Carborundum (Diary, TES, March 10) will be pleased to know that Hillingdon’s guidelines on sex education do not include the excerpt which heshe found baffling.
When the education committee considered the draft guidelines in January, we decided that the section on the spiritual dimension was indeed too “mystical” and so this was replaced by a shorter section on developing moral values. Governors and heads are now being invited to comment on the guidelines before they are finalised.
The spiritual dimension of life does in fact feature in relevant statements from the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority, the Office for Standards in Education and the former National Curriculum Council.
The original section in our guidelines was an attempt to summarise these statements. I agree that the result was confusing, but defining the spiritual side of life is not easy. Would Carborundum like to try?
PETER RYERSON
Chair Education committee London borough of Hillingdon.
