| SPOTLIGHT |
A group of parents have lost a legal challenge which called for the revocation of the new sex education curriculum for primary schools in Wales.
The Welsh government's new relationships and sexuality education (RSE) curriculum was launched in September and sees the mandatory teaching of topics of gender identity and sex to primary school pupils.
The legal challenge was rejected in the High Court by Mrs Justice Steyn, but claimants plan to appeal.
Campaign group Public Child Protection Wales (PCPW) claimed 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."
In the two-day legal hearing in November at the Civil Justice Centre in Cardiff, Mrs Justice Steyn said: "Teaching should be neutral from a religious perspective, but it is not required to be value neutral."
Paul Diamond, on behalf of the five claimants said that they have "moral and philosophical objections" to the curriculum and wanted to exercise rights of withdrawal on behalf of their children to the classes.
He said: "The proposed teaching of RSE in Wales is specifically constructed to be value-laden since much of the teaching, particularly that regarding LGBTQ+, will concern not facts of a scientific nature but highly contentious theories relating to moral and behavioural choices made by individuals.
"Were it to be taught as a stand-alone class and subject to a right of excusal, there would clearly not be any possibility of indoctrination”, he added.
Jonathan Moffett KC, representing the Welsh government, rejected the language used by the claimants.
He described "such hyperbolic rhetoric" as "unhelpful", adding the claimants had failed to identify "what allegedly unlawful teaching" the new curriculum would adopt and instead "resort to broad assertions".
"The claimants have not pointed to any passages in the code or the guidance that authorise or positively approve teaching that advocates or promotes any particular identity or sexual lifestyle over another, or that encourage children to self-identify in a particular way," he added.
Dismissing all aspects of the claim, Mrs Justice Steyn said: "In my judgment, the content of the code and the guidance is consistent with the requirement to take care to ensure that RSE teaching is conveyed in an objective critical and pluralistic manner and does not breach the prohibition on indoctrination.
"There is nothing in the code or the guidance that authorises or positively approves teaching that advocates or promotes any particular identity or sexual lifestyle over another, or that encourages children to self-identify in a particular way."
Jeremy Miles, Minister for Education and Welsh language, said in a statement: "We have been clear that RSE is intended to keep children safe and to promote respect and healthy relationships.
He added: "Parents can expect the teaching their children receive to be appropriate for their children's age and maturity: this is a legal requirement."
Lottie Winson
