The U.K. Education Secretary has informed all English schools that parents have a right to see materials in the Relationship, Sex and Health Education curriculum.
“Today I’m writing to schools and parents to debunk the copyright myth that parents cannot see what their children are being taught,” Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, a member of the Conservative Party, wrote in an open letter sent all English schools on Tuesday. “Parents must be empowered to ask and schools should have the confidence to share.”
The letter clarifies that copyright laws cannot be used as a justification to prevent sharing relationship, sex, and health materials with parents. Keegan said “any attempt to do so through contract terms would be unenforceable and void” and schools should “continue regardless” if a third-party provider attempts to prevent sharing the material, saying it would “contradict the clear public interest in parents being aware of what their children are being taught.”
“No ifs, no buts and no more excuses,” said Keegan. “This government is acting to guarantee parents’ fundamental right to know what their children are being taught in sex and relationships education.”
Keegan also wrote an open letter to parents and care-givers, stating it is now “clear” that they “should always be able to see the materials that are being used to teach [their] children.”
In March, the Department for Education announced it would review the relationship, sex, health, and education statutory guidelines by the end of 2023 “in response to disturbing reports that inappropriate material is being taught in some schools.”
According to the Department for Education, the panel would advise “introducing age ratings setting out what is appropriate to be taught at what age, to prevent children being taught concepts they are too young to understand.”