Historic day as MPs vote in favour of new Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) regulations for England meaning they will be compulsory from 2020.
YESTERDAY (March 27) MPs voted 538 to 21 in favour of the Government’s new regulations for RSE, which means it will pending approval by the Lords, finally be compulsory in all schools in England from September 2020.
Alex Phillips, RSE lead at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: ‘This is a historic day for both Relationships and Sex Education and for all young people across England. We now know that from September 2020 that RSE will finally be compulsory in all schools in England and that no more young people will be let down when it comes to learning about sex and relationships.
“However the fight isn’t over and we will continue to apply strong pressure to ensure that all lessons are fit for purpose. That includes being truly LGBT-inclusive, that HIV and sexual health are a core part of the curriculum and that schools are properly funded so that they can skill up their teachers and provide top-quality resources.”
Mo Wiltshire, Director of Education and Youth at Stonewall the LGBT equality charity, said: “We’re delighted the Commons have approved the regulations for teaching Relationships Education and Relationships and Sex Education in England’s primary and secondary schools.
“Pending approval by the Lords, from September 2020 all secondary schools will be required to teach pupils about sexual orientation and gender identity, and all primary schools will be required to teach about different families, which can include LGBT families.
“Currently, two in five LGBT pupils are taught nothing about LGBT issues in school. While progress has been made, nearly half of LGBT pupils are still bullied for being themselves.
“These new subjects have the potential to deliver real change in how LGBT families, people and relationships are taught about. This will help foster greater inclusion, acceptance and understanding in our classrooms, playgrounds and school corridors.
“All students, whether they are LGBT or not, should have the time and space to learn about the diversity that exists and makes our world beautiful.
“It’s now essential the Government sufficiently invests in training and resources to support teachers to consistently deliver high-quality LGBT-inclusive teaching.
“We look forward to working with Government and our network of School Champions and Children and Young People’s Services Champions to help them deliver these subjects, and building on this best practice, we’ll work to ensure that the guidance for teaching these subjects is further strengthened when it is next reviewed in 2022.”
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