Poll reveals many parents concerned about sex education

New research has found widespread concern amongst parents in regards to the content of relationships and sex education (RSE) lessons. 

Nearly half of oldsters (46%) feel some type of concern about what their children are being taught in RSE.

Among parents who had requested to view the RSE materials being taught to their children, nearly half (44%) said these requests had been denied.

Over a 3rd (36%) of oldsters said that they had never been consulted on the content of their child’s RSE curriculum, despite this being a statutory requirement.

Over half of oldsters (52%) weren’t confident that their child would give you the chance to specific opinions contradicting RSE materials without being judged. 

Two in five parents (41%) said their school was using materials from third-party in RSE lessons.

The poll was carried out by Savanta on behalf of Christian charity CARE, and involved 1,001 parents in England with primary or secondary school children.

It was carried out because the UK government continues to seek the advice of on statutory guidance for schools in England.

Jack Lawther, Policy Officer at CARE, expressed concern about reports of “contested and inappropriate content” in RSE lessons.

He called on the federal government to be sure that schools are complying with their statutory duties and “respecting parents’ role as the first educators of their children and championing an environment where children and young people can share their views.”

“Our polling, coupled with separate reports, demonstrates that many parents are in the dead of night about what’s being taught, and anxious about what their children could be being exposed to,” he said.

“It also suggests that greater than three million children are receiving teaching on sex and relationships from unregulated, third-party organisations.

“It could be very essential that folks have access to sex education materials taught to their children, and schools have a legal duty to be sure that parents are consulted on the content of lessons.

“We’d also stress the importance of allowing children to voice their opinions and share any concerns they’ve about teaching materials.”