Demand HIV Education in Schools

posted: 15/07/2009

It's time to speak up for all children and young people's right to HIV information and other sex and relationship education in schools. Should Sex and Relationships Education (including information on HIV, sexuality, discrimination and harassment) be made compulsory in all schools?

The deadline is just days away (Friday 24 July) and it seems most  of the responses so far are from churches and schools which are strongly opposed to this. NAT (National AIDS Trust) are asking you to help - all it takes is an email of your answers to the key questions.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families is consulting the public about whether Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE), including Sex and Relationships Education (SRE), should be made a compulsory part of the National Curriculum.

NAT thinks that this is long overdue. Young people have a right to learn about HIV, and how to protect their sexual health. However, this is not just a sexual health issue, young people also need to be taught about social issues such as discrimination.

It is really important that as many organisations and individuals as possible respond to this consultation to show the Government that young people have a right to this education. There has been substantial lobbying against these proposals, therefore your response is absolutely vital.

Please take 10 minutes to answer this form - here's some hints

Please fill in this consultation form (in Word, rtf version below), and ask your colleagues and friends to do the same. It is in multiple choice form, and should only take ten minutes; if you are unclear or uncertain about any of the questions you can leave them blank. Please note that the consultation deadline is Friday 24 July.

The two most important questions are

• page 6, Section 1, 1st question 'PSHE education should become a statutory part of the National Curriculum'  - we strongly recommend Yes, and
• the next question 'Parents, carers and guardians should be allowed to maintain the right to withdraw their children from the sex and relationships element of PSHE education' - we strongly recommend No

Then please email your finished questionnaire,  

or post it to

Simon Watmough, Ipsos MORI House, 79-81 Borough Road, London, SE1 1FY

If you have any concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to contact Nicola Jacobs at NAT on 020 7814 6729, or by email 

Consultation questionnaire (Word version)

Consultation questionnaire (rtf version)

HIV Workers Course

posted: 14/07/2009

Terrence Higgins Trust has just been approved to offer a new City & Guilds course in understanding HIV and AIDS. The course was developed as a partnership between THT and City & Guilds and it is the first of its kind. Courses will be run at locations across the UK.

The qualification is designed for people interested in HIV and AIDS or working in a role where knowledge of the issue would be beneficial to their work. It’s ideal for people who work in a variety of roles including nurses, GP reception staff, voluntary workers, probation officers, police officers, teachers, social services staff, staff in drug support services and residential care services as well as interested individuals.

Joanna Hurren Head of Function at City & Guilds said “The course could help to open the door to a career in the HIV sector, or could help to support a person’s career development if already working in a role where it’s beneficial to be aware of the issues relating to HIV and AIDS. We’re very pleased to have given THT the official accreditation they need to run this course. HIV is a complex issue and it makes sense to have the experts delivering the qualification.”

This distance learning based course is structured into three units with 20 hours of study time for each unit. Areas of study include: 

• Transmission and prevention of HIV
• Stigma and discrimination in HIV and AIDS
• Managing HIV and AIDS

Jackie Redding, Director of Social Care and Service Development for THT said: “We’re delighted to be running this course. It aims not only to raise awareness of HIV but also to reduce the stigma that still exists. I’d encourage anyone interested to get in touch and find out more.”

The dates of the first courses are awaited, but to sign up or get further information visit the City & Guilds website or contact Justin Barrett on 020 7812 1727 or email THT

Faith Schools and Sex Education

posted: 28/04/2009

Sex education is to be made compulsory in all state schools in England but faith schools will also be free to preach against sex outside marriage and homosexuality, under government proposals.

'Values' and Lessons Opt-outs

The plans to make personal, social and health education (PSHE) compulsory from the age of five, published yesterday, include a clause allowing schools to apply their "values" to the lessons and another allowing parents to opt their children out on religious grounds.

Mixed messages

It means that all state secondaries in England - including faith schools - will for the first time have to teach a core curriculum about sex and contraception in the context of teenagers' relationships, but teachers in religious schools will also be free to tell them that sex outside marriage, homosexuality or using contraception are wrong. Sexual health campaigners warned that such an approach could confuse teenagers, but Catholic schools welcomed the move.

Government review

The government-commissioned review by Sir Alasdair Macdonald, headteacher of Morpeth school in east London, on how to make PSHE compulsory, concludes that schools will be legally obliged to teach pupils about health and nutrition, safety, drugs and alcohol and sex education.

For the first time pupils will be taught how to stay safe - from tackling cyber-bullying to resisting pressure to join gangs - and how to manage their bank accounts.

But the most controversial element is making sex education compulsory. The plans have divided faith groups and safer sex campaigners who highlight the fact that Britain has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Europe.

Changes

An optional curriculum in secondaries covering sex, both homosexual and heterosexual relationships, and contraception will be made compulsory - previously schools had to teach only the fundamentals of reproduction, contraception and puberty in science lessons. A new curriculum for primary schools will include teaching five-year-olds about different kinds of relationships, managing their emotions and about physical changes to their bodies in childhood.

Taught through faith values

Faith schools will be allowed to deliver the lessons in line with the "context, values and ethos" of their religion, the report says. Parents will also retain the right to withdraw their child from sex education lessons, meaning some children will continue to miss out altogether.

