Alice Hoyle, a founding Trustee of the Sex Education Forum and longstanding Advisor, reflects on over a decade of voluntary involvement with the organisation.
In 2004, as a university student, studying zoology, I phoned up the Sex Education Forum to ask how I could get a career in sex education. Anna Martinez was Coordinator at the time, and spent a good while chatting through my options, and this cemented for me that a career in Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) was my chosen path.
I qualified as a Science teacher and went onto lead Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education in my school. In 2008 I joined the PSHE Association Advisory Council, a role I held for over five years. My involvement in voluntary sector organisation’s dedicated to PSHE and RSE increased over the years that followed, for example as Coordinator of the RSE Hub and a co-lead on Durex Education’s DO… initiative.
The Sex Education Forum is a place that brings together organisations and individuals with a shared commitment to quality RSE based on a clear set of values and principles. After that initial phone call with Anna, I kept in touch with the Sex Education and found a wide range of ways to be involved in a voluntary capacity such as live tweeting at events and commenting on draft publications. My early involvement gave me the opportunity to facilitate a training session for other Sex Education Forum members on how to use social media, for those less savvy with platforms like Twitter and Facebook, in order to promote quality RSE to a range of networks.
From the classroom to the Sex Education Forum Advisory Group meeting room
This involvement with the Sex Education Forum left me wanting to become more involved in the running of the organisation. So, in 2012 I stood for election to the Advisory Group. I attended my first ever meeting with a four month old baby in a sling (such was the Sex Education Forum’s commitment to inclusion!). It was an eventful decade in the run up to statutory Relationships and Sex Education in 2018 and I am so proud of the role I played in helping shape documents like ‘The 12 Principles of good RSE”, the 2014 supplementary advice and Sex Education Forum toolkits and e-magazines - to date, this work remains the foundation of the organisation’s messaging.
Taking the Sex Education Forum to the next chapter
Just over two years ago, in 2020, the Sex Education Forum made the decision to establish itself as an independent charity. At the time this was a big and bold undertaking for the organisation but one that paid off!
I was a member of the Advisory Group leading this successful move and I was proud to become a founding Trustee of the new charity. It has been amazing to be part of this process, which has only been possible because a team of committed individuals gave freely of their time to achieve this. After 18 enjoyable months as a Trustee it became time for me to step aside and release a little more of my time for other commitments, particularly the needs of my family. I have loved every minute of volunteering my time for the Sex Education Forum to help network, collaborate, strategise, communicate, evidence and innovate in the Relationships and Sex Education sector.
I am pleased to say that this is really not a goodbye, it is more a sidestep. I am still as committed and enthusiastic about the Sex Education Forum as I ever was, and intend to be present at all the key meetings to share my energy, enthusiasm and optimism for the quality and evidenced-based RSE for all young people.
I am incredibly proud of the work we have all achieved together so far and long may it continue! My advice to anyone with a passion for RSE is to get involved in the work of the Sex Education Forum; it’s a place to bring your interests and expertise. By working together as an RSE community we can make a difference to the lives of countless young people across the country and even further afield.
I look forward to seeing you all soon!
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