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Principals, board members and teachers who have concerns about the RSE Guidelines and recommended classroom materials, can now feel confident in putting them in the bin.
An Official Information Act response from the Minister of Education Erica Stanford includes a statement from MOE staff stating, back in December 2023: “Schools and kura have the flexibility to design their local curriculum, including their RSE curriculum. This means that while RSE is guided by the national curriculum, it will differ from school to school and there are no compulsory topics that must be addressed.” See: Rapid Response paper, dated 7 December 2023, from Ministry of Education.
Penny Marie of Let Kids Be Kids says, “In the absence of an announcement from the MOE to the education sector and parents, it’s vitally important that this news be communicated widely to school communities.”
Teachers commonly use MOE-endorsed resources, tailor-made to meet the RSE guidelines. One suite of resources, ‘Navigating the Journey’, developed by Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa, has led to widespread concern, evidenced by the hundreds of people who attended the nationwide Let Kids be Kids roadshow. These resources are used in almost 50 per cent of schools in New Zealand, and are for year one right through to year 10.
“We presented in 36 locations around New Zealand and heard many stories of despair over what is being taught to our children and how it’s harming them. These materials contain inappropriate, biologically incorrect, sexualised, and psychologically harmful information,” says Penny Marie.
“The Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa website says that ‘rangatahi (youth) want this content’. But if a child wants to drive a car on the open road, do we let them? No, because we recognize that children are vulnerable to their own immaturity. Adults, especially parents, protect children from themselves while they are immature. We don’t let kids think they can drive a car on the open road, and they know that they can’t until they’re old enough and have learned to drive.”
Key concerns within the current RSE guidelines (that teachers believe are compulsory, yet the recent OIA states are not), include:
- Children may be exposed to content of a sexual and/or ideological nature (potentially from as young as five years old).
- Heavy emphasis on ‘gender identity and ‘challenging gender norms’. (The ‘norms’ being challenged are… being born in the right body and heterosexual attraction).
- Repeating messages about gender fluidity and LGBTQIA+, far disproportionate to the four per cent (over 18 years old) of the population who identify in this group, and suggesting these people are woefully marginalised and harassed – however there is no evidence of this being true in New Zealand.
- Little encouragement for children to discuss these topics with parents, in fact parents are barely mentioned.
- Normalising/assuming children to be involved in a variety of sexual activity well before the age of 16 and that consenting to sexual activity before then is normal and safe. This content promotes and normalises promiscuity, leading children well under 16 to believe that consent at any age is ok.
“These materials violate our children’s psychological boundaries with content on ‘identity’ and gender ideology. These topics never used to be taught, and young people have told us that these topics made them feel uncomfortable.
“Many parents and grandparents know that these topics are out of bounds and should not be in schools. Most parents are unaware of the details being taught in ‘sex ed’ classes, and trust the education system. Until they see the content being taught many struggle to believe this is happening in New Zealand schools. However, once they see it, most are concerned, if not horrified.
“A big red flag with the current RSE lesson content being used in many schools, is the omission of parents as a recommended and preferred source of guidance about sex, sexuality and relationship education. While the materials barely mention parents, instead focusing on same-age friendships and relationships, youth-based agencies and counsellors as the child’s support network. The obvious omission of parents is troubling.
“And so, we are greatly encouraged by this information from the Minister of Education that the RSE topics proposed in the MOE Guidelines, and topics in classroom resources promoted by MOE, are not compulsory.
“The responsibility has therefore fallen on parents to inform school leaders, as most teachers mistakenly think that the MOE Guidelines are compulsory.”
Principals, teachers, parents and young people are invited to contact Let Kids be Kids for support and further information. www.letkidsbekids.nz.
Download full OIA response here.
This article was originally published by the Daily Telegraph New Zealand.
