Labour scraps Tories’ proposed ban on relationships, sex and health ed for children under nine
Incel culture, AI, deepfakes and how pornography links to misogyny will also be added to the curriculum
By Aaron Sugg
The Labour Party will reportedly scrap plans proposed by the Tory government to ban sex education for children under nine, as it publishes updated relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) guidance today (15 July).
In May of last year, under Rishi Sunak‘s government, the government was set to ban making sex education unaccessible until the age of 13, stripping any mention of transgender identities.
The new guidance on relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) recommends teaching sex education in Years 5 and/or 6, but does not prohibit it earlier, according to the Daily Mail.
Shadow education secretary Laura Trott told the outlet: “More than a year late, and only under pressure, the Education Secretary has finally published guidance she once dismissed as ‘partisan’.
“It’s not ‘partisan’ to want to protect children from age-inappropriate content. Yet this guidance weakens key safeguards, scrapping protections that prevented under-9s being taught about sex.”
When Rishi Sunak was Prime Minister, he publicly stated that gender identity was being taught in schools as an “uncontested fact.” As a result, primary schools were directed to avoid teaching children about changing gender identity and to delay “explicit” conversations about sex.
The year prior, Sunak also stated during his Conservative Party conference speech that “a man is a man and a woman is a woman, that’s just common sense.”
The original Tory proposed guidance also restricted schools from teaching about the details of violent abuse before Year 9.
As part of the Labour government, secondary schools will add incel culture, AI, deepfakes and how pornography links to misogyny to the curriculum.
Parents will be able to view all RSHE curriculum materials upon request.