What do I need to be aware of when teaching about sexuality?

When planning a sexuality unit of work, it is important that the views of the school community are taken into consideration. Consultation of the school community should occur to ensure community views are reflected during the planning process. When implementing a sexuality unit of work, it is important that teachers be aware of the individual needs and backgrounds of their students and tailor the program accordingly.

Many students come from diverse family backgrounds and there may be differing values relating to the content. It is important to address individual students’ concerns and questions in a simple and factual response, using correct terminology for parts of the body. In Stage 3 in particular, students may display differing degrees of readiness for the material relating to puberty. Therefore it is essential that teachers are sensitive to individual needs. Mutual respect of ideas and individuals, including maintaining confidentiality within the classroom, is important to build trusting relationships and to encourage students to share their issues and concerns.

What is the relationship between sexuality and child protection education?

Child protection education and sexuality education are taught as part of the PDHPE program within each Stage. It is important to acknowledge that there are some concepts that will overlap both programs. Body parts and privacy are examples of concepts that are covered in both child protection education and sexuality units of work. It is important to note that sexuality education encompasses content matter such as puberty and sexual identity which ordinarily would not be covered within a child protection education program.

It is also important for teachers to review their responsibilities relating to child protection as the sexuality education program may lead to students wanting to discuss or disclose personal concerns. Teachers can refer to Child Protection Education: curriculum materials to support teaching and learning in PDHPE Stages 1–3 (Department of Education and Training, 1997) for information on disclosure. The DET Child Protection policies are available on the Department’s web site.

Do we need parental permission?

Parents need to be informed and consulted about the content of units of work and may be of valuable assistance in supporting the preparation of the material. Parents can be informed via permission notes, newsletters and information sessions. It is important to provide parents with accurate information about the program’s content, in order for them to support and convey similar messages to their children at home.

The Controversial issues in schools policy implemetation procedures, 2007 (DET Intranet)provides the policy for schools about their responsibility in informing parents about school programs.

The school has a responsibility to inform parents, prior to the occasion, of the specific details of the program, so that parents have time to exercise their rights of withdrawing their child from a particular session on certain controversial issues. In this regard, a parent’s wish must be respected. Controversial issues in schools policy implemetation procedures, 2007.(DET Intranet)

In delivering sexuality units of work, it is essential to gain the confidence of the parent community by informing them of the timing of units and lessons containing possible sensitive issues. Once they have been informed, the majority of parents should be happy for their children to be involved. Some parents who may be initially hesitant, often change their views once the program has been explained.

Some schools may have a small number of parents who choose to teach sexuality to their children themselves and exercise the right to withdraw their child from certain activities within the unit of work. It is important that the school community respects this decision and appreciates the diversity in the community.

The incidence of withdrawal of children from classes is often reduced by effective communication and involvement of parents in the planning process. The Health Promoting Schools Framework is one which values the input of parents and strives to reach common ground and generate consistent, positive messages for students at school and home. Strategies to involve parents more fully in the curriculum delivery include:

increasing the understanding of PDHPE by holding a parent information evening. Use Introducing the PDHPE K–6 syllabus to parents and community members, Board of Studies 1999 for stimulus materials and to assist in explaining the syllabus content and context.
creating a committee which includes teachers, executive members and parents to consider how sensitive issues should be handled in the school community.
inviting parents and caregivers into the classroom during class activities.

If after consultation, parents request that their child be withdrawn from lessons dealing with sensitive issues, schools must provide alternate activities for them to undertake during the sexuality lessons or identified activities of the unit of work.

Being inclusive of same-sex attracted people and managing homophobia

Children and young people’s attitudes towards other people and level of acceptance of diversity are developed by observing and copying the behaviours they see, particularly of the adults around them. Therefore negative attitudes towards same-sex attracted people, which may be presented from the earliest age, can impact on the views of children. Primary schooling is a critical phase in developing positive and non-discriminatory views relating to same-sex attracted people in our society.

Same-sex attracted people in our society can be part of a disadvantaged group who are more likely to be victims of violence, harassment, discrimination, low self-esteem, drug abuse and self-harm behaviours than the population as a whole. Research by Hillier et al indicates that 69% of the physical and verbal abuse of same-sex attracted young people happens at school. This physical and verbal abuse is sometimes manifested by a lack of understanding and acceptance in the wider community of same-sex attracted people. Research shows that approximately 10% of our population is made up of people who are same-sex attracted. Research conducted by Hillier et al indicates that between 8–11% of Year 10 and 12 students who were surveyed, did not identify exclusively as being heterosexual.

In the past, education programs have virtually ignored talking about same-sex attracted people or presented images which have been negative or stereotypical. Some people report the absence of any positive references or images of same-sex attracted people in their entire schooling. Current educational programs in NSW seek to address this shortcoming and government schools are encouraged to address homophobia and same-sex attracted issues through PDHPE programs and whole-school welfare programs. While secondary schools have more opportunities for explicit teaching of same-sex attracted issues through their sexuality programs with adolescents, primary schools are a critical factor in challenging attitudes early in life and promoting a more accepting and diverse society. Sexuality education also provides an appropriate context for addressing discrimination and sexual harassment issues which are an increasing problem in our society.

In primary schools, there are opportunities when teaching sexuality, to be inclusive of same-sex attracted people and issues by:

identifying any homophobic language in the classroom and explaining to students that these terms are demeaning and offensive to others as well as breach anti-discrimination laws.
normalising the terms gay, lesbian and same-sex attracted to avoid students using other terms which are demeaning or discriminatory.
acknowledging the presence of same-sex couples and families by generating inclusive examples when discussing family life.
providing a wide range of positive images and examples of same-sex couples in lessons focusing on caring and loving relationships to avoid reinforcing stereotypes.
using inclusive language when discussing social and emotional changes during adolescence to acknowledge that some students may be attracted to the same sex, e.g. using the term partners instead of boyfriend and girlfriend or husband and wife.

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What do I need to be aware of when teaching about sexuality?