Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)

I turn first to Amendments 466 and 467, both of which were tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Sandhurst. Amendment 466 seeks to ensure that all external resources used in schools within the relationships, sex and health education curriculum are published, and Amendment 467 seeks to ensure that the department issues guidance which includes an instruction not to prevent parents from requesting to view copies of RSHE school material and not to enter into commercial confidentiality agreements that would prevent schools from showing materials to parents. In July 2025, we published updated RSHE statutory guidance, which now makes it clear that there is a public interest in parents being able to see what their children are being taught. This is particularly important regarding RSHE, where, as noble Lords have suggested, content is often sensitive and covers issues on which there are differences of opinion. The legal requirement for schools to publish their relationships and sex education policies, and to consult parents on them, has been in place since 2020. However, we have gone further in our revised statutory guidance, which is now clear that schools should ensure that parents are able to view all RSHE materials on request. As the noble Lord, Lord Sandhurst, identified, these issues are expressed particularly clearly in the guidance from paragraph 55 onwards. To reassure noble Lords, I will quote some of the key sentences in the guidance. Paragraph 56 is clear that schools “should ensure that parents are able to view all”— the word “all” is underlined— “curriculum materials used to teach RSHE on request”. On the important point made by my noble friend Lady Thornton, the guidance is also clear that parents are not able to veto curriculum content, and that schools must consult with parents when developing their RSHE policy. It is right that parents can see what their children are being taught, especially in relation to sensitive topics, and schools should respond positively to requests from parents to see material.