More than three-quarters of recent school leavers reported they didn’t learn enough about consent, managing feelings and emotions, and personal safety, including online.

“Young people are increasingly exposed to risks, including harmful online content,” Ruth Shinoda, head of ERO’s Education Evaluation Centre, said in a statement..

“For example, two-thirds of our country’s 14-17-year-olds have seen pornography. We know that this can impact on students’ perceptions of healthy sexual behaviours

“Relationships and sexuality education plays an important role in teaching students to identify and reject misinformation and harmful attitudes. Nearly all parents and students want relationships and sexuality education taught in New Zealand’s schools.”

However, ERO said it is concerned that that there is too much variability in what is taught. What students learn about and when depends too much on where they go to school.

Nearly a quarter of schools deliver relationships and sexuality education on an ad-hoc basis.

Relationships and sexuality education needs to meet parents’ expectations and students’ needs, however parents and students don’t always agree on what should be taught and when, ERO said.

The report found a third of parents want relationships and sexuality education taught differently.

Parents and students want to learn earlier about personal safety (including online), friendships, and bullying.

Many parents also want students to learn more about consent. Boys want to learn all topics later than girls, and fathers want less relationships and sexuality education taught than mothers.

ERO found that students’ and parents’ views are most split on when and how much they should learn about gender and sexual identity.

“This makes it very challenging for schools who are caught in the middle and have to consult and decide what to teach,” Shinoda said.

“Schools find this difficult and teachers find it stressful – almost half of school leaders report consulting is challenging.

“This can lead schools to reduce or avoid teaching relationships and sexuality education, and students miss out on core knowledge,” Sinoda said.

ERO recommended implementing a curriculum that is clearer about the core knowledge and skills all students need, and increasing RSE teaching in senior secondary, when many students need it most.

The Government's external education evaluation agency is also calling for schools to be required to inform and explain to parents what will be taught in relationships and sexuality education, rather than consult.

Schools, it said, must make sure parents know how they can withdraw their students from relationships and sexuality education classes if what is being taught isn’t what they want for their child.

These changes would strengthen relationships and sexuality education for students, make it easier for schools to teach it, and would make relationships and sexuality education in New Zealand more consistent with other countries.

The ERO report has been welcomed by the NZPPTA.

“In an increasingly fractured and online world, it is important that parents and whānau know what their rangatahi are learning at school. Nowhere is this more important than in relationships and sexuality education,” president Chris Abercrombie said in a statement.

“The 21 key findings and the seven recommendations will make a welcome difference to the experience of RSE for all of our ākonga.

“In particular, the recommendation to move away from the current ad hoc practice towards a more prescriptive and structured approach is one we support in this case,” he added.  

“RSE is too important to be left to chance, and often much of the material is outside of the lived experience of those delivering the curriculum. A structured approach ensures age-appropriate, identity-affirming information is delivered across the board.”

Abercrombie hoped student voice will be recognised when the curriculum is reviewed, and that any changes are properly resourced.