Understanding school sex education: A guide for parents

If you’re a parent with a school-aged child, then you might be curious about what happens with sex education in schools.

And you should be curious, as school sex education programs (and school sex education policy) is a dog’s breakfast!

via GIPHY

It’s a complete and utter mess for parents (like you and me) to understand, as every country (and school) does it differently!

So this blog post will help you understand what sex education in schools is all about, as well as what happens around the world. 

You’ll find more information about sex education in my Sex Education 101 page. And you can find more strategies for starting sex education conversations (like this) in my list of ideas on how to teach sex education in the family home.

I’ll let you get started!

Should sex education be taught in schools?

Although parents are the primary providers of sex education, we still need sex education to be taught in schools.

Most kids aren’t lucky enough to have a parent (like you) who is willing to teach sex education in the family home. This means many kids miss out on this important information, and if sex ed isn’t taught at school, they have to turn to the internet for information or learn by trial and error. 

Also, kids eventually reach an age where they start to turn toward other sources of information about sex, instead of parents. This is a developmentally appropriate behaviour and part of growing up and becoming independent. So sex education in high school, junior school or senior school is even more important, as it provides young people with another source of information.

I can’t stress enough, the importance of sex education in schools,  as it fills a gap and is often the only conversation kids have with a trustworthy adult.

And regardless of how good (or bad) school sex education programs are, they are better than nothing.

Why are parents often against sex education in schools?

It doesn’t matter where you live in the world, school sex education policy is always changing.

Sex ed is a contentious topic, where the voices objecting to sex education are often the loudest. And although there is ample evidence to support sex education (and parents wanting it), governments are constantly changing their support for it. This support is often controlled by public opinion fuelled by religion and values.

And the most common fear amongst parents, is that information about sex will harm their child or give them permission to be sexual. Information isn’t permission. It simply empowers your child to make decisions based on fact (not ignorance).

So…

If your children attend a school – primary school, elementary school, middle school, junior school, high school or senior school – that provides sex education, then you’re one of the lucky ones. 

And if they teach ‘comprehensive’ sex education, then you’re even luckier!

Most of us (parents) aren’t that lucky.

What is sex education in school?

What is taught about sex education (and when) differs around the world, but I’ll give you a super brief summary of what happens.

Sex education in elementary school (or primary school) covers foundational building blocks around things like consent and boundary setting with friends, understanding our bodies and puberty, and acknowledging and respecting different kinds of families.

Sex education in middle school (or late primary or junior high school) addresses relevant issues such as healthy peer relationships and anti-bullying, staying safe online, and media literacy skills to support kids in developing a healthy body image.

Sex education in high school (or senior high school) covers everything from birth control and safer sex, to sexual decision-making and communication skills, to understanding how society and culture shape our ideas about sex, gender, and race.

International guidance for sex education in schools

Although sex education differs around the world, we do have international standards of expectations of what should be taught. 

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) sets the standards for what sex education should look like in schools – International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education: An evidence-informed approach (2018). 

These standards are evidence-based and are based on comprehensive sexuality education (CSE). 

Comprehensive sexuality education – or the many other ways this may be referred to – is a curriculum-based process of teaching and learning about the cognitive, emotional, physical and social aspects of sexuality. It aims to equip children and young people with knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that empowers them to realise their health, well-being and dignity; develop respectful social and sexual relationships; consider how their choices affect their own well-being and that of others; and understand and ensure the protection of their rights throughout their lives.

CSE presents sexuality with a positive approach, emphasising values such as respect, inclusion, non-discrimination, equality, empathy, responsibility and reciprocity. It reinforces healthy and positive values about bodies, puberty, relationships, sex and family life.

Most sex education curriculums refer to the UNESCO standards, and incorporate their recommendations.

Sex education in schools – Australia

Here’s a roundup of sex education in Australian schools. 

Australia has a national Australian Curriculum that supports comprehensive relationships and sexuality education, from kindergarten to year 12. It takes into consideration the international guidelines set by UNESCO. Consent was added to this curriculum in 2023.

Each Australian state is responsible for running it’s own government-funded schools, which means each state has their own sex education curriculum and legislation. Many of the curriculums include consent, gender equality and the prevention of sexual abuse, family and domestic violence. 

All government-funded schools are required to teach sex education, starting from prep or preprimary, and continuing until Year 10 or 12. Often, there is flexibility regarding how each school delivers sex education, with some schools doing it better than others.

Non-government schools will either use their own sex education curriculum or use the State curriculum.

You may also find BLOOM-ED helpful, as it is a national peak advocacy body committed to ensuring evidence-based Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) is offered to all young people in their homes, schools and communities.

The Australian National Survey of Secondary Students and Sexual Health (SSASH) survey is a national study exploring the sexual health and well-being of school-age young people in Australia. The study explores young people’s experiences of sex, relationships, sexual health and school-based relationships and sexuality education (RSE). This study started in 1992, and is repeated every 4 years.

Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

The ACT has Respectful Relationships Education (RRE) and Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT (SHFPACT) provide support for teachers and schools.

New South Wales (NSW)

NSW teaches sex education from Kindergarten to Year 10 as part of the NSW Education Standards Authority.  They use the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships program.

Northern Territory (NT)

The Northern Territory delivers the Australian curriculum but each school makes their own decisions about how this is delivered. The NT Government has the NT Social and Emotional Learning, which uses the Victorian school curriculum and their own supplementary resources.

Queensland (QLD)

Queensland has Respectful Relationships Education (RRE), and you find information about it in their RRE Hub. All QLD state schools are required to provide RRE and can be delivered as part of the school’s pastoral care program and/or through specific and targeted opportunities within the school year. Schools tailor the program to meet the needs of their students, families and school communities.

