What your child's school should teach

Abortion in the curriculum

Abortion is usually addressed in schools within Religious Studies under headings like ‘matters of life and death’ alongside topics such as euthanasia. It may also be taught within the Sex and Relationships Education element of Personal, Social and Health Education.

Good practice

Abortion is a subject of abstract, moral, and real relevance to young people. The way in which schools teach abortion should reflect this by acknowledging and valuing a range of opinions about it, and by giving students accurate and impartial information to dispel myths and enable them to form their own beliefs. As with any topic, discussion of abortion should ensure that young people feel safe and respected when learning about it.

When abortion is discussed constructively with young people it can:

• Allow them to formulate their own opinions on an important contemporary issue
• Help them to consider ways in which to avoid unintended pregnancy and STIs
• Equip them with the knowledge and skills to stay healthy and make informed
  decisions about their lives
• Ensure that they know who they can talk to and where they can go for help and advice.

What your child’s school should do:

• When abortion is discussed in school it should be done in a way that enables open discussion of the subject, gives practical information about preventing pregnancy, and supports informed decision-making.
• Your child should not feel distressed by anything that they see or hear about abortion at school.

For further information on good practice in abortion education, click here.

Outside visitors

Schools often make use of outside visitors when teaching about abortion under either subject, so finding out which organisations visit will give you a good idea of the perspective given. Not all agencies work to good practice guidelines when addressing abortion, however, so the information provided may not always be accurate or impartial.

What you can do

• Find out where and when in the curriculum abortion is being discussed.
• Find out how the subject is being discussed at your child’s school:
• What is the content of any videos that are shown?
• Which organisations are invited into the school to talk to students?
• What teaching materials do they make use of when talking to students?
• Find out if the information being given to your child is accurate and impartial.

We would like to know about the quality of abortion education in your child’s school. If you would like to comment on it, please click here.