2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:41 pm on 8 December 2020.

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Photo of Caroline Jones Caroline Jones UKIP 2:41, 8 December 2020

I'd like to call for an urgent statement from the Minister for Education regarding the teaching of relationships and sexuality education. I've been contacted by many, many concerned parents who feel that the proposed new curriculum is a step too far. They are also very concerned that parents can no longer opt their children out of such lessons. Thousands of parents rightly believe that sex education starts and ends in the home, that those parents who want to teach their children developmental sex and relationship education should be free to do so, and that the children can opt out of RSE lessons. Much of the concern and outrage has been centred upon the materials, shared with me by concerned teachers, that will be shown to children as young as four. A four-year-old is still a baby in my eyes and should not, under any circumstances, be taught about sex and masturbation. Let's let children be children. Concern has been rising in recent weeks and we need a statement by the Minister to categorically state that RSE will not be compulsory and certainly not taught to children as young as four. Diolch yn fawr.