Last Updated: 07 Feb 2023
Sexuality Education: Scope and teaching approach
Sexuality Education is conducted in schools from Primary 5 to junior colleges and Millennia Institute. Find out what your child learns at each stage.
Overview
The MOE Sexuality Education curriculum is holistic and secular. It is taught through:
- Science lessons.
- Character and Citizenship Education lessons in primary schools, secondary schools, junior colleges and Millennia Institute.
- eTeens programme in secondary schools, junior colleges and Millennia Institute.
It is taught in the context of mainstream national values, according to students' developmental needs. Our Sexuality Education curriculum is anchored on Singapore’s prevailing family values and social norms, which the majority of Singaporeans want to uphold. Marriage is defined as being a union between a man and a woman.
Sexuality Education emphasises the importance of respect for self and others, both online and offline, and respecting personal boundaries for healthy relationships and safety. It aims to help students develop positive self-identities and healthy relationships, and make responsible decisions on sexuality matters.
Sexuality Education in schools promotes abstinence before marriage, and teaches facts about contraception, consequences of casual sex, prevention of diseases, and how to say “no” to sexual advances. This also helps to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases or teenage pregnancies.
Sexuality Education teaches students what homosexuality is and the importance of mutual understanding, respect and empathy for everyone.
Key themes
The MOE Sexuality Education curriculum is organised around 5 themes:
- Human development: the onset of puberty and its psychological and emotional impact.
- Interpersonal relationships: the skills and values for healthy and rewarding relationships with friends and family, including the opposite sex.
- Sexual health: information and attitudes to promote sexual health and avoid unwanted consequences of sexual behaviour.
- Sexual behaviour: expressions of sexuality and their effects.
- Culture, society and law: societal, cultural and legal influences on sexual identity and sexual expressions.
Curriculum
Sexuality Education is delivered through the following subjects and programmes:
Who it is for
Students in upper primary and secondary levels
What it covers
Upper primary levels
The concept of reproduction and inheritance is introduced to students.
Secondary levels
The following are covered in the lower secondary Science syllabus and the upper secondary Biology syllabus:
- Sexual reproduction in humans
- Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
- Medical advancements in human reproduction
Learn more about how Sexuality Education is covered in Science.
Who it is for
Students in primary and secondary schools, junior colleges and Millennia Institute
What it covers
Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) supports the Sexuality Education content area by teaching students to manage interpersonal relationships.
CCE builds the foundation for respectful, responsible and caring relationships by promoting positive attitudes towards self and others.
At lower primary, the CCE (Form Teacher Guidance Period) teaches social and emotional learning. Through lessons on safety and safeguarding, students learn to protect themselves from sexual abuse, both online and offline. They also learn about their right to safety, and how to seek help if they are sexually threatened or abused.
From Primary 5 to Year 2 in junior colleges or Millennia Institute, Sexuality Education lessons cover the physical, emotional, social and ethical aspects of sexuality. Examples of topics include:
- Building healthy and respectful relationships.
- Dating, going steady, and marriage.
- Issues in sexual health and behaviours.
- Consequences of teenage sexual activity and pregnancy.
- Influence of the online media on sexuality.
- Safety and protection from sexual abuse and grooming.
Learn more about the CCE syllabus for primary schools, secondary schools, and junior colleges and Millennia Institute.
Learn more about the Sexuality Education lessons.
Who it is for
Secondary 3 students and Year 1 students in junior colleges or Millennia Institute.
What it covers
Developed by the Health Promotion Board in collaboration with MOE, the programme covers:
- Information on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV.
- Abstinence, and how to avoid contracting STIs and HIV.
- Skills on making responsible decisions, being assertive and how to say “no” to sexual advances and resist peer pressure.
Learn more about the eTeens programme.
Schools may engage external providers to supplement their sexuality education programmes. Such programmes must comply with MOE’s Framework for Sexuality Education.
MOE will carry out periodic audits on these external programmes to ensure that schools comply with its guidelines on engaging external providers.
As an external provider, you can apply to conduct Sexuality Education programmes in schools.