Teach ’em young

Compulsory Sex education
Five-year-olds to learn about birds and the bees in British state schools

LONDON — Children as young as 11 will be taught about homosexual relationships and civil partnerships under plans by the British government for compulsory sex education.

They will also get lessons in contraception, pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases in the first three years of secondary school.

New-style classes will also be compulsory in all faith schools in England, although they will also be free to apply their "values" to lessons by telling pupils that same sex relationships, contraception and sex outside marriage is wrong.

The government said issues would be covered in PSHE — personal, social, health and economic education — which is to become a statutory part of the National Curriculum from September 2011.

Under plans, which are subject to a public consultation, children aged five to seven will learn about the "simple physical changes to their bodies since birth" and the differences between boys and girls.

Between seven and nine, they will be taught about puberty and "how to form and maintain relationships" with different people. In the final two years of primary school, pupils will learn about human reproduction.

The curriculum for 11 to 14-year-olds covers sexual orientation, contraception, pregnancy, homosexual relationships, civil ceremonies and the importance of marriage.

Students between the ages of 14 and 16 will be taught about media portrayals of body image and "social and moral dilemmas".

The move has provoked anger among parents' groups who claim children are being exposed to sex before they are ready.

Britain already has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in western Europe and recent figures showed conceptions among under-16s hit record levels.

But Mr Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, said lessons were needed to prepare children "for life in the 21st century".

"Parents bring up children, not the Government," he said.

"Schools, however, can play a vital role in teaching children essential skills for learning and life." THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

From TODAY, World – Wednesday, 29-April-2009