Children to be taught anti-misogyny in sex education classes

Recognising misogyny, the harms caused by so-called "deepfakes" and unhealthy attitudes towards consent will be taught in sex education classes under new government guidance for schools.

Pupils will be taught "how to identify and learn from positive male role models", according to parts of the final draft of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) guidance seen exclusively by the BBC.

Schools in England should also "proactively" engage with parents to ensure they are aware of what is being taught, the guidance will say.

But plans to impose age limits on certain subject areas, proposed by the previous Conservative government just before last year's election, will not go ahead.

That earlier draft guidance had suggested sex education should not be taught before Year 5, while topics like sexual harassment and pornography should not be taught before Year 7.

Instead, the government will outline areas that should be introduced in primary school and what students should know by the end of secondary school. This final draft is due to be published later on Tuesday.

The Department for Education (DfE) says this approach will ensure that children are not taught content they are too young to understand - without assigning specific ages to individual topics.

Parents will have the right to view all of their school's RSHE curriculum materials, a move welcomed by the charity Parentkind.

Frank Young, from the charity, says it's important that teachers consult with parents first to understand what is age-appropriate for their child "so that we put parents in the driving seat".

The new guidance, which schools will begin implementing this autumn, will come into full legal force from September 2026.

It will require primary schools to teach respectful relationships, boundaries and the risks of sharing information and images online.

It is also expected to recommend that conception, birth and puberty is taught in Year 5 or Year 6 - but this will not be compulsory.

Under the new guidance, primary school teachers may also choose to discuss the sharing of naked images or online sexual content if it is affecting their pupils, or if they know that students have seen pornography.

By the end of secondary school, students should be taught how to keep themselves and others safe, including how to avoid sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies.

Additions in the secondary school curriculum are expected to include lessons on:

• The sexual norms endorsed by so-called "involuntary celibates" (incels) or online influencers
• AI-generated sexual imagery and deepfakes
• How pornography links to misogyny
• Sexual ethics beyond consent and the awareness of power dynamics

The guidance will advise secondary schools to work closely with mental health professionals on how to discuss suicide prevention in an age-appropriate way.

Andy Airey, Mike Palmer and Tim Owen - the fathers behind the Three Dads Walking campaign - who each lost a daughter to suicide, have welcomed this inclusion, saying it will "save lives".

Margaret Mulholland, a special educational needs and inclusion specialist at The Association of School and College Leaders told BBC Breakfast campaigns like theirs have been "incredibly helpful" in shaping updated guidance "informed not just by academic evidence but also by the data and life experiences of families".

She welcomed the "overdue" changes, saying that the statutory guidance "is now five years old" and "lagging behind life experiences of young people".

RSHE became compulsory in schools in England in 2020.

All pupils must take part in relationships education. This does not involve explaining the details of different sexual acts, but can include sensitive topics such as sexual violence, in order to keep children safe.

Parents have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of sex education, but students can choose to opt back in from three terms before they turn 16.

The government is expected to release separate guidance soon on how schools should support children who are gender-questioning.

Announcing the RSHE guidance, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the behaviour and attitudes of boys and young men "is one of the challenges facing us today".

Schools and parents have a vital role to play in "helping children identify positive role models and resist the manipulation too often used online to groom impressionable young minds," she added.

At Benton Park School in Leeds, head teacher Nik Skilton says teachers have to be "really careful" when discussing inappropriate online content with students, to avoid introducing ideas they may not yet have encountered.

"But, on the flip side, we've also got to make sure that we are supporting young people to protect themselves," he said.

Mr Skilton added that schools need some flexibility in how they approach these topics, as each school faces different issues.

The RSHE guidance will encourage schools to build a more positive culture, making both staff and pupils aware of the dangers of stereotypes and prejudice.

Since adopting a whole-school approach to these issues, Benton Park has seen a decrease in the number of students experiencing sexual harassment.

Nuraniya, one of the student ambassadors at the school, believes social media is fuelling sexism and sexual harassment because "they appear so much on everyone's pages, on their phones, that they think it's normalised".

She says it has become much easier to "call it out" because of the skills the school has taught her.

Classmate Karman agrees, saying she now feels like she has a voice to say: "This is not okay".