Some have cautiously welcomed the Government’s new school RSHE guidance for England. However, Dr Julie Maxwell, paediatrician and C4M board member, reveals its sinister anti-marriage agenda that undermines the family from the outset. Please watch our brief conversation here.
Dr Maxwell is clear what the guidance leaves out: “there is absolutely nothing about the benefits of marriage at all in the guidance”. Completely ignoring the social good of marriage is a political choice, not a neutral one.
The new guidance equalises same-sex relationships with man-woman marriage, which is at the core of its anti-marriage agenda. This asks children to ignore biological reality, serious lifestyle consequences and population-level outcomes. It is a fundamental category error.
Parents do get some new leverage. The guidance requires real transparency. Paragraph 15(b) states: “All materials should be available to parents” (page 5).
The section “Openness with parents about RSHE materials” is explicit: paragraph 56 instructs schools to “ensure that parents are able to view all curriculum materials used to teach RSHE on request”; paragraph 57 says schools “should not agree to any contractual restrictions on showing parents any content that the school will use”; and paragraph 58 makes clear that any clauses preventing sharing with parents “are void and unenforceable” (pages 33–34).
We encourage parents to use these rights, so I’ve referenced them explicitly. Ask to see everything in writing.
The overall tone of the guidance matters too. Dr Maxwell says: “what is not there is any sort of positive teaching about being a man, being a woman, what masculinity, what femininity should be like”. That absence harms identity formation and weakens the case for family life.
Yet, the facts about marriage still speak for themselves. As Dr Maxwell says: “the greatest predictor of stability at home is marriage”. UK evidence bears this out. On average, cohabiting parents separate more often than married parents, with consequences for children.
C4M would recommend practical next steps for parents. Ask your school for their RSHE curriculum map. Ask for every slide, worksheet and video. Quote the precise paragraphs above. If a school runs overt Pride events or similar, use these complaint guides:
At C4M our aim is plain. Champion the unique, child-centred good of one-man one-woman marriage, and press policymakers and schools to reflect it. Every child has a mother and a father, whatever their living arrangements. Policy should not pretend otherwise. This new guidance creates much more room for activist involvement, and flattens real marriage into just another option.
Parents must take a stand, and be more vigilant than ever. Expose the agenda in your school and use your rights. It is down to us. Use the guides linked in this document, pass them on, and get involved. We will yet restore real marriage to its rightful place.