New resources to support relationships & sexuality education guidelines
Wed 27 Apr 2022
These resources are designed to support schools and kura to implement the Relationship and Sexuality Guidelines.
The Ministry of Education's Relationships and Sexuality Education guidelines were updated in 2020. The new resources are designed to support using the new guidelines to plan for teaching, learning, and assessment in relationships and sexuality education.
The resource collection includes six videos that highlight examples of effective practice of schools in Aotearoa New Zealand for different parts of the guidelines.
The collection also includes an overview for programme planning considerations and individual guides addressing:
- Effective pedagogy in relationships and sexuality education
- Relationships and sexuality education progressions
- Relationships and sexuality education key learning and the underlying concepts of health and physical education
- Frequently queried topics by student years.
Other resources in the collection include an interactive Guide to LGBTIQA+ students and the guide Ka huri i te kōrero: changing the conversation around pornography, developed jointly by the Ministry of Education and the Classification Office to support school teachers to talk about pornography.
In announcing the resources, Associate Education Minister Jan Tinetti said “These new resources reflect feedback that schools need to take more action against bullying, violence, and child abuse, to be more inclusive, and to help students recognise the importance of diversity and respect in relationships. The new resources, along with the curriculum guide released in 2020, are our response to these calls.”
Related news
The announcement of the resources has prompted calls for compulsory consent education (see related media below). However, Associate Professor Melanie Beres has previously written about the need to move beyond consent education, commenting that
"If we want to reduce Aotearoa’s sexual violence rates, we need to shift our focus from solely teaching young people about consent and instead work to dismantle harmful gender norms that have trapped our youth for generations."
Media outlet Stuff has reported that ACC has confirmed that funding for Mates & Dates healthy relationships programme will end in December 2022. The Mates & Dates programme aims to prevent sexual and dating violence by teaching young people the knowledge and skills to engage in safe, healthy and respectful relationships. Stuff further reported that ACC is working with the Ministry of Education to evolve healthy consensual relationships education for young people as part of the national strategy Te Aorerekura.
Related media
Ready Steady Learn w/ Marta Estellés: April 26, 2022, 95bfm, 26.04.2022 (for more information see the Arts Beyond Borders website)
Dawn Picken: Let's talk about sex - part II, Bay of Plenty Times, 23.04.2022
Schools look out for rainbow policies, Waatea News, 20.04.2022
'Contraception never came up': sex ed in Catholic high schools, Re:News, 20.04.2022
Students welcome inclusive sexuality education, One News, 13.04.2022
Government gives school sex education a refresh but it won't be compulsory, Newshub, 13.04.2022
Image: Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
