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Sex Education and Faith Schools

Written by Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Romain Wednesday, 24 February 2010

The fate of the Children, Schools and Families Bill currently going through Parliament is a good lesson in where religion and politics can mix at its best and worst.

As a generalisation, it is an excellent Bill, and amongst its provisions is making it obligatory for the first time that all schools teach about sex and relationships. Whereas previously this was recommended, with schools choosing how or whether do so, now it will become part of the National Curriculum and a statutory requirement.

Moreover, the criteria the Bill lays down are good ones: the subject of PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic education) under which sexual education is taught, should be done in a way that is ‘accurate and balanced’, which ‘endeavours to promote equality’ and which ‘encourages acceptance of diversity’. Who could object to that?

Unfortunately, the answer is the Catholic Church, which has attitudes towards issues such as contraception, abortion, divorce and homosexuality which make it very reluctant to teach about them in a neutral way.

As a result it has relentlessly lobbied the Secretary of Sate for Education, Ed Balls, to introduce an amendment to his own Bill giving them an opt out. This he has now done and permitted all faith schools to teach PSHE ‘in a way that reflects the school’s religious character’.

Bearing in mind that one in three state-funded schools are faith schools that suddenly exempts a high percentage of children from the obligation to be taught in a manner that is ‘accurate and balanced’.

The better faith schools will probably follow the government’s criteria, but the more insular and dogmatic ones will leap on the escape clause to either keep their pupils in ignorance about certain issues or to encourage a negative perspective.

Do we really want certain schools to tell children that it is wrong to use contraception and that they are endangering their immortal soul if they do so ? Quite apart from the consequences for unwanted pregnancy, does this not endanger their physical body and expose them to AIDS?

Is it also acceptable to teach that homosexuality is at best a personality disorder and at worst, an abomination to God ? What does this do to those pupils who find they are gay ? What attitude towards gays does it engender among the rest of the class?

In effect, the amendment gives faith schools the right to be prejudiced. It is even more astonishing given that up to this moment, the Labour Government has had a good record in equality and diversity issues. This seems a regressive step and smacks of undue pressure from the Catholic Church mixed plus a severe dose of pre-election-itus by the government.

However, it is equally religious to demand that children at faith schools be equipped with the same facts as those at community schools, so that they can face sexual and relationship issues with confidence and knowledge. Despite the antics of some people of faith, religion can be reasonable and realistic.