Currently, the British government doesn’t mandate Relationship and Sex Education, and even if a school decides to or has the funding to offer RSE, they don’t have to talk specifically about LGBT relationships or educate children about the LGBT community. Some schools can avoid talking about contraception and LGBT entirely, stating religious reasons to deprive children of essential life skills in the 21st century. These problems are due to the current guidelines, published in 2000, before any child in school today was born. The proposed guidelines for 2019 were recently published, and many of the concerns expressed over the last 20 years weren’t resolved. To minimise this, we propose that the guidelines are changed every 5 years, to adapt to an ever changing and evolving environment for young people. 

Relationship Education relates to every aspect of children and young adults’ lives, including the workplace. Adequate relationship educations enables teenagers and young adults to identify healthy and unhealthy relationships, abuse and harassment in their and others’ lives, and makes them more likely to speak up. At the moment, many schools in the UK deprive kids of the tools that allow them to navigate the relationships around them. 

Sign this petition to urge the secretary of education Damian Hinds to mandate RSE in schools and to increase inclusivity, educating teenagers about the LGBT community, contraception and including single parents and same sex parents into the conversation. 

For any further information about our campaign or help, visit our campaign website www.relationship-ed.co.uk (published 31 August) and our social media- www.instagram.com/relationship.education