New sex ed guidance pushes back on trans ideology

News

Gender ideology is to be banned from the classroom under new draft statutory guidance on Relationships and Sex Education.

The guidance, which has been published for consultation ahead of being finalised and coming into force later in the year, introduces an explicit ban on proactive teaching of gender identity for the first time.

It explains that the idea that children can change gender by using different names, pronouns and clothing is “highly contested” and says any teaching should focus on the facts of biological sex.

The new guidance, which once in force will set out what schools must do unless they have “very good reason” not to, also includes new rules banning all sex education for under-nines and explicit sex education for under-13s.

It makes clear that parents must be able to see what their children are being taught and that parents may publicly share the material, including excerpts, for the purposes of review and criticism.

The draft guidance has been widely welcomed by those worried about what children are being taught in schools on relationships and gender identity.

Some helpful parts on marriage have been carried over from the current guidance, emphasising that marriage is intended to be lifelong and has privileged legal protections. However, the guidance could go further by emphasising to all school children that man-woman marriage (not same-sex ‘marriage’) is the gold standard when it comes to benefits for couples, children and society.

At C4M, we welcome the positive changes made in the guidance, especially the clarity on keeping gender ideology out of the classroom and protecting young children from explicit material. But we urge the Government to go further and wholeheartedly champion real marriage.