New Sex Education Guidance Issued

Teachers should acknowledge same-sex relationships in the school curriculum and disregard the right to privacy if they believe a child is being abused, according to the Scottish Government. New guidance on relationships, sexual health and parenthood (RSHP) has been issued to reflect "societal changes'' in the last decade, including the legalisation of same-sex marriage and new state-appointed "named persons'' who will be responsible for children's wellbeing. Councils should consider the objections of any teacher who opposes the sex education programme but the Government said the programme should continue. Officials warned that "no school or individual teacher is under a duty to support, promote or endorse one type of relationship over another''. Parents who object to the curriculum have the right to withdraw their child if "alternative positive educational provision'' can be provided. But the Government has advised that the RSHP programme should run throughout the curriculum and said it will be impossible for children to be withdrawn from all lessons where sex and relationships will potentially be discussed. Disabled children and those with learning difficulties should be given sexeducation to reflect research which found that they are over three times more likely to be abused, it said. Good sex education is necessary to avoid children seeking "inappropriate alternative methods to gather information about sexual health and relationships, such as pornography'', and to cut down on infections and teenage pregnancies. Teachers must be aware of the potential that new technologies have to expose children to pornography, particularly "self-generated pornography'' such as "sexting''. Teachers must also balance the role of the internet in forming healthy new relationships with the potential for online grooming and child sexual exploitation. The Government said no child has an absolute right to privacy and has advised teachers to report suspicions of abuse to the child's named person, with the Data Protection Act not presenting an obstacle to sharing information. The Government has "no intention of changing the current position where faith aspects of the curriculum in Catholic schools are determined by the Scottish Catholic Education Service acting on behalf of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland.'' The Humanist Society of Scotland said this amounts to handing the church "an effective veto'' over sex education. The guidance states: "It is legal and permissible to discuss lesbian, gay and bisexual relationships in a positive manner within the school environment. "The intention is that RSHP education should be inclusive of, and responsive to, all, regardless of their sexual orientation.'' It added: "The Scottish Government expects all local authorities to consider objections which teachers have to any aspects of RSHP education. The Scottish Government expects that the teaching of the RSHP programme would continue. "No school, or individual teacher, is under a duty to support, promote or endorse one type of relationship over another. "Discussions about relationships should acknowledge that same-sex couples can now marry. "Teaching should be based on facts and should enable pupils to develop an understanding of how the law applies to different relationships.'' It continued: "Teachers should be fully aware of children and young people's right to privacy in the context of disclosures made in the course of RSHP education and the limits of that right in terms of child protection guidance. "The right to privacy is not an absolute right, and where there is a risk to wellbeing, it is acceptable to share confidential information with the child's named person. "In March 2013 the Information Commissioner's Office issued a statement clarifying that if there is any doubt about the wellbeing of the child and the decision is to share, the Data Protection Act should not be viewed as a barrierto proportionate sharing between agencies.''