, the SRE or relationships bit, which I think is an important part of the process, often gets missed out.

[Lord Elton]

In his last reply but one, the Minister referred to the age of children. Can he tell us whether the regulations refer to calendar or biological age, which are often very different, and whether they take account of the views of the parents of the children being taught?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I tried to make it clear that they should indeed pay attention to the interests and views of the parents concerned. On the specific point about calendar age, I shall need to write to my noble friend.

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch]

My Lords, does the Minister acknowledge the consistent evidence that the teaching of sex and relationships education reduces, rather than increases, sexual activity? Does he agree, as I think he indicated, that teaching young people about relationships, and in particular young girls about the nature of informed consent in sexual relationships, is vital? Does he also agree that that is best achieved by teaching sex and relationships as part of compulsory modules in statutory PSHE education?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I think I was with the noble Baroness right until the very last bit of her question. I accept the thrust of her points but, as she will know because we have discussed it before, the overall aim in the Government’s plans is to slim down the curriculum, which we think has become overcrowded. Therefore, as she knows, we do not plan to make SRE a statutory part of it. The purpose of our review is to try to share best practice, to look at how we can raise the quality of teaching and to identify the core elements of PSHE which we think children should study.

[Baroness Gould of Potternewton]

Can the information on the annunciator screen be changed? I am not Lord Gould of Brookwood.