NAT is working to educate young people about HIV, so that the next generation can safeguard their own sexual health and help to break down the stigma and discrimination around HIV.

We have produced a free HIV in Schools pack that gives teachers resources to help integrate HIV into the national curriculum for key stages three and four across a range of subjects. This is a practical resource for teachers providing innovative and simple ideas on how to get students thinking and talking about HIV. 

We also help schools understand their responsibilities to staff and pupils who are living with HIV. You can find out more in our section aimed at helping schools meet the needs of people living with HIV. 

NAT has recently responded to the Department of Education's consultation over the review of Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education.

Sex Education in Schools

Education in schools has a crucial role to play in ensuring a wide level of public understanding of the prevention, transmission and realities of living with HIV. NAT believes that Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) is central to this aim. 

SRE is vital because it enables young people to:

• Understand what is risky behaviour and what is not

• Be able to negotiate condom use and safer sex

• Avoid being pressured into unwanted or unprotected sex, particularly linked to issues of peer pressure, drugs and alcohol.

Current provision

NAT is a member of the Sex Education Forum, which has campaigned in for a number of years to make Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE), which includes Sex and Relationships Education (SRE), a compulsory part of the school curriculum.  

Presently, however, the status of sex education varies across the UK. PSHE (and SRE) is strongly recommended by the government to schools in England, but schools are only compelled to teach the biological side of sex, contraception and STIs - including the basic scientific facts of HIV transmission. Outside of PSHE, English schools are also required to inform students of HIV as part of the basic curriculum – although there is no guidance as to how.  In Wales and Northern Ireland, it is compulsory to teach SRE and Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) respectively, with devolved governments recommending that at least some information on HIV is taught to children of all ages. Scotland, however, is the only nation in the UK to have no element of compulsory SRE or HIV education at all. NAT has developed a briefing with more information on the current status of SRE across the UK can be found here.

There are also concerns that occasionally even where SRE is provided, the quality can be insufficient or inconsistent. A recent OfSted report found that around one-third of English schools have gaps in their provision of PSHE, with SRE among the areas specified. As a result of all this, many young people across the UK leave school without receiving adequate education about how to protect themselves from HIV and STIs when having sexual relationships. A survey by the Sex Education Forum in England found that only 69.8% of students had learnt about HIV and AIDS in school, with 44.8% of respondents to a different question saying that they felt they had not learnt all that they needed to know about the topic (a further 9% were ‘unsure’). This corresponds to a separate 2010 poll conducted by Ipsos MORI, commissioned by NAT, which found that around 44% of people would be interested to know more about the reality of living with HIV today. 

The need for better HIV teaching 

It is vital that HIV is normalised and opportunities are created for people to learn about HIV in the same way as they learn about other health conditions and disabilities. Young people – especially young gay men, who remain the group of young people most at risk from HIV infection – need to be equipped with the knowledge to protect themselves, in an environment where they can talk openly about sex, sexuality and relationships. NAT’s IPSOS Mori poll showed that 85% of the public agreed that young people should be taught about HIV in secondary school and have a good understanding of it by the time they leave. But SRE is not just about prevention - it is also about tackling the damaging stigma and discrimination that persists against people living with HIV.

NAT’s long-term aspiration is that every young person leaves school with high quality SRE education and comprehensive knowledge of the realities of HIV. The Government has recently announced a review of PSHE in England to which NAT intends to contribute, and will call on the Government to ensure that future PSHE addresses HIV fully, as well as same-sex relationships, stigma and discrimination. NAT will also continue to work with parliamentarians to argue that this education should be made compulsory in all parts of the UK. 

Finally, as well as promoting its schools pack on teaching HIV, NAT are calling for effective training for all teachers delivering PSHE to ensure that they can teach these topics in a confident and sensitive way.

More information about the Sex Education Forum is available on its website.

Pupils affected by HIV

There are currently around 1000 children and young people living with HIV in the UK, with at least 20,000 young people affected – including those in households where someone has HIV.  

Sometimes children affected by HIV face discrimination at school, including exclusions, breaches of confidentiality and less favourable treatment. Such discrimination is a consequence of teachers not understanding the facts about HIV. Having a child living with HIV in school poses no risk to staff or pupils. HIV is not passed on by spitting, biting, small cuts or grazes, sharing utensils or toilets seats.  There has been no known case of HIV transmission in a school.  Virtually all children living with HIV are completely healthy for the majority of their school career.  They have regular clinical check-ups and those that need medication may take it at home once or twice a day.  Despite this, in the past information contained within the Department of Education’s own resources has, for example, implied a risk-assessment needs to be carried out for children living with HIV and that they might not be able to take part in certain lessons.

NAT and have been campaigning for the Department for Education to help end discrimination against children affected by HIV by taking proactive steps to ensure that schools understand their legal responsibilities (under the Equality Act 2010) towards children living with HIV. NAT is also working with the Department for Education to ensure that the Department’s resources for teachers provide a true picture of the realities of children living with HIV, along with clear and accurate advice for the classroom.  If you have encountered any instances of children affected by HIV facing discrimination in schools, or to share your thoughts and experiences on education and HIV more generally, please email the Policy and Campaigns Team. 

For more information about NAT’s parliamentary campaigns, click here.