Revised guidance for sex education in the UK acknowledges parents' apprehensions and upholds religious liberties
The British Department for Education has recently published the Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education statutory guidance, which is set to be implemented in all primary and secondary schools across England starting from September 2026. The updated curriculum aims to equip children and young people with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for positive relationships, online safety, and an inclusive understanding of gender and sexuality.
The guidance emphasises several key principles: pupil engagement, parental involvement, positivity, and relevance. It covers both primary and secondary education without strict age limits, instead encouraging a careful sequencing of topics and an early start in primary school. Schools are required to develop policies that reflect these aims and ensure inclusive teaching that respects equality and diversity, including explicit content on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) identities and gender reassignment.
Positive relationships education focuses on teaching skills alongside knowledge, including respectful communication, consent, and maintaining healthy friendships and romantic relationships. Online safety is addressed within the context of modern life challenges, recognising the complexity of online interactions and the risk of harm. The curriculum is designed to equip pupils to navigate such risks safely.
Regarding LGBT relationships and gender reassignment, the guidance explicitly includes content to foster understanding and acceptance of diverse identities, promoting equality and preventing discrimination. It also requires sensitivity to religious and cultural backgrounds, guiding schools with a religious character on how to incorporate respectful teaching that balances faith perspectives with statutory requirements.
Parents are allowed to view materials used in sex education and RSE and have the right to request their child's withdrawal from some or all of sex education delivered as part of statutory RSE. The guidance encourages parents to raise concerns about the content taught under RSE and Health Education, especially in light of online safety concerns.
The EAUK (Evangelical Alliance UK) welcomes this guidance, considering it a small victory for Christian families. Alicia Edmund, head of public policy at the EAUK, states that this permission is crucial when teaching children about online safety. The EAUK will be hosting an online webinar this autumn to equip parents on how to engage positively with their school and how to teach and discuss a biblical sexual ethic with children and young people.
The guidance is designed for trustees, governors, and school staff leading independent, free, academies, pupil referral units, and/or faith schools for primary or secondary school-aged children. It contains information on what schools should do and sets out the legal duties for teaching relationships education, RSE, and health education.
Alicia Edmund, in her role as a Christian leader, stresses the importance of balancing educational attainment with spiritual growth. She emphasises that Jesus cares deeply about the educational attainment of children and teenagers, but also that He cares that the younger generation would know Him as Lord and everlasting Father.
In summary, the 2025 RSHE statutory guidance aims to equip children and young people in England with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for positive relationships, online safety, and an inclusive understanding of gender and sexuality, in a manner mindful of cultural and religious diversity and delivered with professional confidence and parental transparency.
- In order to promote an inclusive understanding of diverse identities and foster acceptance, the updated curriculum on Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education in England incorporates explicit content on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) identities and gender reassignment, while also recognizing the importance of sensitivity to religious and cultural backgrounds for faith schools.
- The Evangelical Alliance UK (EAUK) has expressed support for the Relationships, Sex Education (RSE), and Health Education statutory guidance, considering it essential for teaching children about online safety from a Christian perspective. As such, the EAUK will be hosting an online webinar in the autumn to equip parents with strategies to engage positively with their school and to teach a biblical sexual ethic to their children and teenagers.
