Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth

Consultations

House of Commons Education Select Committee: Inquiry into PSHE & Sex and Relationships Education

In April 2014 the Education Committee announced an inquiry into Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) and Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) in schools. The inquiry invited submissions of written evidence addressing a number of points including whether PSHE ought to be statutory, whether the overall provision of SRE in schools is adequate and whether recent Government steps to supplement the guidance on teaching about sex and relationships, including consent, abuse between teenagers and cyber-bullying, are sufficient.

CIRCY believes that SRE and PSHE should be understood as an entitlement for all young people, irrespective of the kind of educational institution in which they are located, or their stage of development. In a statement submitted to the Education select committee we outline six key principles for SRE and PSHE which include universal entitlement, training and support for teachers and the use of participatory methods and approaches.

Download/view the statement: Inquiry into PSHE and sex and relationships education [PDF 339.67KB]

This statement has been composed by members of the CIRCY with expertise in research and practice relevant to SRE and PSHE. Authors include:

  • Sara Bragg, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Brighton, co-author of the Scottish Parliament commissioned report on ‘Sexualised goods aimed at children’ and expert on children and the media.
  • Richard DeVisser, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Sussex with research expertise in public health, alcohol and sexuality.
  • Padmini Iyer, PhD candidate, School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sussex, researching sex education.
  • Ester McGeeney, youth practitioner and social researcher. Currently postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Sussex and holder of ESRC Knowledge Exchange Grant with Brook, exploring young people’s understandings of ‘good sex’.
  • Colleen McLaughlin, Professor of Education at the University of Sussex, a former teacher and LEA adviser with research interests in counselling and care of young people, particularly including issues around vulnerable children and exclusion, sexuality education, and teacher development.
  • Rachel Thomson, Professor of Childhood & Youth Studies at the University of Sussex and the first co- ordinator of the Sex Education Forum, a sociologist with research interests in youth transitions, teenage sexuality, parenthood and the post war history of school sex education.
  • Elsie Whittington, youth worker and Masters student at the University of Sussex.

To find out more about CIRCY’s work on young people and sex education visit the good sex project page.

A Department of Education and Ministry of Justice Consultation: Co-operative Parenting Following Family Separation: Proposed Legislation on the Involvement of Both Parents in a Child's Life 

On 13th June 2012 the Department for Education and the Ministry of Justice jointly commissioned a public consultation entitled: Co-operative Parenting Following Family Separation: Proposed Legislation on the Involvement of Both Parents in a Child's Life. The consultation invited views on the Government’s plans to introduce legislation to reinforce the principle that most children benefit from the ongoing involvement of both parents after separation, and on options for strengthening the enforcement measures available to courts to deal with breaches of court-ordered arrangements for contact. 

CIRCY welcomes the Government's interest in supporting families to achieve positive outcomes for children following parental separation, and recognises the intent of the Consultation paper which proposes amendments to the Children's Act 1989 in relation to the requirement of courts to consider effective on-going relationships with both parents when making orders in respect of children.

The following response has been drafted from discussion within CIRCY and expresses our shared concern that children's opinions are not adequately represented in the rationale for change, and that the proposed amendments are not underpinned by appropriate research evidence. Our response considers two key principles: the best interests of the child and the quality of parental relationships.

Download/view CIRCY’s response: Consultation on co-operative parenting following family separation [PDF 89.06KB].

CIRCY members involved in this response:

  • Dr Janet Boddy, Reader in Child, Youth and Family Studies, Department of Education, School of Education and Social Work
  • Jo Bridgeman, Professor of Healthcare Law and Feminist Ethics, Department of Law, School of Law, Politics and Sociology
  • Dr Tamsin Hinton-Smith, Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, School of Law, Politics and Sociology
  • Dr Michelle Lefevre, Head of Department and Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Work & Social Care, School of Education and Social Work
  • Rachel Thomson, Professor of Childhood and Youth, Department of Social Work & Social Care, School of Education and Social Work
  • Dr Denise Turner, Lecturer, Department of Social Work & Social Care, School of Education and Social Work
  • Rebecca Webb, Doctoral researcher (PhD in Education), Department of Education, School of Education and Social Work

Watch Jane Fortin, Emeritus Professor, Sussex Law School, University of Sussex, presenting Taking a longer view of contact: The perspectives of young adults who experienced parental separation in their youthhttps://connectpro.sussex.ac.uk/p18902768/