--::SHEU Governors Report Summary::--
Single-Sided Summary
REGIONAL GOVERNOR SURVEY 2002: SEX AND RELATIONSHIP EDUCATION
South-West Regional Health Authority Health Development Agency
Summary of findings from a survey of Chairs of School Governors in the South-West of England
A postal survey of chairs of governors of all schools in the South-West was carried out in the Spring of 2002, to determine their awareness of their responsibilities under the new Sex and Relationship Guidance.
The survey was planned and organised by a team of people: Christine MacInnes [Health Development Agency], Dali Sidebottom [Health Promotion Specialist], Brian Mackenzie [South-West Region Teenage Pregnancy Coordinator]. Support was also provided by Simon Goodenough of the National Governor's Council.
The services of the Schools Health Education Unit were used to carry out the survey, and process the resulting data.
A total of 911 questionnaires were returned from 2375 schools contacted by the end of the Spring, when no more were processed. This 38% response rate is quite typical of a postal survey, but is disappointing in that limited confidence can be given to any inferences about the whole population of schools. 97 governors requested further training.
Q1. Is your governing body aware of the contents and implications of the latest 'Sex and Relationship' guidance from the DfES? (July 2000).
18% of respondents said they were not aware of it at all, and a further 47% admitted only a small degree of awareness.
Q2. Does your school have a Sex Education/Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) Policy?
94% had a policy, with similar proportions in schools from the primary and secondary phases.
Q3. When was the SRE policy last reviewed and updated?
27% said that it had been reviewed in the last 6 months, a combined percentage of 55% reviewing it in the last year.
Q4: Is the SRE policy part of a broader Personal, Social & Health Education (PSHE) and Citizenship policy?
77% declare that their sex education policy is part of a broader approach to PSHE and Citizenship.
Q5: Who was involved in the development of the SRE policy?
The three groups most commonly involved in the development of policy were Headteachers (88%), Teachers (84%) and Governors (80%).
Q6: Which of these groups have been informed about the SRE policy?
From the same list we see the same top three with Headteachers, Teachers and Governors all at nearly 90%. Parents were said to be informed by 70% of schools and pupils by 23% of schools (47% of secondary schools).
Q7: In what ways has your SRE policy been put into practice in the school?
No prompts were given in this question. The most common classes of response were:
34% Formal sex education lessons; 26% Within PSHE (49% for secondary phase schools) ; 13% Programme for particular year groups ; 12% Science lessons ; 10% School nurse talks to Year 6
Q8: Who delivers SRE in your school?
From a list, the most commonly selected items from all schools were:
90% Teachers ; 43% School Nurse ; 25% PSHE teachers (78% in secondary schools) ; 14% Science Teachers (49% in secondary schools) ; 7% External agency (22% in secondary schools)
More schools report using a school nurse in delivery than in developing policy.
Q9. Is SRE training included in your school's Professional Development Strategy for Staff?
47% said yes (57% of secondary schools).
Conclusions and recommendations
Of the respondents, who might be among the more diligent of governors, awareness of recent official Guidance was not good. It may be that key governors were aware of it when they last revised their Sex and Relationship policy, but currently few claim familiarity with the Guidance document, which contains important guidance about confidentiality, dealing with sensitive issues and many other issues.
There is some evidence here of a need for specific Governor training: 97 returns specifically requested further training in this topic.
Pointers for repeating this type of survey are noted in the full report. A copy of the questionnaire with the full results is available on the SHEU website www.sheu.org.uk
South-West Regional Health Authority Health Development Agency
Summary of findings from a survey of Chairs of School Governors in the South-West of England
A postal survey of chairs of governors of all schools in the South-West was carried out in the Spring of 2002, to determine their awareness of their responsibilities under the new Sex and Relationship Guidance.
The survey was planned and organised by a team of people: Christine MacInnes [Health Development Agency], Dali Sidebottom [Health Promotion Specialist], Brian Mackenzie [South-West Region Teenage Pregnancy Coordinator]. Support was also provided by Simon Goodenough of the National Governor's Council.
The services of the Schools Health Education Unit were used to carry out the survey, and process the resulting data.
A total of 911 questionnaires were returned from 2375 schools contacted by the end of the Spring, when no more were processed. This 38% response rate is quite typical of a postal survey, but is disappointing in that limited confidence can be given to any inferences about the whole population of schools. 97 governors requested further training.
Q1. Is your governing body aware of the contents and implications of the latest 'Sex and Relationship' guidance from the DfES? (July 2000).
18% of respondents said they were not aware of it at all, and a further 47% admitted only a small degree of awareness.
Q2. Does your school have a Sex Education/Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) Policy?
94% had a policy, with similar proportions in schools from the primary and secondary phases.
Q3. When was the SRE policy last reviewed and updated?
27% said that it had been reviewed in the last 6 months, a combined percentage of 55% reviewing it in the last year.
Q4: Is the SRE policy part of a broader Personal, Social & Health Education (PSHE) and Citizenship policy?
77% declare that their sex education policy is part of a broader approach to PSHE and Citizenship.
Q5: Who was involved in the development of the SRE policy?
The three groups most commonly involved in the development of policy were Headteachers (88%), Teachers (84%) and Governors (80%).
Q6: Which of these groups have been informed about the SRE policy?
From the same list we see the same top three with Headteachers, Teachers and Governors all at nearly 90%. Parents were said to be informed by 70% of schools and pupils by 23% of schools (47% of secondary schools).
Q7: In what ways has your SRE policy been put into practice in the school?
No prompts were given in this question. The most common classes of response were:
34% Formal sex education lessons; 26% Within PSHE (49% for secondary phase schools) ; 13% Programme for particular year groups ; 12% Science lessons ; 10% School nurse talks to Year 6
Q8: Who delivers SRE in your school?
From a list, the most commonly selected items from all schools were:
90% Teachers ; 43% School Nurse ; 25% PSHE teachers (78% in secondary schools) ; 14% Science Teachers (49% in secondary schools) ; 7% External agency (22% in secondary schools)
More schools report using a school nurse in delivery than in developing policy.
Q9. Is SRE training included in your school's Professional Development Strategy for Staff?
47% said yes (57% of secondary schools).
Conclusions and recommendations
Of the respondents, who might be among the more diligent of governors, awareness of recent official Guidance was not good. It may be that key governors were aware of it when they last revised their Sex and Relationship policy, but currently few claim familiarity with the Guidance document, which contains important guidance about confidentiality, dealing with sensitive issues and many other issues.
There is some evidence here of a need for specific Governor training: 97 returns specifically requested further training in this topic.
Pointers for repeating this type of survey are noted in the full report. A copy of the questionnaire with the full results is available on the SHEU website www.sheu.org.uk