Activists lose High Court battle against Wales’ new sex education curriculum
Campaigners against the Welsh Government’s new relationships and sexuality education (RSE) curriculum have lost their bid to appeal against a High Court judgment that dismissed their claims.
Education minister Jeremy Miles called the result an “important vindication” and said the policy “is intended to keep children safe and to promote healthy, respectful relationships”.
Launched last September, the statutory guidance now guarantees the mandatory teaching of relationships and sexuality education to children from the age of seven.
Members of the Public Child Protection Wales group launched a judicial review in the High Court claiming the teachings were inappropriate for primary school age children and it is wrong not to allow parents to excuse their children from the classes.
Dismissing all aspects of the claim on December 22, Mrs Justice Steyn said: “In my judgment, the content of the code and the guidance is consistent with the requirement to take care to ensure that RSE teaching is conveyed in an objective critical and pluralistic manner, and does not breach the prohibition on indoctrination.
“There is nothing in the code or the guidance that authorises or positively approves teaching that advocates or promotes any particular identity or sexual lifestyle over another, or that encourages children to self-identify in a particular way.”
Last week, Lord Justice Males in the Court of Appeal, said: “The applicants’ various challenges to the Code and the Guidance all proceed on the basis that these documents mandate the teaching and promotion of particular sexual lifestyles in ways which amount to indoctrination.
“As the respondents point out, however, the fundamental difficulty with these challenges is that the Code and Guidance do no such thing.”
Fundamental values
In relation to how the new curriculum approaches issues relating to different sexualities, gender identification and the respectful treatment of LGBTQ+ people, Lord Justice Males added: “It is inconceivable that such teaching could be contrary to the common law or the Human Rights Act.
“On the contrary, diversity and inclusion (including as to the LGBTQ+ community) are fundamental values of British (including Welsh) society.”
In a statement to Cabinet ministers within the Senedd, Mr Miles said: “This is an important vindication of the approach taken by the Welsh Government to RSE.
“That approach is intended to keep children safe and to promote healthy, respectful relationships.
“Schools are legally required to ensure that learning is developmentally appropriate and to provide information on RSE which includes a range of views on the subject and which does not seek to promote one view over another.”
He said schools continue to be encouraged to engage parents and carers on the matter and that resources are available to help teachers take a balanced approach.
“This transparency, along with a constructive, open dialogue where issues are raised is critical to securing the confidence of parents and carers,” Mr Miles added.
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If there is a prohibition on indoctrination why are faith schools permitted? The UK government is trying to stop sectarian education in Northern Ireland while we have an explosion of faith schools this side of the Irish Sea which is accelerating the sectarian ghettoisation of our large cities and stoking intolerance.
Faith should have no place in education….
“Mr Miles said: “This is an important vindication of the approach taken by the Welsh Government to RSE”.
“In relation to how the new curriculum approaches issues relating to different sexualities, gender identification and the respectful treatment of LGBTQ+ people, Lord Justice Males added: “It is inconceivable that such teaching could be contrary to the common law or the Human Rights Act”
Of course sex ed should be mandatory. As long as they teach sex education based on fact, science and relationship skills and FAQs that will arm ýoung people for a world skewed by prolific porn from an early age and distorted body image man. Helping them to avoid exploitation, abuse and teaching them self esteem.
Happy to see sex Ed move beyond just sex. I approached it with my kids as a much deeper subject.
What would be wrong *is* allowing parents to excuse their children from the classes.
I’d love to see a society that can discuss ideas freely and be genuinely tolerant of all. Unfortunately that’s not how people work -we have this spectacular tendency towards messing things up, and have managed to turn what was a Good Thing (less cruelty/harshness towards certain groups in society) into a moral crusade that excludes people with different opinions/concerns from the conversation.
The opposition to RSE in Primary schools in Cymru, and further a field, has been based on lies, discrimination and arrogance. Those opposed to RSE cannot say what they really think because they would exposed as Homophobes, Transphobes and in the case of Cis Males as Chauvinists. If you cannot say what you mean, then you can never mean what you say. This case being thrown out of court ensures that in Cymru children will be educated on how to develop meaningful friendships, healthy relationships and the reality of Sexual Orientation and Gender identity. I wish this education had been… Read more »
There are some things that are quite concerning in the new RSE ( for example, teachers are expected to teach children that they are on a ‘spectrum of gender’ and they can choose where they are on the spectrum. Anyone who disagrees is shot down in flames, as I have experienced myself).
However, some of the claims made by that particular group were ridiculous.