Nursery World - Children’s services update - Learning about gender and sex

John Simmonds looks at new legislation on relationships education and its implications

The introduction of legislation requiring ‘relationships education’ for all children of compulsory school age has captured the attention of many. Explicit relationship and sex education is reserved for children of secondary-school age (until this time it has not been mandatory). Sex education has been criticised for not keeping up with modern life, and this provides an important opportunity to tackle the impact of social media and, for older children, issues such as consent. This also means children from the age of four, in schools, will receive ‘age appropriate’ sex education.

While the legislation was being debated, I was invited to participate in an exploration of findings from a research study at the University of East Anglia on the experiences of young people where lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues were significant. Apart from an experienced group of researchers, a number of young people were appointed as researchers to the team. Each gave an account of their experiences prior to while they were in care and after.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included