Christian MP: parents need more power over sex ed.

Parents across schools in England could have the legal right to access copies of relationship and sex education (RSE) lessons.

That’s if proposals under a new Private Members’ Bill make the statute books. Under the Relationships and Sex Education (Transparency) Bill, schools would also be banned from using external teaching PRSE resources before they have been published.

The Bill was presented in Parliament by Miriam Cates, an evangelical Christian MP in late June. She said: ‘Examples of children being exposed to extreme and graphic sex education materials come to light on an almost daily basis. Despairing parents complain to schools and get nowhere…. Parents are a child’s best defence against sexual exploitation, and when parents are -as now - powerless to protect their children, then the Government must intervene.’

Important publicity

Only a minority of private members’ bills pass through all stages, but they provide important publicity around the subject matter concerned.

In June, a regulatory tribunal upheld a decision by the Information Commissioner rejecting a complaint from a parent, Clare Page. Page had complained after Haberdasher’s Hatcham College refused to provide material about her daughter’s RSE classes.

Exemption

The school withheld the information, relying on an exemption under the Freedom of Information Act – that disclosure ‘would, or would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person’.

In March, education secretary Gillian Keegan wrote to all school leaders saying ‘parents should be able to view all curriculum materials’ - even where external providers are used.

Elizabeth Harewood of the Association of Christian Teachers, said: ‘Considering Clare Page’s case, the guidance issued by Gillian Keegan now needs to become statutory to enable transparency. Many ACT members and other Christian teachers highly prize schools’ public service duties and would support a tightening of the law.

An independent review into sex education is currently underway, and statutory guidance expected by the end of the year.