Sex education rule changes - what every parent needs to know

Children in a red school uniform smile in the classroom with their hands up
The new guidance will 'advise against' sex education to children below Year 5 -Credit:Compassionate Eye Foundation


The Government has laid out fresh guidance on what can and can't be taught in schools regarding relationships, sex and health education. Draft rules have now been published, with plans for strict age restrictions on certain topics and a ban on the "contested topic of gender identity".

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ordered a review last year due to Tory MPs' concerns over lessons featuring “age-inappropriate, extreme, sexualising and inaccurate” content. Conservative backbencher Miriam Cates, a former biology teacher, led the push, having claimed youngsters were given "graphic lessons on oral sex".

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has also said she'd seen "some evidence from some people" that pupils were being taught that there could be "72 genders" and gender could "change daily" as facts, the Mirror reports. A consultation will now be open until July 11, giving people the chance to share their views on the draft guidance.

READ MORE: Rishi Sunak tells ITV Loose Women stars he can't 'quite remember' when he learnt about sex

Those who wish to make their feelings known can do so here. You'll find a breakdown of the key changes below.

Age restrictions

Under the new guidance, there would be age restrictions surrounding the teaching of certain topics in school. It states that teaching around the human life cycle - including puberty and key facts about the menstrual cycle, including physical and emotional changes, should not be taught before Year Four (around age eight). It is also recommended that sex education would not start until Year Five (around age nine), with pupils learning about conception and birth as part of the national curriculum for science. This would also cover the main external body parts, the human body as it grows - including puberty - and reproduction in some plants and animals.

Harmful sexual behaviour in relationships, including concepts and laws relating to sexual harassment, revenge porn, sexual exploitation and abuse, grooming, stalking and forced marriage should not be taught before Year Seven (age 11). At this age, schools could also cover the risks of sending nude photographs. Although the risks of inappropriate online content, such as pornography, could be discussed "in an age-appropriate way" from Year Seven, details of sexual acts should not be discussed before Year Nine (age 13). The guidance also states that domestic violence, coercive control and sexual violence, including rape and sexual assault, should not be taught about "in any sexually explicit way before Year Nine".

Guidance indicates there can be some flexibility on age limits on teaching of certain topics, if necessary "to respond promptly to issues which pose an imminent safeguarding risk to their pupils", but parents must be informed in advance.

Parents rights

According to the guidance, parents should be consulted by their child's primary school regarding detailed content of anything that is to be taught in sex education. The process should also include offering support to parents when it comes to talking to their children about sex education, and how to link this with what is being taught in school.

A representative sample of resources schools plan to use should be given to parents as a "minimum", so they can continue conversations started in class. Parents should also be able to view all curriculum materials used to teach relationships, sex and health education on request. The guidance states that while parents would not be able to veto curriculum content, they should see what their children were being taught.

Parents will also be able to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of sex education delivered as part of statutory relationships, sex and health education. However they will not be able to withdraw their pupils from topics taught as part of the science curriculum, including science topics related to puberty or sexual reproduction, or relationships education, which may include topics related to preventing sexual abuse.

Gender identity

Schools should not teach about the broader concept of gender identity under the new guidance. It states: "Gender identity is a highly contested and complex subject. It is a sense a person may have of their own gender, whether male, female or a number of other categories. This may or may not be the same as their biological sex. Many people do not consider that they or others have a separate gender identity."

While schools should "teach the facts about biological sex", they should not use "any materials that present contested views as fact, including the view that gender is a spectrum".

"Material suggesting that someone's gender is determined by their interests or clothing choices should not be used as it risks leading pupils who do not comply with sex stereotypes to question their gender when they might not have done so otherwise," guidance said.

Pupils should however be taught the law about gender reassignment, making it clear that "an individual must be 18 before they can legally reassign their gender". Guidance continued: "This means that a child’s legal sex will always be the same as their biological sex and, at school, boys cannot be legally classified as girls or vice versa."

LGBT content

Pupils should understand "the importance of equality and respect and should learn about the protected characteristics, including sexual orientation and gender reassignment, by the end of their secondary education", according to the guidance.

The Government expects "the majority of primary schools to teach about healthy loving relationships", however they will have discretion over whether to discuss sexual orientation or families with same-sex parents. Secondary school should give an "equal opportunity to explore the features of stable and healthy same-sex relationships, and secondary schools should ensure that this content is integrated into RSHE programmes of study rather than delivered as a standalone unit or lesson".

Online safety and harms

Teaching about why social media, some apps, computer games and online gaming are age-restricted should not be taught before Year Three (age seven). This also applies to the risks relating to online gaming, including that it can become addictive.

Care should be taken when teaching that the internet can be a negative place where online abuse, bullying and harassment can take place, the guidance states. This is to ensure children were not exposed to "concepts which may not be appropriate for them".

Laws should also be taught to pupils, including the Online Safety Act and laws around online behaviours including image and information sharing (including ‘sexting’, youth-produced sexual imagery, nudes, AI-generated sexual imagery and deepfakes). They should also understand the law about online sexual harassment and online sexual abuse including grooming and sextortion.