South Australia (SA)

South Australia teaches sex education primarily through the health and physical education learning area of the Australian Curriculum. They have the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum (KS:CPC) which is a respectful relationships and child safety curriculum that is taught in all public preschools and schools. Schools can teach it themself or employ an external approved provider to teach sex ed directly to their students. You can also read the 2021 review of Sex Education in South Australia.

Tasmania

Tasmania has a Respectful Relationships program that includes content linked directly to the Australian Curriculum. All government schools are required to teach it.

Victoria (VIC)

Victoria has mandated sexuality and consent education for government schools in Victoria, with many independent and Catholic schools signing on to implement the whole-school Respectful Relationships approach recommended by the Royal Commission into Family Violence. They use the sexuality education program, Catching On, which is available for primary students and secondary students.

Western Australia (WA)

Western Australia has included Sexuality and Relationships Education into the WA Health Curriculum for Kindergarten to Year 10. They use the Growing & Developing Healthy Relationships program (GDHR) which is a curriculum, lesson plans, resources and training to support schools to deliver sex education. 

Sex education in schools – Canada

There is no national sex education curriculum in Canada, but the Sex Information & Education Council of Canada (SIECCAN) have created Canadian guidelines and benchmarks for sexual health education.

This means that each Canadian province and territory has its own curriculum. This means that what is taught (and when) varies from school to school across Canada.

If you’re Canadian, you can access the curriculum and teaching material through SIECCAN’s Promising Practices Portal. This is a great resource as you can use the filter to find relevant results.

If you’d like to know the impact of sex-ed on young people in Canada, then have a look at the 2020 report published by Action Canada for Sexual Health & Rights, The State of Sex-Ed in Canada.

Sex education in schools – United Kingdom (UK) (includes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)

In the United Kingdom, sex education is the responsibility of each country – England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. There is no United Kingdom Curriculum for sex education.

England

In England, sex education is included in the National Curriculum under ‘other compulsory subjects’, as relationships and sex education. 

Relationship education is compulsory for all primary and secondary school pupils, and Sex Education is compulsory in secondary schools. Primary schools may choose to teach sex education, but it isn’t compulsory. This includes government, independent and church-based schools.

Parents can only withdraw primary school children from sex education if the lessons do not sit within Relationships Education. They can only withdraw secondary school children from sex education if the lessons do not sit within Science. Students aged 15+ have the right to opt into sex education (even if their parents have withdrawn them). 

For an overview of the current rules and recent reforms to relationships and sex education in English School, you can read, Research Briefing: Relationships and Sex Education in Schools (England) 23 July 2024. Or you can read about their statutory guidance, Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education.

Read this post for informaiton on what this looks like for parents and their children, New RSHE guidance: What it means for sex education lessons in schools, published 16 May 2024. You may also find their guides for parents helpful.

The Sex Education Forum polled young people in 2024 about their experiences of relationships and sex education (RSE) in schools. It showed that quality is improving, but a lack of inclusivity  drives many young people to online resources.

Wales

In Wales, sex education is compulsory for children from the age 3-16, and parents are not allowed to opt-out.

Their sex education curriculum is a part of the Curriculum for Wales, and you can find it here, Curriculum for Wales: Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) Code Updated 25 January 2022.

The Children’s Commissioner for Wales, provides a simple overview of  Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in Wales.

Scotland

Scotland does not have a statutory curriculum, which means schools decide how best to deliver the national curriculum, Curriculum for Excellence, based on local needs and circumstances. In 2023, the Scottish Government updated their Guidance on the Delivery of Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood (RSHP) Education in Scottish Schools.

Sex education is included under health and Wellbeing, and is referred to as Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood Education (RSHP).  They have created a national resource for relationships, sexual health and parenthood (RSHP) education for children and young people. You can learn more in this summary of RSHP resources. 

Parents can withdraw students from RSHP education, and you can learn more about this and children’s rights in this resource, Children’s rights in schools: Responding to parent and carer questions about children’s rights.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) is compulsory for all pupils of compulsory school age. In 2023, they consulted the public on changes to RSE, and published their findings in 2024, Relationships and Sexuality Education Consultation.

The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment (CCEA) have created a Learning Hub which includes RSE resources and support. PLEASE NOTE: This resource is blocked to people not living in Ireland. 

Sex education in schools – United States (US)

There is no federal law requiring school sex education in the United States, which means it is left for each state and territory to take responsibility for its own curriculum and laws.

The US does have national standards, the National Sex Education Standards: Core Content and Skills K-12, which outline the foundational foundational knowledge and skills students need to navigate sexual development and grow into sexually healthy adults.

SEICUS provides Detailed Insights on U.S. Sex Education Policies, and their 2023 review found that:

• 30 states mandate sex education
• 39 states mandate HIV/AIDs/STI education (with 35 of them requiring an emphasis on abstinence)
• 17 states mandate abstinence-only sex education
• 12 states mandate information on consent
• 10 states mandate LGBTQ inclusiveness (whilst 2 states discriminate against LGBTQ people)
• 5 states mandate comprehensive sex education

As you can see, what is taught (if anything) varies across the country.

Planned Parenthood provides an informative overview of sex education in regard to abstinence-only-until-marriage, legislation, funding, best practice and advocacy.

The American Academy of Pediatrics supports sexuality education for children. Their Clinical Report: Sexuality Education for Children and Adolescents, was reaffirmed in January 2022. You can read their 94 page report that was published in 2023, Equitable Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Care for all Youth. Or read their findings on the Importance of Access to Comprehensive Sex Education (updated February 2024).

I hope that helps you to better understand sex education in schools.

Happy talking!
❤️ Cath