Review of Relationships and Sexuality Education significant and welcome

Significant and welcome changes to the Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) curriculum have been recommended in a report released today (Tuesday 10 December) by the Education Review Office.

Fiona McNamara, Director Health Promotion at Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa, New Zealand’s largest national provider of sexual and reproductive health services, says "This report clearly shows how essential RSE is to our young people. They need more RSE, and they need it to be of a higher, more consistent quality. Currently RSE is inconsistent across the country and it is luck of the draw of what school you’re at, and even who your teacher is."

The report is informed by the views of thousands of New Zealanders through surveys and interviews. Those who contributed include students themselves, teachers, school leaders, board chairs and members, providers of professional learning and development (like ourselves), academics, rainbow groups and parents.

The Education Review Office’s recommendations include:

- bringing RSE into senior secondary school (Years 11, 12 and 13), and potentially making it compulsory

- reviewing the curriculum

- determining what children need to learn at a national level

- ensuring teachers learn how to teach RSE

- replacing mandatory annual community consultation with informing your community every two years

"We support ERO’s recommendations and have been asking for these changes for many years. We agree with ERO’s finding that the curriculum should be reconsidered in terms of young people today and the information they need to know. The current curriculum puts too much pressure on schools to deliver in an environment of uncertainty and for many young people their RSE is a matter of chance. We agree with ERO that RSE is too important for that to be the case."

Ms McNamara says Sexual Wellbeing agrees that it shouldn’t be up to schools to define and defend their own curriculum. "We know that there can be a lot of conflicting views and misinformation in communities around some topics - so much that some schools cannot reconcile the views of their community. As a result, we have found when working with some schools, that they can pull back on the RSE they’re offering because it’s safer not to go near it. Making curriculum decisions at a national level, would free schools to do what they do best - teach."

The RSE curriculum was last reviewed in 2007 and much has changed since, particularly with the rise of social media, pornography, bullying, and cyber bullying. And what tamariki, rangatahi, and their whānau need and want to know has changed too.

"There is clear evidence that relationships and sexuality education is essential learning for all young people and what the community is asking for in this review supports this evidence."

"When done well, RSE provides students with the knowledge and skills they need to develop healthy relationships and make informed choices that support their mental and physical health and wellbeing. Research shows that when young people have quality relationships and sexuality education, they are more likely to delay having sex, and use condoms and contraception when they choose to have sex. Relationships and sexuality education has been linked to a broader range of positive social and health outcomes, including promoting healthy relationships and preventing sexual and intimate partner violence," Ms McNamara says.