MPs quietly vote against compulsory sex education in schools
by Rachael Pells, Independent:
Conservative MPs have voted to block plans for sex and relationship education (SRE) to be made compulsory in schools.
Under increasing pressure from campaigners over the past year, Education Secretary Justine Greening repeatedly suggested she was open to reforming the current Government guidance on SRE, which currently allows free schools and academies to opt out of teaching the subject in class.
As the law stands, state schools are obligated to cover sex education from a biological aspect.
But no British schools are required to teach pupils about the social or emotional aspects of sex, or make classes LGBT inclusive.
Debating the matter in Parliament this week, an all-female group of MPs tabled an amendment to the Children and Social Work Bill to make lessons on “sex and relationships education, same-sex relationships, sexual consent, sexual violence and domestic violence” mandatory in all UK schools.
The new law would require schools watchdog Ofsted to evaluate schools on their SRE as part of regular inspections, judging “whether the information provided to pupils is accurate and balanced, age-appropriate, inclusive or religiously diverse”.
In a vote of ten Conservative and five Labour MPs, the amendment was rejected – with the vote divided 10-5 between parties lines.
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