What is this toolkit?
This is an online toolkit intended to help design a new programme or review an existing programme on comprehensive sexuality education (CSE). It brings together and distils evidence on effective CSE programmes, and points to relevant resources to refer to for different stages of CSE programme design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. CSE is the globally used term, but countries use many different names for programmes, for example, life skills, relationship, and sexuality education, family life education, or HIV education.
Who is it for?
This toolkit is for national programme officers at UNESCO field offices who are tasked with providing technical support for CSE programmes to ministries of education. It is also for staff of civil society organizations, local area governments, or school authorities that want to design or review CSE programmes.
How to use this toolkit
The toolkit provides information that is useful for designing a CSE programme at a national level as well as at local or school level. There are indications throughout the toolkit of what aspects are relevant only at a national level and what only at local or school level.
There are four parts to the toolkit:
- Getting started provides an overview understanding of CSE, why it is needed, the characteristics of effective CSE, the respective roles of the education and health sectors, barriers to implementation, and UNESCO’s role in national CSE programmes.
- Programme design, management, and assessment gives guidance on doing readiness assessments and analysis, curriculum review and adaptation, coordination and partnerships with complementary actions, monitoring and evaluating CSE programmes, planning for sustainability and scaling up, and how to document and communicate results from a CSE programme.
- Training and supporting CSE teachers illustrates who should be teaching CSE, explains pre-service and in-service training, discusses online professional development in CSE, outlines the challenges to teacher training, and details how to do teacher assessments.
- Engaging the community explains what community engagement involves, how to analyse stakeholders and power, and some practical issues on engaging different kinds of community members, such as school leaders, parents, faith leaders, the media, health service providers, and young people.
UNESCO and CSE
UNESCO is the United Nations specialist agency for education and provides global and regional leadership in education, strengthens national education systems, and responds to global challenges through education with a special focus on gender equality. More information about the role UNESCO plays in supporting CSE implementation worldwide and its contribution to the SDGs can be found on the UNESCO website and in the UNESCO strategy on education for health and well-being.