Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to include an LGBT aspect in statutory sex and relationships education; and whether her Department has consulted LGBT young people on the new PSHE action plan.

The government announced on 1 March 2017 proposals for mandatory Relationships Education in primary schools, Relationships and Sex Education in secondary schools (RSE), and potentially also Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE), or elements thereof, in all schools but this will be subject to wider consultation.

We want all pupils to be taught how to recognise and build healthy relationships of all kinds, including family relationships, friendships and, at the appropriate age, sexual relationships.

We expect all schools to ensure that young people, whatever their developing sexuality or identity, feel that Relationships Education and RSE are relevant to them and sensitive to their needs. This is stated in the current Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) guidance. As part of our wider engagement, we envisage working with organisations who represent LGBT communities and who are already supporting schools in this area. There will be an opportunity to ensure that the revised guidance will draw on the good practice that already exists on how to provide good quality, inclusive subject content that is also consistent with the ethos of the school.

We plan to undertake a comprehensive programme of engagement with stakeholders about future provision in these areas. A key element of the engagement process will be gathering views and evidence to enable us to get the balance of subject content right, including through statutory guidance, enabling schools to design appropriate lessons. This will include consultation with young people and we will share further details on our wider engagement shortly.

The government’s plan is for schools to teach mandatory Relationships Education, RSE, and subject to further consideration and consultation, PSHE, we expect from September 2019.