Secretary of State: Schools should respond positively if parents ask to see RSE materials

Secretary of State: Schools should respond positively if parents ask to see RSE materials

CViE are thankful to be able to flag to our supporters an encouraging parliamentary question and answer from earlier in February.

One of the major challenges facing parents of school children is knowing exactly what they are being taught. Sadly, as CViE has flagged so much over recent years, there is an ever-increasing danger of our children being exposed to ideas and ideologies that are in direct conflict with Biblical teaching. This is especially true in the world of Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) where organisations with so called ‘progressive agendas’, particularly the LGBT+ lobby, have a huge influence and supply a wide range of resources.

As well as grounding our children in Biblical teaching at home, talking to them about what they are learning at school is very important. However, whatever the age of our children it can be hard to get a clear answer from them.

An important avenue open to parent is therefore to ask the schools themselves. We copy below a recent question submitted to the Secretary of State for Education by Miriam Cates MP along with the response provided by Nick Gibb, Minister of State (Education).

There are a number of important aspects to this, especially the statement that “where parents request to see specific materials used to teach their children, schools are expected to respond positively”.

Sometimes schools can be resistant to this type of approach, but this parliamentary exchange shows that parents are perfectly within their rights to make these requests.

We would urge you to proactively ask your children’s schools – always prayerfully and in a calm, constructive and non-confrontational way – about the RSE resources being used. This has the twofold benefit of informing you about any materials that may be unsuitable, and also of showing the schools that parents are engaged and are willing to hold them to account. If you do receive pushback, being able to quote official guidance like below may well prove helpful.

Finally, some points for prayer:

. Give thanks to God that we have these freedoms and pray that they will be preserved.

. Pray for Miriam Cates MP who is a Christian and stands for the Biblical worldview in Parliament.

. Give thanks to God that such a clear answer was given by the Secretary of State to this important question.

. Pray that our children would not be exposed to harmful resources.

Asked by: Miriam Cates (Conservative – Penistone and Stocksbridge)

Wednesday 1st February 2023

Question to the Department for Education:

“To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to ensure that all Relationships and Sex Education learning materials used in schools are shared with parents.”

Answered by Nick Gibb – Minister of State (Education)

“All schools are required to share information about the curriculum with parents and the Department also expects schools to consult with parents when developing or reviewing their relationships and sex education (RSE) policy. The relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance is clear that when consulting parents, schools should provide examples of the resources that they plan to use.

The Department does not expect schools to share all of the learning materials they use with parents routinely, but where parents request to see specific materials used to teach their children, schools are expected to respond positively.

The Department believes the majority of schools use high quality, appropriate resources and engage with parents openly and transparently on what they plan to use. The Department has been made aware of situations where this is not the case and as such, we will write to all schools to clarify how materials can be shared which, will enable them to engage with parents constructively going forward.”