Year 7 child talks about controversial Sex Education lesson

Fri, 01 Sep 2023

Earlier this year Energy News reported on claims made by parents about what was being taught in Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) lessons in high schools.  

This prompted an independent review by the Department of Education, Sport and Culture (DESC) in to the claims made and a review of the RSE curriculum.

As the Department considers the Report, last week Energy News interviewed a Year 7 pupil (under parental guidance) that was present in one of the Sex Education classes at the centre of the controversy.

During this interview the child, whose identity has been hidden and voice replaced by an older actor, told Energy News reporter Charlie Morrey that she is now "confused" after the contents of the lesson.

According to the child, there was confusion over the age of consent due to conflicting teaching materials. The child explained that the narrator on the video said “you must be 16 to have sex”, but the child then added that “there was a slide that said you need to be over 14 to have sex”.

During this interview the child explained that there was no discussion during this lesson as to how teenage bodies are going to change when they hit puberty, and the safe sex element was limited.

Although children were taught about how safe sex, there was allegedly no discussion of sexually transmitted infections (STI)’s; and furthermore no discussion of HIV prevention such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), or the disease itself.

According to the child, there was no option for children to vacate the classroom during the lesson nor were parents given the option to have the teaching materials after the lesson to see what their children had been taught.

Following the interview Energy News played the interview with the child to the Minister of Education, Julie Edge. 

The Department of Education, Sport and Culture has released this statement: 

"Having watched the interview in full, the Minister remains concerned for any child who has felt upset due to the content within any lesson. 

As the anonymity of the child is, quite rightly protected, the Department is not aware if the concerns were raised with the child’s school at the time. 

The Department takes very seriously the need to provide children and young people with the knowledge they need to enable them to make informed choices about their own wellbeing, health, and relationships. As well as ensuring that parents are fully aware of the planned content.

A comprehensive independent report into the relationships and sex education (RSE) curriculum taught at Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) High School has since taken place. It recommended that communication with parents must improve and that a smaller group of teachers should be trained as specialists - to ensure consistency of delivery - before it is reintroduced.

The Department is taking immediate action to address the recommendations and all RSE lessons remain on hold."

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Videos

• "Lucy" talks about the controversial RSE lesson in IOM School