By Gavin Mackintosh-
Uk education regulator, Ofsted, have imposed a duty on schools to educate pupils on LGBT rihts as part of its teaching of relationships and sex education from January 2021.
The compulsory content must be age appropriate and developmental appropriate, and taught sensitively and inclusively, with respect to the backgrounds and beliefs of pupils and parents while always with the aim of providing pupils with the knowledge they need of the
law.
Schools failing to teach about LGBT relationships from the summer term in 2021 risk a ‘requires improvement’ judgement for their leadership and management qualities.
New guidance issued by Ofsted this morning reveal plans of inspectors to examine the preparedness of schools in meeting key objectives.
Ofsted said that the key decisions on these subjects have been informed thorough engagement process, including a public call for evidence that received over 23,000 responses from parents,
young people, schools and experts and a public consultation where over 40,000 people contacted the Department for Education.
Teaching relationships education is compulsory in all schools from this year, with sex education also compulsory in secondary schools. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Department Of Education has given schools “flexibility over how they discharge their duty within the first year of compulsory teaching”.
Schools in the Uk have been told to aim preparations to deliver the new curriculum as soon as possible and start teaching the new content by at least the start of the summer term 2021”. They are required to still be able to show how they will cover the whole curriculum in the future”.
Ofsted has published new guidance today on inspecting the teaching of protected characteristics in relation to sexual orientation and gender reassignment.
The guidance states that separate to the requirement to teach RSE, inspectors will gather evidence on how schools promote equality “and pupils’ understanding of the protected characteristics”, will be used to inform their judgement on the personal development of pupils.
From January, inspectors will comment in reports if they find that primary and secondary schools do not teach about LGBT relationships and don’t yet have “adequate plans” to meet the DfE’s statutory guidance by the start of the summer.
Primary schools that don’t teach about LGBT relationships from summer 2021, this will not have an impact on the leadership and management judgement “as long as the school can satisfy inspectors that it has still fulfilled the requirements of the DfE’s statutory guidance”.
“If it cannot do this, for example if it has failed to consult with parents, inspectors will consider this when making the leadership and management judgement.”
Again, schools found to have failed to do this “will not ordinarily receive a judgement for this better than requires improvement”.
Inspectors will not “specifically explore the school’s readiness to comply with the DfE’s statutory guidance” during interim visits this term. However, schools can choose to discuss it with inspectors, who “may comment on this in the letter published after the visit”.
Ofsted guidance also states that schools “are at liberty to teach the tenets of any faith on the protected characteristics”, but “must also explain the legal rights LGBT people have under UK law, and that this and LGBT people must be respected”.
Ofsted said it is determined that the subjects must be deliverable and give schools flexibility to shape their curriculum according to the needs of their pupils and communities.
The regulator added that teaching about mental well being is central to these subjects, especially as a priority for parents is their children’s happiness.