sreislamic.org

Nearly two years ago, it was clear to us that the teaching of Sex and Relationship Education in state schools was both an area of controversy as well as a minefield for parents.

SRE is a concern for parents because it is not values based but built on a mistaken belief that the more information children are given and the earlier they are made aware, the less likely they are to engage in premature, unsafe sexual experimentation.  SRE not only provides them with information but also practical support to access contraceptives.

The education system can be confusing for parents.  It sometimes feels like an educational background is needed to sift through the policy pronouncements, DCSF guidance, curriculum requirements and the law.  And when we are dealing with a subject as sensitive as SRE, which delves into moral themes, it is more important that clarity is achieved.   When we embarked upon researching this topic as parents, governors and teachers, we realised our own understanding was lacking and we came across a number of questions that required answering:

• Do schools have to teach Sex and Relationship Education (is it compulsory)?

• Do I have any influence over what my child is taught in SRE?

• Am I able to withdraw my child from sex education classes?

The simple answers to all three were and still are - no, yes, yes.

No sooner had we digested the current state of play than the government announced it intended to make SRE statutory from the age of five.  An independent inquiry and ‘consultation’ later, the government is pushing through with these plans.

Whilst SRE taught within Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHEe) allowed for a significant amount of flexibility for both schools and parents, the sexual health lobby was not satisfied.  Parents had the right to remove their children from SRE taught outside of the National Curriculum Science Order (science lessons) and schools could decide whether and how to teach non-statutory SRE.  The changes in the new Children’s bill mean schools would have to teach SRE from the age of five, and parents’ right to withdraw would be reduced from 19 to 15 years old.

The SREIslamic campaign was launched soon after the government’s announcement in October 2008, since then we have held over 45 seminars across England and with the support of the Muslim community gathered together 23,000 signatures which we submitted to the SRE consultation.

This website is a web successor to our campaign blog (http://sreislamic.wordpress.com) and will be regularly updated with articles, news, resources.  We will include a selection of materials your children may be exposed to as well as an alternative Islamic framework for SRE.

Yusuf Patel
yusuf @sreislamic.org