Since their election victory in July, there have been several concerning policies and bills being put forward by the Labour government. In the area of education, this includes their flagship policy and manifesto commitment to charge VAT on independent school fees and remove their business rates relief. There has been extensive media coverage on this matter.
There is another process which has been less widely reported and yet is also very important. The government is conducting a review of the national curriculum and has put out a call for evidence about it. Christian parents and teachers can respond to the ‘Call for Evidence’ by Friday 22 November, with any views or examples of inappropriate curriculum they have experienced.
After it appeared in Labour’s manifesto, the government confirmed that there would be a review of the national curriculum and school assessments. Following the review, all state schools – including academies which currently do not have to follow the national curriculum – will be required by law to teach this national curriculum. This is part of their ambition to raise school standards and attainment for all young people, regardless of their socio-economic background. This is a noble ambition, but there are concerns about how this will be delivered in practice particularly when it comes to issues of sex education.
It has been said that the review will seek to deliver ‘a curriculum that reflects the issues and diversities of our society’, ensuring all children and young people are represented.’ As part of relating the curriculum with the idea of inclusion, the government may seek to adopt new policies which allow for more gender ideology content to be taught in the classroom.
The review is being led by Becky Francis, an intersectional feminist professor who specialises in the ‘social construction’ of gender in the classroom. In 2019, she signed an open letter calling for government action in support of LGBT inclusion in schools. Another panel member, Dr Vanessa Ogden is Chair of the Fair Education Alliance which has written about championing LGBTQ+ causes within education. She was a member of the Commission on Religious Education which reported in 2018. This emphasises a Religion and Worldviews approach to teaching which could lead to traditional Religious Education, which should be ‘in the main’ Christian, being rejected.
All of this raises questions about the true nature and desired impact of the review, and should be a concern to parents who do not want their children to be exposed to sexualised or ideological content across the curriculum.
If you are a parent you should have been fully consulted about any Sex Education being delivered to your child, and you have certain rights when it comes to withdrawing your child from these lessons. However, increasingly, there is a move towards an integrative approach which is where aspects of Relationships and Sex Education are included and discussed across many areas of the curriculum, especially LGBT related topics. In these situations, it is not necessarily possible for a child to be withdrawn from those lessons.
We have supported children such as Kaysey Francis-Austin who, at the age of 10, exposed the normalisation of LGBT relationships teaching across all subject areas including maths, art and history. Depending on the outcome of the reviews, cases like these could become more common. And whilst schools await the finalised guidance on Relationships and Sex Education, as well as guidance on Gender Questioning Children, there remains significant uncertainty for both teachers and parents.
There is currently a call for evidence which will be submitted to the panel. The deadline to respond is Friday 22 November. Whilst this is not a consultation as such, any evidence provided at this stage will feed into the review and help the panel to make its first recommendations. It is important for the panel to know that there are Christians who are seriously concerned about this matter, who can present evidence of what has occurred in their school, and who will raise their voice should the curriculum further push schools down a path of the ideological indoctrination which we have seen in the last few years.
You can respond to the call for evidence through an online survey. You can remain anonymous, and you do not have to answer all the questions.
We suggest that the most important questions to answer are:
Christian Concern will submitting its own response to the call for evidence.
In the midst of all this there is hope. We will be hosting another Education Revolution conference in Oxford in 2025. If you want to be part of the movement that is seeking to create a more Christ-centred education for the next generation, do consider attending this conference with members of your church.
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