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DfE proposes ban on teaching sex education to young children

2 mins read Education Health
The Department for Education has announced plans to ban sex education for school pupils in year four and below.
Researchers suggest extending compulsory education would mitigate pandemic learning loss. Picture: Monkey Business/Adobe Stock
Researchers suggest extending compulsory education would mitigate pandemic learning loss. Picture: Monkey Business/Adobe Stock - Monkey Business/Adobe Stock

The government has published new draft guidance which states that schools must only teach children about sex from year five – when a child is nine – and above from a “purely scientific standpoint”.

This signals that the government is rowing back on its own 2019 guidance which put a duty on primary schools to teach compulsory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) to all children “in an age-appropriate manner”.

The changes come “following multiple reports of disturbing materials being used in RSHE lessons”, according to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan.

The new guidance puts stricter duties to schools to ensure all materials being used in RSHE lessons can be accessed by parents.

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