The new Student Opinion Survey (November 2014) shows fewer than one fifth of 2,500 university students discussed LGBT issues in their Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) at school.
THE SURVEY underpins the NUS call for statutory Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) as part of their New Deal general election manifesto. Almost all respondents who are now at university echo the call (90 per cent).
More than one third felt their SRE did not rate positively regarding diversity and difference. Consent was never even raised for two thirds of students, with relationships covered for less than half.
More than half of those responding felt the issues that they needed to know about were not covered, with only one third feeling they could practically apply their SRE lessons to their real life, and the same number admitting that this did not help their confidence with decision-making in life.
Students agreed that porn is a standard part of a young person’s life. Interestingly, in this context 60 per cent used it to find out more about sex, 40 per cent cited it as helping their understanding about sex but overall almost three quarters agreed it provided unrealistic expectations.
NUS Vice President Colum McGuire said: “SRE is failing millions. It is not currently compulsory for schools to teach young people about sexual consent and healthy relationships, and LGBT relationships.
“Ignoring all of this is just completely unrealistic. It will never go away – it’s life. Sexual consent, learning about equal and respectful relationships and gender stereotypes must be alien to this government as they don’t rate them high on the list of subjects to educate young people on.
“The government has a responsibility to provide a safe and reliable environment to explore sex and relationships. This is about providing the knowledge young people need in order to make good decisions for themselves.”
The Student Room Director of Community Jack Wallington added: “These findings from NUS mirror the thousands of comments we hear from young people on The Student Room everyday: that the UK’s sex and relationships programmes are patchy at best.
“Students regularly report a general lack of practical advice and, worryingly, inadequate or incorrect information about sexuality, contraception and STIs – leaving a black hole of questions filled by friends and websites.
“We’d like to see greater standardisation in our sex and relationships education programmes, to directly address the needs of young people instead of leaving them to hunt for pieces of the puzzle themselves.“
The Education Select Committee will publish its findings on SRE in schools shortly, with the Conservatives yet to announce their position. Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats are committed to introducing compulsory SRE.
Statutory status would allow SRE to be treated as other subjects, with teachers getting the training they need and enough time being allocated in school timetables for the subject to address real life issues, including respectful relationships, consent and LGBT issues.
Simon Kirby, MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, said: “When providing sex education, schools must ensure that they do not discriminate unfairly on grounds of sexual orientation.
The guidance from the Department for Education states that pupils should be given accurate information to enable them to understand their developing sexuality, whatever that may be. Teachers should deal honestly and sensitively with sexual orientation.
“It is important that Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) courses give students the knowledge and information they need.”
To view the Survey, click here:
To view New Deal General Election Manifesto, click here:
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