Schools have been identified as key environments in which to undertake sexual health promotion, reaching children and young people before they become sexually active. Yet teachers often feel unsupported in this work, and may lack both the skills and the confidence to deliver sexuality and sexual health education effectively.

Sexuality and sexual health education is taught in NSW public schools in an age-appropriate way as part of the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) K-10 Syllabus.

Teachers are guided by the age-appropriate content within the syllabus to meet the learning and support needs of students in their class.

PDHPE is mandatory from Kindergarten to Year 10. In Years 11 and 12, students in public schools participate in Life Ready. Life Ready builds on student learning from PDHPE in the junior years of schooling.

Quality sexuality and sexual health education focuses on safety, respect for self and others, relationships and friendships, personal rights and responsibilities, effective communication, diversity and inclusion, abstinence, safer sexual practices, informed decision-making, access to services and help-seeking behaviours and skills.

Studies show that effective sexuality and sexual health education programs can:

• reduce misinformation
• increase correct knowledge
• clarify and strengthen positive values and attitudes
• increase skills to make informed decisions and act upon them
• improve perceptions about peer groups and social norms
• increase communication with parents, carers or trusted adults.

Research also shows that programs sharing the above characteristics can help to:

• abstain from or delay the debut of sexual relations
• reduce the frequency of unprotected sexual activity
• reduce the number of sexual partners
• increase the use of protection against unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) during sexual intercourse.

School programs have remained among the most trusted sources of information for young people across the past decade, whereas the Internet remains low on the list of trusted sources.

The principles for sexuality and sexual health education provide a framework of evidence-based practices and values to support effective sexuality and sexual health education practice within schools. The principles should be used by school staff to inform the planning, implementation and review of school-based sexuality and sexual health education programs, policies and practices.