Children in all schools across England will now be taught compulsory lessons on sex and relationships education, a vital change in the curriculum to aid the social development of future generations. This critical element of education has thus far been avoided by academies and free schools as current policy only requires council-run schools to feature sex education as part of their curriculum, but even then it’s content has been insufficient at best.
The incoming change is set to be implemented in September 2019 and is said to involve education on the risks of sexting, pornography, sexual harassment and what makes a healthy relationship. The content of these new lessons is a breath of fresh air compared to the lacklustre education that has been implemented by many schools previous, and it seems that it has been acknowledged by all that sex education is no longer just about condoms and STI’s.
With no mention of LGBT+ inclusivity on the agenda, this begs the question, will the new changes be enough? the new content to be introduced is not definite, and the government plan to hold discussions later this year on what to include in the new curriculum and a public consultation will take place following this. Parents, teachers and young people have all celebrated the new policy and many have been shocked to find the existing sex and relationships education guidance has not been altered since 2000.
It is important to note that institutions across the UK have already taken it upon themselves to provide students with substantial sex education. As of 2016, renowned Oxford University described their consent workshops for freshers as ‘compulsory’ and have since been a leading example for many other universities across the UK with most institutions offering these workshops to their students. Even some secondary schools in the UK have begun to use consent workshops within their sex education curriculums, but it has never been compulsory for them to do so.
Only time will tell what the government has in store for children and teenagers who are yet to experience this invigorating change of policy, but there is no doubt the announcement certainly holds optimism for the future of sex education in England.
