Relationship Education in Schools

Maya Ellis Excerpts

Tuesday 1st April 2025 Westminster Hall

[Maya Ellis (Ribble Valley) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) for securing this debate.

When I became a new parent, I was shocked to my core to see in my communities, both in person and online, the extent to which relationships between new parents can suddenly descend into coercive control, gaslighting, financial abuse and, in the worst cases—still far too many—physical abuse. The For Baby’s Sake Trust found that 40% of parents who experienced domestic abuse said that it occurred during their baby’s first 1,001 days—from pregnancy until the baby’s second birthday. It is critical that we embed healthy relationships early on.

I am the vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on sexual and reproductive health in the UK, and I recently chaired a roundtable to celebrate 20 years since the teenage pregnancy prevention framework. The key asks were about focusing reforms on upstream prevention, rather than downstream crisis management. I would love to see more support for parents as their children receive relationship guidance in school. A huge number of young people will receive strong, progressive advice from schools about relationships, then go home to a place where those progressive relationships do not exist. If, via the information that a child brings home from school, a parent realises that they are in a relationship that is not okay—such as one that is financially abusive or controlling—so much the better.

Chloe Combi recently wrote a powerful piece in The Independent about the TV show “Adolescence”, in which she pointed out that very little commentary on the show has asked what young people themselves thought about it. Multiple organisations, including Brook, have highlighted the importance of including the student voice in RSHE curriculum design. In the 2009 guidance, schools were instructed to consult parents; however, for RSE to be relevant, the needs and preferences of pupils must also be reflected in the lessons taught in schools. I pay tribute to Chloe Combi and others such as Jo Davies at the WILD Young Parents Project, for being on the frontline of how we can instil great relationships among young people.

Finally, as a society, the reality is that we are often not great at relationships as adults. Therefore, as we protect and extend relationship advice to young people, I hope that we have the humility to learn alongside them, too.