Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is his Department taking to ensure implementation of statutory relationships and sex education guidance in schools includes factual-based discussion of the full range of contraceptive options.

The Government wants to support all young people to be happy, healthy and safe and to equip them for adult life.

From September 2020, relationships education became compulsory for all primary school pupils, relationships and sex education (RSE) became compulsory for all secondary school pupils, and health education became compulsory for pupils in all state-funded schools. The statutory guidance sets out that as part of relationships, sex and health education, secondary pupils should be taught about contraception, wellbeing and the key facts about the menstrual cycle. The statutory guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.

Under the topic of intimate and sexual relationships, including sexual health, secondary school pupils will be taught how the different sexually transmitted infections are transmitted, how risk can be reduced, and the importance of and facts about testing. Pupils should also know how to get further advice, including how and where to access confidential sexual and reproductive health advice and treatment.

The Department is committed to supporting schools to teach the new subjects and has published non-statutory implementation guidance titled ‘Plan your Relationships, Sex and Health Education Curriculum’, alongside teacher training materials. Both are designed to provide teachers with further clarity and practical advice on how to implement the RSHE curriculum, to help all teachers increase their confidence and quality of teaching. The support is available on a one-stop page for teachers on GOV.UK and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-relationships-sex-and-health.