PARENTS should not be able to stop their kids from attending sex-ed classes, the new Education Secretary has suggested.
Bridget Phillipson told The Sun: “I think all children should have a good level of relationship, sex and health education, that should apply to all children.”
Darren FletcherEducation Secretary Bridget Phillipson on Never Mind The Ballots[/caption]
Darren FletcherHarry Cole quizzing Ms Phillipson on set[/caption]
Insisting parents “should have access to the material” being taught “and be able to see it” she argued they should not be able to stop their children’s access to the lesson.
Currently parents are able to withdraw their kids from sex education classes but not from mandatory lessons about relationships and health.
Once pupils reach 15 they have the right to opt in themselves.
Bridget Phillipson is no push over
By Jack Elsom, Chief Political Correspondent
THE issues of trans and sex are thorny at the best of times – so when it comes to their place in the classroom, politicians often tread carefully.
It is perhaps no wonder that in Opposition, Bridget Phillipson tried to avoid talking about the subjects at all costs.
But now she is the Education Secretary she is forced to confront these most delicate of issues.
Her answers on Never Mind The Ballots were revealing.
First, Ms Phillipson clearly wants to adopt a softer, more gentle approach than her predecessor Gillian Keegan.
While Ms Keegan demanded teachers “take a very cautious approach” to kids wanting to change gender, Ms Phillipson talks about giving children the best support, acknowledging many are going through a “period of distress”.
But she is also demonstrating she is no push over, and will not roll over to the whims of militant trans activists.
Ms Phillipson said schools should inform parents of their kids’ wishes to transition, while affirming their right to see any classroom material they want.
While this will be welcome relief for many anxious mums and dads, many will be waiting for to see the details in the months to come.
Ms Phillipson told Never Mind the Ballots: “Parents should know what’s going to be taught. They should have access to the material and be able to see it.”
“If they’ve got concerns about the content of the material, they should discuss that with the school,’ she added.
“But I think all children, all children, should have access to sex, relationships and health education.”
But last night her spokesman insisted there were no plans to change the current law.
Ms Philipson argued that it’s important to teach kids about sex education for their safety.
She said: “So whilst we need to make sure we’re not exposing children to inappropriate material at too young in age, we do just need to remember that sometimes it’s only through sex and relationships education that children who have been who’ve experienced real trauma might then at that point think, actually, what’s happened at home isn’t right.”
Former Education Secretary Gillian Keegan launched a massive clampdown on sex education classes following fears kids were being taught unscientific wokery.
It included a flat-out ban on proactively teaching gender ideology – the idea someone can be born in the wrong body – as well as age limits on sex education lessons.
Under her plan pupils younger than nine would not be taught about the birds and the bees, and should wait until 13 to learn about issues around sexual violence.
But the election was called while the implementation process was still ongoing meaning Ms Phillipson has inherited the thorny issue.
Separate schools guidance on dealing with trans pupils was also underway by the Tory government.
Interim advice to headteachers was only to accept a child’s request to “socially transition” – behaving like the opposite sex – in only the most extreme circumstances.
Taking a softer tone than her predecessor, Ms Phillipson said: “My starting point, both as a parent and as a politician, is that I want to focus this discussion a bit more on how we make sure that children are getting the support they need.
“We’re talking in this discussion about children who are often experiencing big mental health concerns and are going through a period of distress.
“I think we need to focus a lot more on that, not on making this somewhere where we get headlines.”
But she insisted: “As politicians, I want to make sure that parents are involved in these conversations.”
And Ms Phillipson committed “no ifs, no buts” to adopt the landmark recommendations from Dr Hillary Cass who warned of the dangers of children using puberty blockers.
Asked if kids could ever transition without schools telling parents, she said: “I think parents should be involved when we’re talking about children.”
Asked what age kids should be taught about “gender issues and trans issues” she added: “We just need to make sure that what children are learning about in school is age appropriate… but also that parents are being informed about what their children are being taught.
Ms Phillipson has also faced flak for shelving a landmark free speech law as one of her first acts in the job.
The Education Secretary last month iced Tory legislation that would have punished universities where dissenting voices are silenced just days before it was due to take effect.
Hitting back at critics, she claimed unintended consequences could have seen Jewish students face ugly anti-Semitism on campus.
She said: “I’ve been clear with universities that I do expect that to be high standards around freedom of speech.
“But we need to make sure that minority students, for example Jewish student groups, have raised serious concerns with me about the levels of anti-Semitism that they are facing on campus, and that is completely unacceptable.”