Education

Fiona Bruce Excerpts

Wednesday 20th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

I, too, rise to support these regulations and guidance, and I thank Ministers for the constructive engagement with Members from across the House that they have exhibited in preparation for these regulations. Through engaging, they have struck a right but difficult balance, so I am pleased to broadly support these regulations, particularly given their emphasis on teaching about relationships; the sex element is compulsory only in secondary schools.

Young people are being taught to develop healthy relationships, both physical and mental, and about maintaining relationships so that their relationships can endure, which is what they aspire to. They are being taught about the nature of marriage, and its importance for family life and the bringing up of children. The fact that schools can choose the resources they use to teach RSE is very important, particularly for faith schools, which will be able to have regard to the religious background of pupils, as is the fact that materials should be age appropriate.

I know that some colleagues have reservations about the qualified right of parental withdrawal, but I am pleased that the Schools Minister has said that this will be used in very exceptional circumstances. I ask him to reflect on the following words of the then Minister for Vulnerable Children and Families during the passage of the Children and Social Work Act 2017:

“We have committed to retain a right to withdraw from sex education in RSE, because parents should have the right, if they wish, to teach sex education themselves in a way that is consistent with their values.”—[Official Report, 7 March 2017; Vol. 622, c. 705.]

In other words, where a parent withdraws their child from sex education for reasons of religious belief up to the age of 15, that right of withdrawal should normally be respected. The exceptional circumstances we are speaking of would be there to deal with exceptional safeguarding issues, such as those involving children with special educational needs or other vulnerable needs. I would be grateful if the Minister could clarify that. He has referred to the anticipated supplemental guidance about the implementation of this curriculum, and it would be helpful if further information could be given about the right of withdrawal. Could the Minister clarify that the focus of these exceptional circumstances is to be safeguarding issues?

On working with parents and the wider community, I very much welcome paragraphs 40 to 44 of the guidance, which set out that schools should work closely with parents when planning and delivering the subjects. Good engagement is essential, but it does not always happen enough between schools and parents, and between children and parents. Anything Ministers can do to encourage this would be welcome. For example, parental involvement could be enhanced if some of the curriculum is digital and online. Some very good materials are available on the digital platform provided by OnePlusOne, such as those on how to communicate better with a partner, on conflict resolution and on how to see the best in one’s partner. It would be very helpful if parents could be given access to such modules, in order to learn what their children will be taught and, if necessary, then to be able to communicate with the school

The other key issue has been touched on already: how the new curriculum requirements will be applied by Ofsted when the inspector calls. I raised this issue in the Westminster Hall debate in February, and it is crucial to the implementation of these regulations. The draft inspection framework for Ofsted inspectors is out for consultation until 5 April, for a roll-out in September, ahead of the implementation of the RSE and health education curriculum requirements we are discussing today. Will the Minister assure me that the new guidance and regulations, and good practice, that we are discussing today will be embedded in the new Ofsted framework? I say that because my reading of that framework is that the primary legislative requirement for the new curriculum to have regard both to age appropriateness and pupils’ religious background is not reflected in the inspection framework. We very much welcome the fact that that is reflected in the guidance. I welcome in particular paragraphs 19 to 22 of the guidance, and particularly the confirmation that schools can

“reflect on faith teachings about certain topics”,

but it would be helpful if the Ofsted inspection framework also referred to the new curriculum and how it will apply to inspectors’ judgments. As we have heard, concerns have been expressed, and I have received concerns from parents of children at Jewish schools who feel that Ofsted inspectors’ questions were not age-appropriate and did not reflect the religious principles regarding their relationships.