The Province of Ontario has unveiled their new “sex-ed” curriculum.
In press release issued on Monday, the province says they have created updated health and physical education curriculum to give students accurate information that will help keep them safe and healthy.
The province is also providing parents with resources “to help them understand and participate in what will be taught to their children.”
Starting September 2015, the updated curriculum will reflect health, safety and well-being realities faced by today’s students.
Updates to the curriculum include healthy relationships, consent, mental health, online safety and the risks of “sexting.”
The curriculum has also been updated to be more reflective of Ontario’s growing and diverse population, the province stated in the written release.
“We are updating the curriculum to ensure the safety and health of our students,” stated Liz Sandals, Minister of Education.
“Schools and parents both play an essential and complementary role in supporting student learning — including learning about human development and sexual health. We are listening to parents. That is why we are working with education partners to develop a number of resources for parents and educators about the curriculum and about issues impacting today’s children and youth.”
Resources to inform parents and to support learning at home include:
– An outline of the new Health and Physical Education curriculum for Grades 1-12.
– Guides on human development and sexual health part of the curriculum – one for Grades 1-6 and one for Grades 7-12.
– Quick reference sheets about healthy relationships and consent as well as online safety, including the risks of sexting.
The province said the revision of the health and physical education curriculum is the result of work done through the curriculum consultation, which began in 2007.
The review was “the most extensive curriculum consultation process ever undertaken by the ministry” and involved parents, students, teachers, faculties of education, universities, colleges and numerous stakeholder groups including the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, The Ontario Public Health Association and the Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition.
More than 70 health-related organizations submitted reports for consideration and thousands of people provided feedback.
