Report finds faith schools aren’t teaching sex education impartially
The National Secular Society found more than three quarters of schools failed to teach about homosexuality
By Steve Brown
A new report has found more than three quarters of faith schools in the UK aren’t teaching sex education impartially.
According to the National Secular Society (NSS), the report states 77 per cent of faith schools teach the lesson according to their religious beliefs instead of in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.
By analysing 600 state secondary schools around the country, it found 257 of 334 faith schools choose to teach sex ed through their own religious beliefs.
The government’s policy statement reads: “This provision enable faith schools to teach these subjects according to the tenets of their faith, whilst still being consistent with requirements of the Equality Act.”
It’s reported that some faith schools teach homosexuality is wrong while other say abortion and contraception are wrong – with others teaching a taboo around menstruation products.
Chief executive of the NSS Stephen Evans wrote to the education secretary Damian Hinds and said: “Government policy must endeavour to ensure all pupils at all schools, regardless of their religious ethos, are entitled to the same basic level of SRE.
“We fear that your current approach will lead to unequal education and undermine efforts to ensure that every child has access to age appropriate sex and relationships education, in a consistent way.”
One of the schools in the report is Holy Trinity Academy in Telford which deems teaching homosexuality is “unacceptable”.
Their policy reads: “The Catholic Church’s understanding the fact that homosexual orientation is distinguished from the evaluation of the sexual activity of homosexual people.
“The latter is deemed unacceptable as it does not respect the complimentary nature of male and female since it lacks the life-giving potential to proper sexual love.”
Another school, Woodward Academy, says it will not “permit the promotion of homosexuality” when teaching HIV.
They wrote: “Woodard recognises the need to address homosexuality and the need to provide education related to the spread of HIV/AIDS which will, of necessity, include reference to homosexuals, bisexuals and heterosexuals.
“Woodard and the academy will not permit the promotion of homosexuality. Objective discussion of homosexuality may take place in the classroom.”