Between rights and risks: staff reflections on Sexuality, Consent and Relationships Education in adapted schools for students with intellectual disabilities

This qualitative study explored how staff members in adapted schools experience Sexuality, Consent and Relationships Education following Sweden’s recent curriculum reform. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers, school nurses, counsellors, and personal assistants in four adapted compulsory and upper secondary schools in southern Sweden. Guided by sexual script theory and informed by crip theory, thematic analysis identified three key themes: spontaneity as an opportunity and a challenge; the internet as a catalyst; and the school as a sexual arena. Findings reveal staff’s constant negotiation between promoting students’ sexual rights and protecting them from perceived risks. Digital media both broaden and complicate students’ sexual scripts, while the school often becomes their primary arena for intimacy. The study underscores the need for norm-critical, rights-based, and digitally literate pedagogies, as well as professional support for staff navigating these complexities. Implications for policy and practice include structural measures to ensure the provision of equitable and inclusive Sexuality, Consent and Relationships Education in adapted schools.