Orthodox schools deny pressing parents to withdraw pupils from sex ed classes
Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) classes are mandatory unless parents opt out, which some say they feel forced to do
Parents of strictly Orthodox Jewish children in the UK say schools are pressing them to withdraw their children from Relationship and Sex Education classes.
Two parents, speaking anonymously, told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme that two schools – Yesodeh Hatorah Senior Girls’ School and Lubavitch Senior Girls’ School – had urged them to write asking to take their children out of RSE lessons.
“Our children need sex education more than any other child in the country because our community is so insular,” said one parent. “There is no other way in which a child in this community could learn about healthy sex and relationships because the internet and all forms of national media are banned.”
Mandatory RSE lessons, which aim to explain not only the basics of reproduction but also different types of sexuality, gender and relationships, come into effect in schools next year. However, following pressure from faith group lobbyists, the Government recently agreed to a parental opt-out until children reach a certain age.
One telephone recording, obtained by the BBC programmes, shows someone from one of the schools telling a parent that “we need parents to formally say ‘I do not want you to teach my child about single-gender relationships or sex education in the school,’ unless you do, as a parent, want that”.
Parents said they sent the letter because they were “too scared” not to, since being seen to go against an Orthodox school on this matter would be seen as “not Jewish”.
Yesodeh Hatorah, which was found to have redacted helpline numbers during an Ofsted inspection last year, said most parents would expect sex and relationship education to be done “at home”. It described accusations of coercion as “entirely false,” arguing that the school simply gave parents information on the opt-out.
Meanwhile, a mother at Lubavitch said staff wrote to parents asking them to help “prevent” RSE lessons, telling the programme that she was “disgusted”. The school said any complaint lodged through the formal procedures would be dealt with.
In a statement to Jewish News, Lubavitch headteacher Helen Freeman said the school had “worked hard to ensure that parents are fully informed about the upcoming legislative changes pertaining to RSE”.
She added: “Our communication with parents was designed to enable parental choice. Our intention was to inform parents of their legal right to opt their children out of sex education, if they so choose.”
Meanwhile Yesodeh Hatorah Principal Rabbi Avroham Pinter hit out at both the BBC for pursuing a “hate campaign” and the anonymous parents, calling their complaints “vexatious”.
He said most parents of children at his school “do not expect their children to be given sex education in a school classroom,” adding: “It is therefore very important that we let parents know that their child will be given sex education at school – unless they opt out.”
At the time of publication the umbrella group Partnerships for Jewish Schools (PaJeS), a division of the Jewish Leadership Council, had not responded to this newspaper’s enquiries.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
