‘I feel like I'm bearing the burden to change the whole planet.’ Secondary school teachers’ perspectives on implementing the new statutory ‘Relationships and Sex Education’ guidance. What are the challenges that remain, and how might they be overcome?

‘Relationships and Sex Education’ (RSE) is the first statutory guidance on Sexuality Education in England; making it compulsory. This follows many blaming the lack of statutory status for the poor quality of Sexuality Education. Despite this, a recent Ofsted review (2021) suggested it is still not consistently delivered effectively. Furthermore, some suggest RSE is not doing enough to tackle prevalent societal issues such as sexual harassment and violence, and the impact of misogynistic social influencers. While it is too early to look at the effects of the new RSE, it is not too early to look at its delivery, a precursor to achieving outcomes. As there is limited research on this, the research examines the delivery of RSE from the perspectives of those required to deliver it, teachers. The research utilised a mixed methods methodology to address the question ‘What do secondary school teachers perceive the challenges to be when implementing the new RSE guidance and how can they overcome these?’. In phase 1 a survey collected data from 82 secondary school RSE teachers and in phase 2 interviews were conducted with 6 of these participants. Statistical analysis of the quantitative data was used to begin to address the question and reflexive thematic analysis of the interview data further enhanced this understanding. The results of the research suggest that barriers such as a lack of training and resources persist. However, they also suggest there are more complex challenges such as wider societal discourse about RSE and a culture of anxiety. In terms of overcoming these issues the results suggest a whole school approach with senior management support, that incorporates pupil voice and acknowledges the unique pedagogical requirements of RSE. The author concludes that teachers will find it incredibly difficult to implement RSE effectively in the current context, meaning more support is required.