NEW RSHE GUIDANCE - A GOOD DAY

NEW RSHE GUIDANCE - A GOOD DAY
Today is a good day.
It has taken many years of hard work but we have got there at last.
“People have very much changed their views on this.” Gillian Keegan (Secretary of State for Education).
Indeed this is so. Whilst I knew instinctively that what was happening in schools in RSHE lessons was wrong, I and others needed to persuade Government. Along the way, I have been vilified, been called many names, been abused and even threatened with violence.
I stood up on this issue because we must protect our children. Children should not be taught in schools that they have an inner gender identity or that they might have been born in the wrong body - these ideas confuse and harm. Nor should they be introduced to sex education too early. This also confuses and harms.
There is more to do - and everyone interested in this topic should respond to the government consultation.
But today is a good day.
Nick.

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Rachel Wilder, a lecturer at the University of Bath who conducts research on education, about the consequences of restricting sex education.
the government mandating that they emphasise that gender identity is a “contested” subject. “This type of policy can create a really hostile environment that is not helpful for teachers or schools,” Wilder says.
She also notes that set age bans are “artificial” and not evidence-based.
Rachel de Souza (pictured above), the children’s commissioner, has said that culture wars over sex education are partially to blame for an increase in sexually transmitted infections among young people. And Wilder told me that during her research she has heard one council was so nervous about being caught in the crosshairs of such a lightning rod issue that it refused to provide any guidance at all on sex education in a bid to avoid political backlash.This gags the local council because it means that they cannot give the schools the support they’re asking for and need,” she said. “It creates a chilling effect on schools as they feel that they have to back away from it to avoid reprisals.”

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headteachers have said there is no evidence that inappropriate material is a widespread or significant problem in English schools and that they already have a duty to share materials with parents who ask to see it. Parents also already have the power to remove their children from some sex education lessons.

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survey conducted by the Sex Education Forum found that more young people than ever before report that their RSE provision is good or very good and that has been consistently improving. What they want is more inclusivity, not less.
If they are not being taught a comprehensive, accessible and inclusive curriculum they will learn about it elsewhere, which could be from unreliable, poor quality, inaccurate or misleading sources. The consequences of that can be damaging.
The situation also becomes perilous for teachers who increasingly feel unable to answer questions that children come to them with. “I’ve spoken to teachers who have said that if a child asks them a question and they don’t feel they are supported by the government to answer it they will tell them to ask their parents,” says Wilder. “They feel gagged and unable to support the children that they’re there to support.”

[@danielbanks9589]

If you really want to improve the lives of children and families, you'd be lobbying your government to end the two child benefit cap.