Children to be taught to ration the time they spend online in new sex education guidance for schools

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, said: “Parents rightly trust that when they send their children to school, they are kept safe and will not be exposed to disturbing content that is inappropriate for their age. “I will always act swiftly to protect our children and this new guidance will do exactly that, while supporting teachers to teach these important topics sensitively and giving parents access to curriculum content if they wish.” The guidance tells teachers to make clear at the age of 11, that that it is a crime until the age of 18 to take sexual pictures of themselves or hold such pictures of others. Teachers should not use any materials that present contested views as fact, including the view that gender is a spectrum, or that could be interpreted as being aimed at younger children. They should also not use material suggesting that someone’s gender is determined by their interests or clothing choices, because it could risk leading pupils who do not comply with sex stereotypes to question their gender when they might not have done so otherwise. The document states: “If asked about the topic of gender identity, schools should teach the facts about biological sex and not use any materials that present contested views as fact, including the view that gender is a spectrum.