Half of secondary school teachers don’t feel confident delivering sex and relationships education

A new joint survey from National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) of 1,034 secondary school teachers in the UK finds almost half of secondary school teachers (46%) say they don’t feel confident teaching sex and relationships education.

The survey found:

• Over ¼ of teachers don’t feel confident answering difficult or sensitive questions in lessons
• The majority of teachers (86%) said they need more training and resources in this area.
• Over half (57%) of teachers feel government support has been poor.

The survey found that teachers lacked confidence in delivering lessons on the following topics in the curriculum:

• Delivering lessons about pornography
• Delivering lessons on consent
• Delivering lessons on harmful sexual behaviour and sexual harassment.

A template RSHE curriculum from Learn Sheffield is available for free to all Doncaster Schools, to ensure there is universal access to good quality, evidence-based information and resources that form the teaching of these subjects.  It includes learning for all the elements that is required to meet the statutory guidance. Statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE). - Healthy Schools (healthylearningdoncaster.co.uk)

Check out our overview of RSHE support available: 

RSHE overview with audio explainer

Download (4.48MB - PPTX)

In response to the survey, NSPCC are launching a new UK-wide service called Talk Relationships, free for a short time, which includes e-learning, lesson plans and a dedicated helpline.

Articles:

Half of secondary school teachers don’t feel confident delivering sex and relationships education | NSPCC

NASUWT | Half of secondary teachers do not feel confident delivering RSE