"Explicit" Sex Ed Report: A product of Christian Nationalism

Validity of report called into question

A report into “explicit” sex education in UK schools sent to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made headlines after questions were asked in Prime Minister’s Questions regarding its contents in UK schools. Sunak seems set to order a review of Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) based on a report claiming children were being taught inappropriately explicit content and harmful ideology.

New Social Covenant Unit @SocialCovenant

Watch @RishiSunak commit to a review of Relationships and Sex Education guidance in response to Miriam Cates' campaign to end the use of inappropriate, extreme and inaccurate material in schools. She calls this a 'catastrophe for childhood' that undermines parents.

On Friday 10 March Amanda Speilman the head of the schools’ inspectorate Ofsted appeared to back the report and Sunak’s proposed review. Her intervention is being seen as verification of the report’s validity.

This isn’t the first time Speilman, has waded into culture wars in a way to suggest claims made in right wing media were well founded.

Schools Week @SchoolsWeek

Teachers should 'not be campaigners' on contested issues, @Ofstednews chief inspector @amanda_spielman will say today, urging staff to maintain their 'own impartiality' while guiding pupils through 'disputed territory' schoolsweek.co.uk/be-teachers-no… #Ofsted #EducationFest

schoolsweek.co.uk‘Be teachers not campaigners’ urges Ofsted chiefAmanda Spielman tells teachers to maintain their ‘own impartiality’

Questionable Evidence

While the report is over a hundred pages long it’s incredibly lacking in evidence to back many claims.

Mikey Smith, the Mirror’s Whitehall corespondent’s has a thread going through the report.

Mikey Smith @mikeysmith

Let's start with today's question from Miriam Cates. NCSU has published a ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR page report on the sex ed landscape in schools. Not one of these claims is backed up by the report. newsocialcovenant.co.uk/RSE%20BRIEFING…

Tabitha McIntosh @TabitaSurge

Here is how all this bullshit is being confected: none of this is taught in schools. At all. The Safe Schools Alliance, Cates and other bad faith, bigoted nightmares are going to the *adult* sex education sections of young people's sex education provider websites, then wailing

Bad Writing Takes 🖊️🏳️‍🌈 @BadWritingTakes

This entire article in the Times attacking Sex Ed is completely indistinguishable from an average r/thathappened post. According to the article 🧵 (1) An anonymous father claims that their anonymous 12-year-old was driven into a panic attack by hearing that trans people exist.

New Social Covenant

The report was produced by the New Social Covenant as covered by the Byline Times.

See below for gull article with more details on the wider Conservative Nationalism movement and it's influential characters such as Peter Thiel and Balzas Orban, Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán's political director.

“No compromise with the left”

Having put considerable resources and effort into ramping up the culture wars, the radical right now seems intent on legislating for victory.

A piece in the Federalist from October 2022 clearly sets out the direction of travel for the culture wars.

Karam Bales @karamballes

2/ This is from the Federalist which is a big driver of the culture wars agenda in the US and influences debate in the UK "Accommodation or compromise with the left is impossible"

Karam Bales @karamballes

3/ It argues power must be wielded to destroy the left and install Christian Nationalism Starve Universities of funds that don't toe the line Remove "travesty of no fault divorce" Forget about libertarianism, remove the mask and underneath is fascism

Karam Bales @karamballes

5/ Take your kid to a drag show= arrested for child abuse Make gender transitioning illegal Lock up teachers

Karam Bales @karamballes

6/ No compromise, no freedom of speech its about stopping the left, while they want a small state when it comes to things like health and housing, they want a big state on culture issues to be wielded like a blunt instrument

Karam Bales @karamballes

7/ They even point out that this approach is the path to fascism and the end of democracy but we shouldn't worry about that until after the war has been won

Orban

Viktor Orbán authoritarian approach is being held up as a model for right wing politics across the world.

Family and education was a theme at last year's Hungarian CPAC.

Byline Times @BylineTimes

🔴EXCLUSIVE🔴 Charity linked to Viktor Orbán Wants to ‘Take Over’ British Schools to Promote Far-Right Pro-Russia Propaganda @NafeezAhmed & @karamballes report on a ‘free speech’ campaign with links to a Government which curtails freedom of expression bylinetimes.com/2022/06/08/cha…

bylinetimes.comCharity linked to Viktor Orbán Wants to ‘Take Over’ British Schools to Promote Far-Right Pro-Russia Propaganda – Byline TimesNafeez Ahmed and Karam Bales report on a ‘free speech’ campaign with ties to the Hungarian Government and its record of curtailing freedom of expression

Frank Furedi and a number of members of the Free Speech Union’s team and boards will also be speaking at the London Conservative Nationalism conference in May.

DeSantis

DeSantis has a strong chance of becoming the next Republican presidential candidate, his heavy handed approach to exerting control over education, alongside his anti-abortion and anti-covid vax policies has made him popular among the members of the Council for National Policy who have become the power brokers of the Republican Party.

Report: US Culture Wars in UK schools

Think of the children

The NSC report repeats the tried and tested tactic of weaponising natural concern for children's safety to promote ideological policies, Cates and Kruger also quoted disinformation groups in Parliament when they called for a halt of the roll out of covid vaccines to childen. The failure of much of the UK press to examine the report’s evidence base, the ideology of the NSC and UK politicians’ links to the radical right will lead to inaccurate information becoming established as “fact” within the media and minds of many in the public.

This is the aim of the NSC report, to create the discussion space to promote the policies of Conservative/Christian Nationalism. The radical right are willing to play the long game, it took them forty years after the founding of the Council for National Policy to repeal Roe vs Wade and it took years to achieve Brexit, this is why there is such a focus on taking control of education, its about ensuring the ideological purity of the next generation.