Life to the Full

Aims

The Voice of the Family investigation into our Life to the Full programme calls into question our presentation of Catholic teaching. This report and response has three key aims:

• Firstly, we want to disprove the three major criticisms by responding to the details highlighted in the report. We will show how, all too often, the examples given involve a misrepresentation of our work. Specific text and images are frequently taken out of context and comments are laced with language intended to shock and appall.

• Secondly, in looking at the points raised, we will share examples of our content, including relevant clips from different sessions, graphics and an explanation of how we unfold Catholic teaching in a clear and compelling way.

• Thirdly, we will share links to new Year 9 content that has not been reviewed in the Voice of the Family report. We are doing this to demonstrate how we continually develop and improve the programme, and part of this involves listening carefully to feedback from stakeholders and critics.

By the end of this report, we are fully confident you will be able to recognise both the quality of what we do and the authentically Catholic approach that we take.

1. Repeatedly abandons, subverts or contradicts Catholic teaching
2. Undermines the role of parents
3. Promotes content that ‘sexualises’ children.

I will be considering each of these claims in turn, following the structure of the Voice of the Family report and dealing with specific criticisms. It is worth noting that we have not addressed every single criticism. We have chosen instead to provide depth in our response so that we can fully show our pedagogical approach to the subject matter.

The following shortcut links allow you to navigate through the report in whatever way you want:

We would also like to share with you a full 9-minute clip from our new Year 9 content on ‘Marriage and Commitment’. There are four units and this first unit shows how we start from the ground up, using student voice and scenarios and then move to articulate a vision for marriage that is beautiful, challenging and inspiring.

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The stated aims of this session are described in this way:

Exploring issues of prejudice, discrimination and homophobic bullying, including a Holocaust case study, pupils will learn that we are called to love and respect one another as children of God with value and dignity that far surpasses our culture, race, religion, sexual orientation, choices and attitudes. Pupils will be given the opportunity to examine and commit to changing their own behaviour.

Given the stated aims, it is true that there are some significant elements of Church teaching (for example, about same-sex couples adopting) that are simply beyond the scope of this session. We also made the prudent decision not to use the theologically correct language of the Catechism (‘grave depravity’, ‘objectively disordered’ etc) because as resource providers we decided that this would be neither engaging nor pastorally appropriate. These are the sensitive decisions that we take great care in making, in conversation with our stakeholders, and we stand firmly by these decisions.

You can watch the relevant 5-minute clip from this session here. It begins with young people voicing their experiences of being bullied in school.

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The starting point for this Year 8 session is to bring some light and clarity by explaining complex concepts and differing perspectives. Its stated aims are:

Building on the teaching that our deepest identity is in God, students will learn about male/female differences including issues such as gender stereotypes, gender identity and gender dysphoria. Students will understand that equality is of great importance, and that we should celebrate our uniqueness. Students will learn about different perspectives regarding gender and transgender identity and they will know that bullying and marginalising others is always wrong because every person is a child of God, worthy of love.

Given the age group of students, the heated nature of discussion around this issue and the fact that the Church’s pastoral response is still in development, we made the decision not to explore moral questions around social transitioning in this session. We fully recognise the importance of these questions and that there are fixed points of reference both pastorally and theologically. We are engaged in the discourse, listening carefully, attending to teachings from the Magisterium and the Bishops, and considering how our content could develop further.

Nevertheless, Ten Ten Resources delivers teacher training through online CPD sessions, conferences and blog articles. An example, in which we draw attention to developing Government guidance and the findings of the Cass report, can be found in this blog article from February 2024:

In the session itself, we clearly highlight the Catholic position that gender and biology cannot be severed from each other. The phrase ‘there is no blueprint for you’ is mistakenly interpreted to refer to an affirmation of gender theory. In context, it is quite the opposite. It is pushing back at the idea that having a ‘non-conforming’ way of experiencing or expressing one’s gender means someone is born in the wrong body. The report also omits to mention the powerful (real-life) personal story that is included in this session where an adult man shares his struggle with gender dysphoria and the journey towards accepting himself as a man – ‘just a different kind of man’.

We end the session with a reminder that: ‘Every person is a child of God and they are worthy of love’. This is, of course, a delicate terrain and one we are trying to navigate with care. We want to affirm the truth that every person can turn to God as their Father and that this puts them in relationship to him as a child. But this does not take away from the need for all of us to come into our identity as adopted sons and daughters of God through baptism.

You can watch that 4-minute clip from the session here:

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Ten Ten Resources owes its origin to the play ‘Babies’ which has subsequently been made into a short film winning a major award at an international Catholic film festival. The film has also been shown in many pro-life conference settings, including screenings at ‘March for Life’.

