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Our response to the Draft RSHE guidance: This month the Department for Education has published new draft guidance on relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). It plans to cut RSHE classes for children under 9 and limit LGBT+ education. We believe that this puts children at greater risk of s*xual harm and perpetuates a culture of silence around child s*xual abuse. Our Key Concerns: · The sole responsibility for RSHE cannot rest on a child’s parent(s) or carer(s) when we know that abuse so often happens within the family home · Reducing RSHE in schools can push children and young people to search for information online instead, which can be inaccurate and unsafe. · Quality RSHE can provide children with language and information that supports them to speak up - age restrictions may prevent children from disclosing earlier. We need to listen to young people. This year, young people from The Green House chose ‘Education’ as the theme for our Beyond Therapy festival of activism against s*xual abuse. Young survivors led workshops and spoke on panels, sharing how they had been let down by the education system and highlighting poor responses to disclosures and a failure to address issues of toxic masculinity within schools. We should be expanding and improving the RSHE curriculum, not reducing it. What can we do? Anyone can respond to the guidance before the consultation period ends on 11 July 2024. You can do this by completing the DfE’s online form (link in bio) or you can request the questions in a different format by e-mailing rsheguidance.consultation@education.gov.uk. Further guidance on how to respond can be found online. The Green House will continue to listen to and be guided by young people and their families. If you need support, contact us on info@the-green-house.org.uk
