Why can't teachers teach SRE?

[JellySaurus]

Testing the water here in FWR so as not to be flamed with "You want us to add more to our list of jobs?!".

Why cannot teachers teach Sex and Relationships Ed to their cohorts at school? They have the best understanding of their pupils' emotional maturity and intellectual abilities. They have constant training - and often experience - in safeguarding. Most have understanding and experience of presenting contrasting POV and beliefs in a neutral manner. They have training and experience in designing lessons and sourcing resources.

Yes, it's more work, I appreciate that. But isn't it in the best interests of the pupils and of the school?

In every school I've worked in the staff do? Both primary and secondary.
It's usually included in Phse lessons, tutor time or specifically timetabled as SRE

They do at my children’s school. Do you mean why do some schools get external people in?

I did when I was teaching in schools. Anyone with slack in their timetable did.

Most do, as far as I know.
Previously a separate training course was required which wasn't open to all, 2 or 3 would teach the whole school to monitor progression. Some parents complain alot too about the content. In some UK countries the content is set and schools may get groups in to deliver. Problematic at times if given over to a group like Mermaids who push a gender identity agenda.

What @Disgruntledpelicanlady said, also @Frlrlrubert if you have some slack in your timetable they might add lessons in.

The 'problem' is somewhat new - if you want teachers to teach well let's just call it gender ideology, you would need to find a teacher in your school confident to teach the gender ideology, and happy to take responsibility for teaching gender ideology to students as if it were fact. Many schools find it difficult to find such teachers. If (as I suspect is still generally the case) the teachers do not feel empowered to go - but that's just wrong - the teachers can claim (quite reasonably) that they don't understand it well enough to teach it.

Every school I've worked in I've taught it with my form group as part of PHSCE

I suppose so.

My dc had these sessions from their teachers in both primary and secondary, with specialists brought in for supplementary topics. It seems like there is a move away from in-house SRE, and constant concerns about the outsiders being brought in. Or persuade this is one of those issues were you only hear about the problems, not the successes.

I have to say, as a science teacher, if I'd been asked to teach 'gender ideology' as part of the SRE classes I was assigned I'd have been making sure my displays featured the relevant factual parts of the the biology curriculum quite heavily.

I agree I’d be much happier with teachers that know my children delivering this type of session. Makes sense than a trusted adult they knows speaks to them than some random brought in for a day. I wonder if schools are just unsure what to deliver that won’t get them grief from somewhere so outsource in the hope they can avoid any dramas!

They do in the schools I have worked in. There are some topics which are best delivered by outside professionals eg porn, contraception etc.

Some tutors at my school have found some recent topics difficult to deliver for various reasons. For example mental health, self harm, bulimia. If you trained to teach MFL, maths, history etc then you may not be able to deliver lessons on these issues successfully. It's mix of PSHE lessons and tutor time.

@Weal

I wonder if schools are just unsure what to deliver that won’t get them grief from somewhere so outsource in the hope they can avoid any dramas!

I imagine schools want trained professionals on the issues at hand rather than a tutor glancing at the slides just before the session. Students often listen to outside experts more.

I think it's tricky too for example a young female newly qualified teacher delivering a session on sexual consent with some confident year 11 boys. Equally newly qualified young male teacher delivering a session to year 11 girls on something like up skirting. It's not easy.

I've taught both - teaching it as a tutor and having a team of teachers with specific training. It can work well as part of tutoring as long as the form tutors value their role and there's appropriate support for the more challenging issues.
Sex ed specifically should be "conservative " in nature with most tutors being able to deliver it in an age appropriate way. The problem is some of the new materials produced and sometimes delivered by the queer theory, kink & fetish celebrating organisations self ID ing as educators - when they're nothing of the sort. Once schools (and the government) start exercising due diligence and check backgrounds, weeding out dodgy groups & materials, I reckon they'll be able to return to teaching SRE that meets the needs of today's young people.

^^ This.

Yes that does makes sense. I was thinking more primary but I can see when it’s gets more in depth topics, like consent, people with a specialism would be better placed to cover it. Why not do that in house though, like as an employee role.

the worry I have with outside organisations is how well vetted they are by schools. How well is the school checking the practice of the staff and the content of what is being delivered.

Is GI on the SRE syllabus?

Clearly it needs to be mentioned, but in a 'some people believe' manner. Rather like an atheist teacher delivering an RE lesson.

I taught reproduction as part of the year 7 science syllabus. Also taught pshe to my form but we didn't have gender ID on the spec then, I left teaching in 2015. If I went back now I'd have to do it as "some people believe" or not at all. Reminds me of the beginning of my career speaking to a teacher in an academy who was looking to change jobs after they asked him to present creationism as an alternative to evolution.

The capture of Ofsted by Stonewall made this really problematic with Ofsted insisting on the teaching of gender identity (and downgrading some primary schools for failing to do this amongst other issues). They left Stonewall last year after the press revealed Stonewall criticising Ofsted for failing to have enough conversations with primary children about gender identity. Just as the BBC & countless other organisations discovered, being a successful Stonewall champion means dancing to Stonewall's tune - not centring the needs of schools or children.

Yes, the government has made it a mandatory requirement.

The government document suggests Stonewall as a source of helpful information.

SrE is generally taught by form tutors in pshe lessons. However, most schools buy in resources for the form tutors to use, most of which have been thoroughly Stonewalled. Schools also buy in training from Stonewall et Al. As discussed uptrend, Ofsted and the DfE are also Stonewalled. Some individual teachers (such as myself) question and fight back, but the 'party line'of most schools is very much in line with Stonewall.

i can understand why a school might prefer to bring in an outside trainer rather than ask the science teachers to teach gender ideology as a scientific fact to their tutor groups.

@Weal

Why not do that in house though, like as an employee role.

That would be a good idea.