CES Statement on the Sex Education Bill (3rd Reading)

"CESEW Statement regarding Amendment 70 to the Children, Schools and Families Bill (23 February 2010)

Following the Third Reading of the Children, Schools and Families Bill,  Amendment 70 has been accepted as part of the Bill. The amendment is as follows: Page 14, line 6 [Clause 11], at end insert— ‘(7A)    Subsections (4) to (7) are not to be read  as preventing the governing body or head teacher  of a school within subsection (7B) from causing  or allowing PSHE to be taught in a way that  reflects the school’s religious character. (7B)    A school is within this subsection if it  is designated as a school having a religious  character by an order made by the Secretary  of State under section 69(3) of the School  Standards and Framework Act 1998.’. The governing bodies and head teachers of Voluntary Aided  schools are required to conduct their schools in accordance  with their Instrument of Government and the Trust Deed under  which they operate. The provisions of the amendment will  enable schools with a religious character to fulfil these  requirements in the teaching of Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education, which includes Sex and  Relationships Education (SRE). The teaching of all aspects of the curriculum in Catholic schools  reflects their religious ethos. In the same way, the SRE in  Catholic schools will be rooted in the Catholic Church’s  teaching of the profound respect for the dignity of all human persons." The disingenuity of this statement is, in my view, quite staggering. The Catholic Education Service has failed to tell the whole truth  about what is proposed in this Bill with regard to the  Sex and Relationships element.  As Fr Finigan and others have said, the amendment is worthless:  "since all schools, including Catholic schools, will still be required to give information about contraception, abortion, and homosexual partnerships: and they must teach a "range of views." In other words, whatever they do in terms of presenting teaching in a way that reflects the religious character of the school, they are not allowed to teach that Catholic doctrine is true." The question, which the CES's statement has ignored, remains: Does the teaching of the Catholic Church permit for Catholic schools to teach children how and where they can access contraception and abortion? Thanks to Fr. Finigan and John Smeaton