Sex education legislation for England and Wales

This page gives information on Government legislation concerning sex education in England and Wales. It also covers Government and Welsh Assembly guidance documents, which influence the way that sex education is taught, and provides insight into the legislation that precedes them. Acts that affect the age of consent have also been included since they help to determine the wider social framework within which sex education takes place.

Those with a further interest in the debate about sex education in the UK may wish to look at some of the independent advisory reports available from various groups. Reports from the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV might be of particular interest.

Education Act 1996

The Education Act 1996 re-affirmed previous education legislation, and referred to sex education in the following ways:

The sex education elements of the National Curriculum Science Order continued to be mandatory for all primary and secondary school pupils. These covered anatomy, puberty, biological aspects of sexual reproduction and use of hormones to control and promote fertility.

Sex education (including education about HIV, AIDS and STDs), continued to be statutory in secondary and special schools, but it was not included in the National Curriculum. [Section 352]

The right of parents to withdraw their children from sex education was upheld.

Essentially, this meant that parents could withdraw their children completely from learning about the non-biological side of sexual health and relationships, even if they were over the age of consent. [Section 405]

The governing bodies of schools were required to consider whether sex education should be part of the school’s secular curriculum. They were also required to keep an up-to-date statement of their sex education policy. [Section 371]

Sex education should be provided in such a way that it encourages pupils “to have due regard to moral considerations and family life ”. [Section 403]

Sex and Relationship Guidance 2000

The guidance aimed to define sex and relationship education (SRE) and how it should be delivered. It was intended to support headteachers, teachers and governors when delivering sex education in schools.

Gave advice on developing a policy for SRE, and how schools could work with parents and local communities. SRE was seen as part of a school’s wider Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) framework.

Specific advice was provided on teaching strategies for SRE and particular issues that may arise. The guidance gave advice on devising a confidentiality policy and discussed situations in which it may not be possible to guarantee confidentiality issues.

Although this document had the status of ‘good practice’, the passing of the Learning and Skills Bill (see below) meant that the legal requirements of teachers and governors changed. When providing sex and relationships education it was now required by law that young people were made aware of the nature of marriage, and its importance for family life and the raising of children. It was also required that young people were protected from ‘inappropriate teaching materials. ’

Learning and Skills Act 2000

Section 148 of the 2000 Learning and Skills Act updated and amended the Education Act 1996.

Local education authorities no longer had any responsibility for sex education in maintained schools; this now rested with the school’s governing body and head teacher.

The Secretary of State for Education was now required to issue guidance on the delivery of sex education in schools. The guidance had to ensure that when pupils received sex education in schools they learnt about marriage, children and family life. Pupils also had to be protected from teaching and materials considered inappropriate with regard to the age and the religious and cultural background of the pupils concerned. [(4)]

The guidance also had to include advice on the use of any materials produced by NHS bodies intended for use in schools for the purposes of sex education. [(4)]

School governors and head teachers were required to bear this guidance in mind when fulfilling their obligations as outlined in the Education Act 1996. [(4)]

When formulating their statement of policy on sex education, the governors and head teachers of a school were now required to state within this policy the right of a parent to withdraw their child from the school’s sex education programme. [(6)]

Local Government Act 2000

This act stated that the prohibition on local authorities promoting homosexuality (see Local Government Act 2003 below) should not prevent teachers, head teachers or school governing bodies from taking steps to prevent bullying.

Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000

The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act reduced the age of sexual consent for gay men from 18 to 16 in England, Wales and Scotland. In Northern Ireland, the age of consent for gay men was brought into line with the heterosexual age of consent at 17.

Education Act 2002

With regard to sex education, the Education Act 2002 (link) made minor amendments to the previous act of 1996.

When doing anything that may affect the provision of sex education in maintained schools, every local education authority was required to have regard to the sex education guidance issued by the Secretary of State for Education (in England) or the Welsh Assembly (in Wales). [Section 79, Section 100]

The act reaffirmed that school curriculums must include sex education, including education about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. [Section 80, Section 101, Schedule 21]

National Assembly for Wales Circular No: 11/02

This report aimed to address uncertainties about how Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) should be taught in Welsh schools, and to clarify what was legally required of them in light of the 1996 Education Act and the Learning and Skills Bill 2000. It stated that the objective of SRE should be “to help and support pupils through their physical, emotional, moral and spiritual development ”, and emphasised the need to link sex education with Personal and Social Education (PSE). The report recommended that:

SRE should be taught within the framework of PSE.

All schools must have an up to date sex education policy, drawn up by the governing body and made available to parents.

SRE policies should be developed in consultation with the wider community, including parents and pupils.

Primary schools should consult parents fully and have clear parameters on what is to be taught.

Secondary schools’ policies should include how they provide their SRE programme as part of National Curriculum Science, as well as their PSE provision.

Local Government Act 2003

The Local Government Act 2003 repealed the controversial Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1986, which stated that a local authority was not permitted to “intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or to “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.” Scotland had repealed Section 28 in 2000.

Sexual Offences Act 2003

Introduced in May 2004, the Sexual Offences Act was designed to protect people from sexual crimes, especially vulnerable people such as children. The act covered rape, assault by penetration, sexual assault and causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. A new lower penalty was introduced of five years imprisonment for people under the age of 18 who commit a child sex offence. The act also introduced laws regarding sexual activity with children aged 13 to 15.

The law forbids under-16s from engaging in any sexual activity. However, it recognised that mutually agreed, non-exploitative sexual activity between teenagers does exist and that often no harm comes from it. It was stated in guidance that the Government has no intention of criminalising this type of activity.