Macdonald said: "What we're trying to do, and I accept it's difficult, is find a balance between young people having an entitlement to knowledge, facts, information but where schools, particularly schools with a particular faith interest or other disposition, also have a right to put that in context of their particular institution. "

Faith school pupils will lose out

A Marie Stopes spokesman, Tony Kerridge, said: "We are very pleased that it has become part of the core curriculum. It is absolutely important that we grasp this nettle. The vast majority of children go to mainstream schools but for those who attend faith schools, this is a lost opportunity to have that caveat."

Young people's right to sex education trumped by parents

Macdonald's report also backs the current system of allowing parents to opt their children out of sex education. Currently 0.04% of pupils are withdrawn from lessons, usually on religious grounds. The move was opposed by children's rights campaigners. Adam Lonsdale, a 16-year-old member of the Youth Parliament, said: "No parent or school should be able to prevent a young person receiving good, high-quality sex and relationship education."

Catholics satisfied

Oona Stannard, director of the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales, said: "PSHE is a very important part of a child's education and it should be in the curriculum, but the approach to what is taught ought to be in line with the wishes of parents and should uphold the ethos of the particular school."

The fact that Catholics are not criticising the governemt's proposals indicates they have lobbied successfully. Whether their schools' gay, bisexual, or not yet sure pupils (among others) will get the sex and relationship education and support they need is another matter. Most pupils in catholic schools will not be practicing Catholics in adulthood. Significant numbers of pupils in Catholic and other faith schools are not members of that faith. Tax payers pay most of the costs of faith schools.

The schools secretary, Ed Balls, accepted the proposals and said they will now be subject to consultation.

Download the report Independent review of making PSHE education statutory 958KB pdf
To respond to the consultation on this department's website you need to register and sign in. The consultation deadline is unknown and this consultation is not yet listed. 

Source
 

HIV and Schools - Out of Order

posted: 13/03/2009

Discrimination against those with HIV is still rife in schools, according to the National Aids Trust, with both teachers and pupils woefully ignorant and prejudiced. So why are ministers so slow to take action?

The National Aids Trust has accused the Government of not doing enough to fight discrimination in schools against pupils and teachers who have HIV.

An investigation by the trust found several cases where children have been refused places or temporarily excluded and where teachers have been forced out of jobs.

Ministers: What's the Problem?

NAT met officials from the Department for Children, Schools and Families last week to try to hammer out a deal that will see the department issue health and safety advice to schools.

It is understood that ministers are still reluctant to commit to a course of action, despite most of the main teaching unions throwing their weight behind the initiative.

Deborah Jacks, the trust's chief executive, said its campaign began more than 18 months ago, but it got an appointment with the Government only last month.

"There has been very little pro-active response from the Government on the issue," Ms Jacks said.

"Schools and all public bodies have a duty to promote equality, and under the Disability Discrimination Act, it is illegal to discriminate against people with HIV.

"We want teachers to realise there is no risk of children being able to infect other children or teachers with the disease. And there have been no known cases of it happening elsewhere in the world," she said.

The main aim of the campaign is to try to educate teachers, schools and parents about the level of risk involved and to remove any confusion that surrounds the virus.

"The only information currently available is on teachernet, which actually reinforces the problems, telling teachers they 'need to be aware of particular school subjects and activities where the risk of infection could occur.' " This is ridiculous - "pupils should be allowed to take part in every class," Ms Jacks said.

"I thought I should tell her in case I got injured," she said. "That's when things started to go wrong."

When blood was found on a staff toilet seat she threatened to fire whoever was responsible as "blood can carry disease".

"I knew she was referring to me when she was talking about these things, so I felt I couldn't stay at the school," Ursula said.

"I applied for another job but I had to put her as a referee. She called the school and told them I had HIV ... I was so angry.

"I tried to do the best thing by telling them I was HIV positive."

Ursula knows she will probably have to go through all this again. "In the end I got another job," she said. "I had to lie. I didn't tell them about my HIV status. Only the local authority knows. But I think I will have to tell the school at some stage."

Head told me to go elsewhere

A parent, whose adopted daughter has HIV, said she was shocked by a school's response.

When Mary (not her real name) went to enrol her daughter, she asked what the school's policy was on outbreaks of infectious diseases such as chicken pox. "The head wanted to know why I was asking, so I told her my child has an immune deficiency," she said.

When the head asked for more details, Mary said her daughter has HIV. "She moved away from me, and just said, 'Oh, we haven't had one of those before,'" she said.

The head told teachers, who said they had "concerns" about dealing with a child who was HIV-positive. Mary said: "The head said she thought it would be a good idea for me to try another school, and then she advised me to keep my daughter's HIV secret. To lie, basically."

Unions ask for action

In a letter to the department, the National Association of Head Teachers, the NASUWT and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers said they wanted to see more commitment from the Government to issue better advice.

"It would, we suggest, be a simple matter to send information to all headteachers outlining their duties around HIV under the Disability Discrimination Act, reiterating that they cannot discriminate against a child because they are HIV-positive, and providing guidance on how they can ensure they are operating fair policies and practice," the unions wrote.

A spokesman for the DCSF said after last week's meeting with the National Aids Trust to discuss the guidance issued to schools: "We are engaged in ongoing dialogue about how we can update the information available to schools on our Teachernet website."