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In our view it is not the time to take away the Relationships and Sexuality Education guidelines and to leave schools on their own to manage the implementation of the curriculum.
The Ministry of Education’s Relationships and Sexuality Education guidelines are no longer available. The guidelines were published in 2020 to support primary and secondary schools to implement the 2007 curriculum and included updated advice about how to talk about issues that have emerged and developed since the curriculum was designed, such as social media.
“The government’s coalition agreement included the ‘removal and replacement’ of the guidelines so while we expected them to go, it’s disappointing they have been removed before there is anything to replace them. This process leaves schools in limbo as they don’t know when new guidance will be available and what will change," says Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa director health promotion Fiona McNamara.
“In December the Education Review Office (ERO) released a report which was clear that both schools and communities want schools to have more, not less, guidance on how to implement this part of the curriculum. The findings of the ERO report are supported by our own survey of students, due for release in Term 2 this year, which shows that young people want more, higher quality, relationships and sexuality education.
“The Ministry has recommended that schools plan their programmes to align with the 2007 version of The New Zealand Curriculum. The world is a very different place than it was then with the dominance of social media, pornography, bullying and cyberbullying, compounded by the spread of misinformation and disinformation. In our view it is not the time to take away the guidelines and to leave schools on their own to manage the implementation of the curriculum.”
See the TVNZ story with Fiona McNamara's comments about the removal of the guidelines.
See the Spinoff article featuring Fiona McNamara and others commenting about the guideline removal
Notes for schools and teachers:
The Ministry of Education says schools should continue to plan their programmes to align with the 2007 version of The New Zealand Curriculum.
Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa will continue to make available its resources, courses and advice to support schools with their relationships and sexuality education programmes, which will continue to align with national and international evidence for best practice for relationships and sexuality education.
Further information and references:
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/relationships-sexuality-education-refresh
Review of Relationships and Sexuality Education significant and welcome | Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa
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