Welsh sex education curriculum case to be heard at High Court

The Administrative Court is this week hearing a legal challenge calling for the revocation of the new sex education curriculum for schools in Wales issued by the Welsh Government through a code and guidance published under the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021.

Campaign group Public Child Protection Wales (PCPW) claims that the mandatory element of RSE means children “will be taught about sensitive and arguably inappropriate topics such as gender ideology”, and that parents were being disenfranchised by being denied their right to remove their child from sex education.

It also claims that the Welsh Government had misled parents, “since the original RSE draft in February of 2019 gave a hint that parental opt-out would be retracted at a later date”.

The High Court granted permission to hear the group’s legal challenge in June this year on the basis that: "The issues raised on behalf of the claimants involve the consideration of complex constitutional matters with potentially very significant consequences for both parents and children."

The claimants were seeking to advance the following four grounds for judicial review:

1. The Code and Guidance incorrectly state that the right of parents to withdraw their children has been removed, in fact the common law right of parents to withdraw children from education on religious or philosophical matters of which they disapprove remains.
2. The attempt by the 2021 Act to remove the statutory right of withdrawal/excusal contained in the Education Act 1996 was ineffective because it was attempted in an underhand way which failed to squarely to confront the implications of removal as required by the “principle of legality”.
3. The purported removal of the right of excusal is contrary to parental rights under Article 2 of the First Protocol (A2P1) to the European Convention on Human Rights which guarantees parents the right to an education for their children and for this education to be in accordance with their religious and philosophical convictions. The breach of parental A2P1 rights occurs because the Code and Guidance: (i) do not contain a clear basis for the law limiting parental rights; (ii) oblige dissenting parents to remove children from school entirely thus depriving them of an education; (iii) expose children to indoctrination; (iv) do not accord adequate respect to parental views.
4. By attempting to re-orient an individual’s beliefs (whether religious or not) by coerced education, the Code and Guidance breach the rights of children guaranteed by Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The case was due to be heard from today (15 November) by Mrs Justice Steyn at the Cardiff Civil Justice Centre.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Learners will only learn topics that are appropriate to their age and development. At a younger age, for example, children will be taught about treating each other with kindness and empathy. As they grow older, they will gain an understanding of topics such as online safety, consent and sexual health – all of which will be handled in a sensitive way.

“This is about ensuring the best outcomes for all learners and their communities: to protect them and keep them safe. Evidence shows RSE can, for example help learners’ understanding and participation in healthy relationships of all kinds; reduce all forms of bullying as well as supporting learners to recognise and seek support for abusive or unhealthy relationships.

“Since 2018 the RSE Code has been through full and wide-ranging consultation and the appropriate legislative procedure in the Senedd. These reforms have been welcomed by a number of respected organisations including the NSPCC, the Children’s Commissioner’s Office and Welsh Women’s Aid.”

Lottie Winson