Local MP for Basingstoke, Maria Miller chaired “Moving forward with Relationships, Sex and Health Education” event in Houses of Parliament on Tuesday 5 September. The event organised by Sex Education Forum and Brook was an opportunity to hear from young people about their experience of Relationships and Sex Education and the improvements they would like to see to ensure that RSHE teaching helps them be safe, be healthy and ultimately prepare them for life.
Maria said, “It was a hugely successful event bringing together MPs, young people , teachers and experts to talk about what it is like growing up in the UK today. And why high quality and relevant RSHE is not only wanted but is urgently needed by all students from different backgrounds including, LGBTQ+, from a range of cultural & faith backgrounds, disabled & neurodivergent students too.”
“I chaired a fantastic panel with young people from LGBTQ+ Care Leaver Advocates, Brook Forum, SafeLives, Sexpression, Girlguides and Make It Mandatory. Young people are clear, they want high-quality, inclusive Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) that empowers them to navigate the world, make informed choices, and develop critical thinking skills. Young people want to feel safe in their schools, where they can make disclosures and ask about complicated topics and in return receive relatable advice. And young people want parents and carers, the most important educators of children and young people in personal issues, to engage with RSHE not only at school but at home too.
“I stand up for high-quality, inclusive Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) that empowers children and young people to thrive and I will be continuing to work together with my parliamentary colleagues across the House of Commons to ensure that the government’s review of RSHE guidance is driven by what young people want and need, after all they are the true experts on their lives.”
As the Government updates its RSHE guidance Maria pledged her support to stand up for high-quality, inclusive Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) that is ;
- Protective – keeping children and young people safe in today’s digital era
- Developmentally appropriate - and responsive to the questions children ask, and to current and emerging issues
- Empowering – celebrating healthy relationships, not just addressing risk and harm
- Inclusive – relevant to all students and reflective of the whole community
- Evidence-based – informed by research and children and young people’s experiences
- Effective – focusing on life skills and open discussion as well as factual knowledge
- Taught by trained teachers and supported by specialists
- Engaged with parents and carers to ensure RSHE meets the needs of families
Children and their parents made it clear over many years that they want schools to take a bigger role in providing relationships, sex and health education. In February 2017 Maria Tabled NC5 amendment to Children and Social Work Bill with David Burrowes MP with support of 46 cross-party MPs. In March 2017 the then Education Secretary, Justine Greening, announced her intention to put ‘relationships and sex education’ on a statutory footing. After almost twenty years from the last time guidance on sex education was updated, with overwhelming cross- party support, teaching of RSHE was made mandatory in 2020.
Due to the disruption that Covid-19 has had on the education system, the implementation of mandatory RSHE was postponed until 2021. This meant that the RSHE has not been rolled out fully as intended and Ofsted has not scrutinised the implementation, delivery and impact of the curriculum.
The Government is currently reviewing RSHE curriculum. More information is available at https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/03/31/rshe-relationships-health-s…