Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, is facing a backlash from Tory MPs. Photo: Rashid Necati Aslim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Gillian Keegan is facing backlash from Conservative MPs and parents for refusing to publish recommendations on sex education reform.
The Telegraph has learned that the minister Education does not plan to disclose the results of a sex education review conducted by an independent organization. a committee appointed by the government to advise on age restrictions for lesson materials.
Rishi Sunak ordered an urgent review of sex education in March after The Telegraph published evidence of widespread teaching of «age-inappropriate» material in schools, including children as young as 13 being told there were 100 genders.
Almost 50 conservatives. MPs have written to the Prime Minister calling for an independent investigation to be launched.
MPs said the latest Department for Education (DfE) guidance on relationships and sex education, released in 2019 in consultation with Stonewall, LGBT+ philanthropy, allowed «activist groups» to exert undue influence on teaching materials. The manual does not set age restrictions on what can be taught.
The independent advisory group included five education experts, including Alasdair Henderson, deputy chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and Sir Hamid. Patel, chief executive of Star Academies and board member of Ofsted.
They were due to report to the DfE by September, but a department spokesman said there were no plans to publish the commission's recommendations. The DfE has promised to publish its own sex education reform plans for consultation before the end of the year, after considering the recommendations.
Should schools disclose sex education materials to parents? Miriam Cates, Conservative MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, said: “Given the significant public interest in this issue and the rights of parents and taxpayers to know what children are being taught in state schools, it would be surprising if the DfE did not publish the recommendations of the independent expert RSE groups [relationships and sex education].
“The review was initiated due to a lack of transparency around the materials used in sex education and it would therefore be wrong – and deeply ironic – to suppress the findings. I am confident that the Government is committed to transparency in schools and so hope that guidance will be available in due course.»
Nick Fletcher, MP for Don Valley, said: «I believe full information about the work of the independent commission, including its recommendations, should be published.
“The lack of visibility, parental involvement and open discussion has led us to the terrible situation we are in today with relationships and sex education. We now need to change this culture and make it as open as possible.»
Parents are also calling on the DfE to publish the independent commission's recommendations.
Claire Page, a London mother who is fighting a legal battle to obtain sex education materials used at her daughter's school, said: «I am very disappointed that the DfE has no plans to make the independent review panel's recommendations public.»
«In many ways this reflects the authoritarian approach that the DfE has taken all along on this issue and makes me rather pessimistic about the review's findings.»
Tracey Shaw of the Safe Schools Alliance, which campaigns for safe schools, said : “The process must be transparent so that parents and other taxpayers can trust it.
We hope the government will reconsider its decision and demonstrate a sincere commitment to protecting children. We are wondering what this has uncovered that cannot be made public.»
A DfE spokesman said: «As part of our urgent review of the relationships, sex and health curriculum, we have appointed an independent peer review panel to consider changes in the existing manual. The guidance will be published before the end of the year and will be based on the commission's recommendations.»
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