Used in one of our Year 10 Cinema in Education sessions, ‘Babies’ is a powerful story that engages the hearts and minds of young people and includes two follow-up sessions for further reflection. In the first of these teachers are clearly guided to state the Church’s teaching as follows:

The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is ‘objectively wrong’. This means that the decision about whether to terminate a life is not down to the subjective opinion of an individual person. In the same way that it would be ‘objectively wrong’ to murder another person, so the Church teaches that it is ‘objectively wrong’ to terminate a life before birth.

But, our conviction is that simply presenting one point of view or a set of reasoned principles is not good pedagogy and not sufficient to break through the preconditioned perspective that many will hold. We believe that using story can be a powerful way to open up honest discussion, debate and reflection about the nature of abortion, the gift of life and as a means of proposing the Church’s teaching.

However, the Year 10 session entitled ‘Pregnancy and Abortion’ is criticised by Voice of the Family for encouraging pupils ‘to develop their own values and attitudes’ as if we were promoting moral indifference. This fails to take account of the progression of this session which invites young people to reconsider their assumptions about both the nature of abortion and about the commonly held belief that there is a ‘need’ for abortion. We do this by sharing stories of those who have chosen abortion, by accurately describing abortion methods, and by hearing from a medical doctor explaining common misconceptions. This is not a moral starting point but it is the starting point for many young people at this age. We are conscious that we are inviting maturing students, aged 14-15, to listen to their conscience and go against the flow of the culture that so often does not acknowledge the right to life of the unborn and does not support mothers in choosing life.

This point is brought home in the closing part of the session:

The Christian belief in the dignity of the human person extends to everyone, including the mother of the baby. Upholding her dignity and supporting her through her pregnancy and motherhood is equally important. This means that if the pregnant mother is your friend or a member of your family, she will need your support to carry the baby to full term and nurture the child throughout life. From this Christian perspective, abortion is objectively wrong and should never be backed, no matter the circumstances. Equally, no matter the circumstances, the mother of the baby should be fully supported as she takes on the responsibility of a lifetime. Both lives matter.

We would like to share this 4-minute clip from the last part of the session which shows how we lead up to this conclusion:

Currently in development, our new Year 10 content, due to be launched in Summer 2025, will be taking a fresh look at this topic in order to present it in an even more effective and impactful way.

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In responding to this criticism, we want first to be open about the challenge of explaining the Church’s teaching in a compelling way to teenagers who are part of a culture where contraception is a morally neutral issue.

We believe there is a place for first presenting the facts, which is also a part of the statutory requirements. This includes showing how contraceptives work, what their actual failure rate is and challenging the idea that any contraceptive method is free of harmful side effects. Moving from this to looking again at why the Church teaches that sex belongs within marriage and why sexual union in marriage using contraception is morally wrong requires a lot of steps that are not easily laid out in a 50-minute session. We chose to end this session with a positive message about saving sex for marriage rather than focus on the Church’s teaching about why contraception is wrong.

Over the past year, we have carefully reviewed this Year 9 session and reworked the narrative significantly while retaining many of the elements from version 1. In this new version, we clearly present the Catholic teaching that contraception is wrong but we do it in a way that does not assume religious faith. We also take care to situate the discussion firmly in the context of marriage between a man and a woman.

One error that the Voice of the Family report did note (namely a reference to ‘natural contraception’ applied to Natural Family Planning, which of course is not a form of contraception at all) has been picked up in this new version.

Here is a short clip to show how we introduce Natural Family Planning in the final part of the new version of this session:

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One of the areas we have taken the most care to address, with both realism and tact, is pornography and masturbation (as well as casual sex). We try to do this in a way that can speak to young people whether they are religious or not and to do so at an appropriate age. This is why we draw attention to the scientific evidence that shows the addictive power of pornography and its harmful impact at a personal, relational and societal level.

When this topic is introduced in UKS2 in the Paradise Street episode ‘Seeing Stuff Online” we show how a father thoughtfully engages with his 10 year old son about watching pornography, helping him to see how easily it tricks the brain. The Voice of the Family report is simply wrong in claiming that this is just ‘pop science’ and that the ‘moral aspect… is directly denied’ since the father clearly states that pornographic images are ‘bad for the people involved and for the people who look at them… Pornography isn’t good. It hurts people. It uses people.’

Similarly, the Voice of the Family report has nothing positive to say about the way we share St John Paul II’s teaching from ‘Love and Responsibility’: that every person is worthy of being loved and not used and that this principle is applied to casual sex and promiscuity. Instead, we are criticised for not describing masturbation as ‘a mortal sin’. While this is accurate, this comment is rather typical of the approach taken by this report where strict definitions are taken from the Catechism, but the Catechism’s own explanatory development is ignored. In this case, the final sentence of CCC 2352 states:

Here is a longer 8-minute clip that shows how we approach this issue in our new Year 9 session ‘Love People Use Things’:

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The occasions when we do reference Childline are associated with protecting children from harm, and in particular parental abuse, which sadly happens. Of course, this will only apply to a very small percentage but given that our programme is undertaken by tens of thousands of children across England and Wales, this number will be significant, and we have a duty to help schools protect their children from harm. Pointing out this avenue for those children at risk is not taking away parental responsibility.

