School sex education facing crackdown - 'Parents have a right to know!'
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has ruled that parents must be able to see sex education materials
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Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has ruled that parents must be able to see sex education materials being taught in schools.
She wrote to all schools in England today, making clear that they can and should share all materials used in the relationships, sex and health (RSHE) curriculum with parents.
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Announcing the policy on X, she wrote: "No ifs, no buts and no more excuses: parents have a right to know what their children are being taught.
"I have acted today to make clear that schools must share RSHE materials with parents."
In a statement, she added: "This government is acting to guarantee parents’ fundamental right to know what their children are being taught in sex and relationships education.
"Today I’m writing to schools and parents to debunk the copyright myth that parents cannot see what their children are being taught.
"Parents must be empowered to ask and schools should have the confidence to share."
The letter makes clear that companies providing teaching resources cannot use copyright law to forbid schools from sharing materials, and any attempt to do so through contract terms would be unenforceable and void.
The Department for Education said there is a "clear public interest in parents being aware of what their children are being taught".
Jason Elsom, Chief Executive of Parentkind, praised the decision calling for "full transparency" with parents.
He said: "Parentkind welcomes the Department for Education’s timely move to strengthen parental rights in the teaching of RSHE.
"The key to children receiving appropriate and beneficial relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) teaching is full transparency with parents.
"When we polled parents on RSHE earlier this year, a clear picture emerged.
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The Department for Education said there is a "clear public interest in parents being aware of what their children are being taught"
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"Parents wanted to be consulted by schools in advance and agreed that the teaching of the subject was important.
"Our research clearly demonstrates that when parents are consistently informed about RSHE in advance, they are significantly likelier to have confidence in the curriculum and be supportive of the content.
"This move should help to reassure parents about the content and provision of RSHE."
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