Education Secretary Damian Hinds has made clear that teaching about LGBT relationships will be optional in primary schools under the government’s new relationships and sex education policy.
In a letter to the National Association of Head Teachers, he said that, while secondary schools were expected to cover LGBT content, primaries could do so “if they consider it age appropriate.”
The RSE guidelines, due to come into effect in September 2020, have been approved by MPs but a Lords vote has been delayed because of Brexit discussions.
Mr Hinds’s comments support the interpretation of the guidelines issued last week by Pajes, the Jewish Leadership Council’s schools network.
The guidelines give schools leeway to decide at what age to introduce topics.
While relationships education is compulsory, sex education is optional in secondary schools and parents can ask for their children to be withdrawn from sex education until they are 15, after which the pupil can decide whether to attend classes or not.
While schools are required to consult with parents over RSE content, Mr Hinds stated that what is taught "ultimately is a decision for the school".
He stressed the need for schools to comply with their duties under equality law to “foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and people who do not share it”.
Protected characteristics include sexual orientation and gender reassignment.
If schools, he said, had “decided on an age to introduce teaching about LGBT but then become aware, in a younger age group, of a particular issue with homophobic bullying that needs addressing, or have a younger child who has same sex parents join the school, they may change their approach."
“In addition, irrespective of the agreed relationships curriculum, I would expect the school to address these issues, to prioritise the care and safety of children, and to eliminate discrimination.”
Pajes advised Jewish schools that they could look at subjects such as same-sex relations in their Jewish studies curriculum.
But if they felt uncomfortable doing that, they could fulfil their educational requirements by referring, for example, to the different groups persecuted by the Nazis.
