Skip to content
14 April 2026

Tag: sex education

Inside today’s bananas world of sex ed, with Matilda Lawrence-Jubb

In the new world of Andrew Tate, hardcore pornography and rape culture, sex education is very different to the days when it conjured up images of a hapless teacher trying to put a condom on a banana. That is why Matilda Lawrence-Jubb decided to name her relationships and sex education (RSE) company Split Banana: for […]

Gibb slams Catholic RSE resources in rape culture clampdown

A minister has slammed Catholic RSE materials portraying women as “receivers” in sexual relationships, just a few months after he said using the resources was a decision for schools. The warning by schools minister Nick Gibb, and an Ofsted visit to one school using the resources, suggest a tougher government stance after a wave of […]

DfE won’t issue guidance on ‘exceptional circumstances’ for sex education withdrawal

Headteachers will be left in the “invidious position” of deciding whether they have grounds to refuse parents’ requests to withdraw their children from new sex education lessons. School leaders’ unions have called for clarity after the new guidance confirmed that schools will be allowed to turn down such requests in “exceptional circumstances”. But the Department […]

There’s no shortcut to quality relationships and sex education

Effective relationships and sex education is a partnership, and it needs an appropriate investment from government so that schools can access training, argues Lucy Emmerson Parents should have high expectations for the quality of education their children receive at school in all areas of the curriculum. The new government guidance makes clear that relationships education, […]

Sex education reforms: can someone in the DfE give us a straight answer?

In Blackadder: Back and forth, our eponymous antihero runs into Shakespeare after an experiment with a time machine goes awry. “This is for every schoolboy and schoolgirl for the next four hundred years!” Blackadder cries, as he punches the Bard in the face. If I had a time machine, I should like to go back […]

Teachers need proper sex education training, warn experts

External speakers should not be used as substitutes for trained teachers under plans to make sex and relationships education compulsory in all schools, subject experts have warned. From September 2019 it will be compulsory to teach relationships education in all primary schools, and sex and relationships education in all secondary schools. However, there are concerns […]

Spare our blushes! SRE teacher training needed before 2019

Funding is available this year for second subject specialism training in maths, physics and modern foreign languages – but sex education is not an option, even though it is due to become compulsory. The lack of options for free sex education training before the policy is implemented is a worry for Caroline Lucas, the Green […]