Keegan: schools must share RSHE resources with parents

In an open letter to parents and schools in England, Keegan said that parents should have confidence in their right to know what their children are being taught in the classroom, and that schools and providers of teaching resources should share their RSHE materials with parents.

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The letter states that companies providing teaching resources cannot use copyright law to forbid parents from seeing materials, and that schools should share materials regardless. A sample letter has been produced to accompany Keegan's announcement, which schools can send to providers if they cite copyright as a reason for not allowing resources to be shared.

Keegan said: “The government is acting to guarantee parents’ fundamental right to know what their children are being taught in sex and relationships education. I’m writing to schools and parents to debunk the copyright myth that parents cannot see what their children are being taught.”

This follows another letter that Keegan wrote to schools in March, following the concerns of inappropriate material on the RSHE curriculum, where she said the government was setting up a review of the curriculum by an independent panel, the make up of which was confirmed in June. 

Parenting charities welcomed Keegan's letter but teaching unions warned that it could significantly increase schools' workload.  

Parentkind’s chief executive, Jason Elsom, said: "Effective RSHE can provide the toolkit children need to navigate some of the most complex and important subjects their developing minds will be exposed to. However, our research revealed tension between a significant minority of parents and their children’s schools, when parents felt that they were not consulted on the content their children would be taught. 

"Copyright of third-party materials was frequently being cited as the reason why schools could not share widely what they were planning to teach in RSHE lessons. We welcome the clarification that schools should do their upmost to make materials available to parents.”

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We agree with transparency of materials used in RSHE lessons, and schools will generally share this information upon request. In this context, the clarification over copyright law is helpful.

"However, we are concerned that the Education Secretary’s letter to schools and parents creates an expectation that schools will publish every piece of planning and resource used across the RSHE curriculum. This is a huge additional workload requirement at a time when they are already significantly overburdened.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, also said: “It is helpful for schools to be given this reassurance around copyright rules, and the backing that that they can definitely share materials when asked. But we need to be absolutely clear that schools are not, in any way, secretive about what they teach, which could be implied by the tone of this announcement.”

Reaction on social media to the announcement has also been mixed.

Many schools offer drop in sessions for parents where rshe providers are able to offer support, answer questions, as well as go through any curriculum if requested.

Your assumption that parents and carers don't have opportunities to view this content is misinformed.

— Ness Cooper (@TheLadyNess) October 24, 2023

Updated guidance for full public consultation on the curriculum will be published soon, according to the DfE.