Schools must share sex education materials with parents under 'right to know'

24 October 2023 , 08:36

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The education secretary said she will write to schools over parents' 'right to know' (Image: PA)

Schools will be forced to share sex education teaching materials with parents as they should be able to see what is being taught in the classroom, the education secretary has said.

Gillian Keegan said she will write to schools to inform them that they should adopt a default position of a 'right to know'. The move comes after some teaching resources agencies reportedly refused to allow parents to see the material due to copyright reasons - but the minister said this would be "void and unenforceable" under the law.

The Department for Education will provide template letters to schools to respond to copyright claims, under what Keegan described as a "no ifs, no buts and no more excuses" approach, according to The Times.

She said: "No ifs, no buts and no more excuses. This government is acting to guarantee parents’ fundamental right to know what their children are being taught in sex and relationship education. Parents must be empowered to ask and schools should have the confidence to share."

Headteachers are still waiting to be issued with updated guidance on relationships, sex and health education (RSHE), which the government had promised would be put out for full public consultation soon. An announcement in March said a review would respond to "disturbing reports that inappropriate material is being taught in some schools". But a strict timeline was never given, with the government saying at the time that new statutory guidance would be released in the coming months before a public consultation concludes by the end of the year.

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Separate guidance on transgender pupils was also previously promised by the Prime Minister "for the summer term", but no publication date has yet been set. Sex education is compulsory in schools in secondary schools in England, while primary school pupils must be taught "key building blocks of healthy, respectful relationships".

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, stated that he welcomed any clarification on copyright law for teachers. But he said he was worried that Keegan's letter would put undue pressure on schools to publish all of their planning and resources for RSHE, which would add to an already heavy workload. He also questioned why the letter was being sent while many schools were away for half term, and added: "If the Government had spoken to the sector in advance of this statement we might have been able to resolve the practical difficulties it raises."

Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas