NSW schools to begin rollout of new consent lessons in term 3

New lesson plans will be rolled out in NSW schools from term 3, to help students understand sexual consent and how to build respectful relationships.

New lessons will be rolled out in physical education classes to help students understand sexual consent and how to build respectful relationships.

The Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) syllabus that became compulsory last year mentions the word “consent” eight times but is not explicit about how best to teach the sensitive lessons.

From next term, teachers will have access to lesson plans that will help students understand sexual consent and how to build respectful relationships.

The Sunday Telegraph can also reveal the education ­department has begun a full audit of the consent education teaching materials provided to public school PDHPE teachers in acknowledgment that “young people have called for better consent education at school” and due to the “prevalence of sexual assault and sexual violence among children and young people”.

The new lesson plans will be written by experienced former PDHPE teachers employed by the education department and will be available for teachers at public, private and Catholic schools from next term.

“The resources will be available on the department’s Learning Resources Hub, they will be quality assured and produced by subject matter ­experts,” Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said.

“Our consent curriculum content in the PDHPE curriculum is the strongest in Australia, and these resources will ensure teachers can deliver it in the best way possible.”

NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell. Picture: NCA NewsWire

For example, PDHPE teachers of students aged ­between 12 and 14 will be given lesson plans that include ways to practise giving and receiving consent, scenarios for students to identify examples where sexual consent has been given and received, and how to identify the body’s reaction to uncomfortable situations.

Teachers will not be forced to adopt the lesson plans, but the education department will be able to monitor which schools download the material.

From next year the government will intervene at public schools where students’ wellbeing is suffering, as identified through data from biannual psychometric testing called the “Tell Them From Me” surveys.

While not designed specifically to weed out sexual harassment or sexual violence, the new School Success Model will see principals sidelined if they preside over schools where students feel insulted, embarrassed or threatened.

The government has touted the new sexual consent lesson plans as the “first major step” following a statement of intent signed in March that committed all schools to taking “concrete actions” to strengthen their students’ ability to form healthy relationships and prevent harmful situations.

“This government has made very clear its intentions to work with the community to combat sexual violence,” Ms Mitchell said.

PARENTS CAN LEARN HOW TO TALK TO TEENS

Parents will be brought into the fold on sexual consent education, with a survey to ascertain what help they need discussing sex with their children.

The education department will conduct surveys of all public school P & C groups to find out what parents know about sexual consent and what advice they want, included how-to guides for teaching teens about ­consent.

Webinars will also be held this month to explain to P & C groups what is being taught in schools about consent and ­respectful relationships.

The move has been welcomed by parents who want help navigating the hot-button issue that has come under the microscope since 6000 mainly school-aged teens contributed personal testimonies of sexual assault to activist Chanel Contos’ petition for better consent education.

Mother Jacqueline Somosi, whose 16-year-old son Axel ­attends Randwick Boys’ High School, said she would welcome any advice navigating awkward conversations about sex with her teenager.

Jacqueline Somosi with her son Axel, 16. Picture: Tim Hunter

“It can be awkward for parents to find the right language to start conversations with their children about what respectful ­relationships look like and what consent means in a theoretical and practical sense,” Ms Somosi said.

“As a parent, sometimes it’s easy to forget what it’s like being a teenager and I welcome any tips on the right type of language or scenarios to best explain sexual consent.

“I take the opportunity to have the conversation about consent when I’m alone in the car because he can’t escape and we are not making direct eye contact. 

“I can sense he’s cringing and wanting it to stop, but I know he listens.

“My child is a great kid with great friends, but I still have the conversation because I could be blind to things.

“I would be mortified if he turned out as a man that didn’t respect women.

“Raising a respectful man is a very important part of my job as a mother.”

Ms Somosi also welcomed better insight into what students were being taught about sexual consent in class.

The webinars will also better explain to P & C groups what “concrete action” the school sectors committed to take in response to the increasingly apparent rape culture in NSW schools.

“Parents are partners in their child’s education,” Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said.

“I want to know they have everything they need to have these important conversations with their children.”