Typically, we provide the following guidance for teachers in sessions that deal with abuse:

Encourage children to think about who they would talk to first, and who they could trust if they ever had something that was bothering them (go through who these might be). If for some reason they feel they can’t, they could always phone Childline for a chat 0800 1111 or contact Childline online. 

This guidance for teachers is what has led Voice of the Family to dedicate a significant proportion of its critique of Life to the Full to claiming that we are undermining the primary role of parents.

To the best of our knowledge, there does not yet exist a national Catholic website or helpline that children can access for support and information if they feel unable to talk to parents or other adults about being bullied, about depression or, in the extreme situation where abuse is taking place in the home.

Since this is the only external option available for reporting domestic abuse (beyond school and wider family) our current judgement is that pointing children to Childline has an appropriate place in the Life to the Full programme.

In our review of references to Childline (or any other organisations referred to) we will be considering how to provide fuller guidance to parents and teachers.

• The Parent Consultation Tool allows schools to liaise with parents when starting the programme or welcoming new parents.
• The Online Parent Portal encourages parents to view the curriculum, see the topics being covered at different stages of their child’s development and see summary videos about each of the sessions.
• We label specific content as a ‘Key Decision’ to prompt RSE leads in primary schools to consult with parents at the start of the programme for the year
• Full access to all of the programme content is available to parents on request, via their school RSE Lead.
• Free online parent sessions help facilitate good conversations about the challenges of raising children in today’s culture. Recent sessions have included ‘How to Talk to Your Child About Pornography’ and ‘Discussing Smartphones’.

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You will have seen how we approach these matters with a sensitivity to the lives of children at this stage of development, with a necessary honesty and a warm appreciation of the goodness of the body and of sexual development.

Here are some important points of note:

• The RSE in Catholic Schools CES Guidance (2020) states:

• When to introduce sessions around puberty and sexual development is an important decision for schools and it would be good practice for schools to consult with parents about this.
• The National Curriculum for Science includes teaching about reproduction, conception, fertility and the menstrual cycle as well as the physical and emotional changes that take place in puberty in years 5 and 6.
• We suggest that schools might consider facilitating content about puberty and changing bodies within single-sex groups and have added this note to the relevant web pages and lesson plans for our programme.

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Drawing on this review, we have developed, produced and launched a new version of the Year 9 programme.

• Available now to all subscribing schools, the new Year 9 content brings a new depth and rigour to our presentation of the Catholic understanding of human sexuality and of human dignity.
• Version 2 also introduces four new presenters, student voice contributions throughout and a carefully planned journey through each session that illuminates key principles of both reason and faith through story, drama and personal testimony.
• You will have already seen examples of this new Year 9 content earlier in the report.

We want to finish our analysis by focusing in some detail on two of these episodes  – one from Year 7, the other from Year 8,  to show how wide of the mark this assessment is.

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The focus of our analysis is Units 3, 4 and 5 of the session which was heavily criticised by Voice of the Family: ‘The whole purpose of the video appears to be to break down the children’s natural reserve about sexual matters.’

You can watch the full unit sequence in this clip:

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The first comment by Voice of the Family is that the session uses “crude and immoral examples such as ‘seeing a naked body you’re attracted to’.”

The next unit addresses the question of when might be the right time for sexual intimacy. Voice of the Family considers this to be wholly inappropriate. But opening up that conversation is intended to set the scene for a recognition of different views widely shared in our society, before presenting the Church’s teaching.

We tend to agree with Voice of the Family that we could consider changing this graphic, but not that it ‘naturally leads towards a debased interpretation’ especially in light of the unfolding of Christian teaching about marriage that follows.

‘But when we just seek self-gratification, the true purpose for sexual desire is lost from view. God’s plan for sex is about something greater. It is a sign and a symbol of the most sacrificial love… Our deepest desire to love and be loved is met through sexual union which is total, faithful and is open to the gift of new life. This is God’s plan for sex –  for it to be in a loving marriage between a man and a woman who are committed to each other for life and open to becoming parents together.’

Mairi and Nathan then acknowledge that marriage will feel a long, long way off for this age group. In the meantime, they advise students to develop the qualities of character that they would like to see in their future self – self-control, patience, mutual respect. Mairi explains the principle that we should never see another person as an object, but as a human being created to love and be loved.

Watch the full sequence as described above here:

In the final part of the session Mairi shares insights on how her views about sex were challenged and changed before inviting students to pray so as to align their hopes and desires with God’s plan for sex:

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