Roles of Stakeholders
Role of School
The principal plays a pivotal role in sexuality education in school, setting the direction, providing structured time for the programme in school and ensuring that it is delivered in keeping with MOE’s framework. Each school will have a team of teachers, specially chosen by the principal, and trained by MOE, to deliver class-based lessons on sexuality education. School counsellors, or AED (Counselling), will also be available to advise and counsel pupils on sexuality matters.
Role of Parents
Parents bear the main responsibility for the sexuality education of their children. To communicate a coherent message to pupils, it is ideal that parents are involved in the delivery of sexuality education in schools. Parents can be involved by discussing assigned homework with their children. They can also ask to sit in during such programmes and provide feedback to schools on their programmes. Interested parents are encouraged to contact their children’s schools to make the necessary arrangements.
Role of Students
Studies have shown that most teenagers get their information through friends. Students are encouraged to ask questions and seek their teacher’s or school counsellor’s help if they need to clarify issues or know where to get assistance. They should also seek their parents’ guidance on moral issues.
Role of the Community
MOE will appoint a panel of external providers who can provide professional advice and additional resources to schools. These external providers can mount complementary programmes that support the teaching of sexuality in schools in line with MOE’s sexuality education framework.
External providers interested in conducting sexuality education programmes in schools can visit the Information for External Providers webpages for more information.
Parents’ Choice and Opting Out
Recognising that parents are ultimately responsible for their children’s moral development, parents can opt their children out of the entire school sexuality education programme or just for individual topics, talks or workshops if they so decide. Opt out forms can be found on the school’s website from 1 September 09 onwards and completed forms should be sent to your child’s school.
Parents can support their children in sexuality education by:
- initiating discussions on sexuality issues;
- emphasising the importance of responsible behaviour;
- being open to discuss their own beliefs and values;
- being available to give advice and guidance to their children.
Parents who wish to know more about how they could better communicate with their children on sexuality issues can also download the booklet “Love Them, Talk about Sex — A guide to help parents communicate with their children on sexuality issues1”.
Footnotes
- “Love Them, Talk about Sex — A guide to help parents communicate with their children on sexuality issues” booklet is jointly produced by Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and Health Promotion Board (HPB), first published in March 2008. ↩