Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the rights of parents to withdraw their children from sex education lessons.

The Government is making relationships education compulsory for all primary pupils, relationships and sex education (RSE) compulsory for all secondary pupils and health education compulsory in all state-funded schools.

A consultation on the draft regulations and statutory guidance for these subjects closed on 7 November 2018. The draft guidance advises head teachers that parents can request that their child be withdrawn from sex education as part of secondary RSE and, unless there are exceptional circumstances, they should agree the parents’ request until 3 terms before the child turns 16. The draft guidance states that after that point, if the child wishes to receive sex education, this should be provided in one of those three terms. Sex education is not compulsory in primary schools but where it is taught, parents will have an automatic right to withdraw their children, if they wish. In line with the current position, there will be no right to withdraw from sex education which is taught as part of the science national curriculum.

Schools will be required to consult parents on their policy for these subjects and the Department expects schools to work in close partnership with parents, as is currently the case. The new framework is the best way to secure the proper balance between parents’ rights and the rights of young people once they are competent to make their own choices.

The Department is currently considering all the responses to the consultation and the views expressed are helping to inform the final regulations and statutory guidance on the right to withdraw. Regulations are expected to be laid in the spring of 2019 for a full debate and vote in Parliament. The Government’s response to the consultation will be published and a copy of the guidance will be placed in the Library of the House of Commons once the regulations are laid.