Should Sex Education be taught in Primary Schools?

 

Sex education is part of the national curriculum for mainstream UK secondary schools. But primary schools can decide themselves whether they teach the subject and this has led to teachers and parents alike asking whether sex education should be taught in primary schools.

 

Yes – Jude
It’s important for children to receive sex education from a young age – leaving it until secondary school can cause a number of problems. Children are much more sophisticated than they were a decade or two ago and it’s not unusual for them to be experimenting sexually at a young age. It’s therefore essential that they receive good quality sex education at the appropriate time in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies and unprotected sex.

Of course, the messages given at primary school will be suited to the age group of the children and will therefore give them a gentle introduction to the subject. Waiting until they are a bit older and then bombarding them with all the information at once can be very disturbing for some children and so it’s better to introduce them to the topic gradually over several years.

Children mature at different rates and some might be reaching puberty as young as ten or eleven years old – if we fail to teach them what is happening to their bodies, this can be a very scary time for children. It’s also important for children to know about sex and what is right and wrong so that they know to speak out if they are being sexually abused.

Some people say that children should be protected from sexual information but in a world where sex is on the TV, in magazines, and on music videos, there really is no getting away from it. It’s therefore better that they learn factually correct information from a teacher rather than believing playground gossip or scare stories from older siblings.

 

No – Walter
I don’t think children should learn about sex at school. It is a parent’s responsibility to teach their own child about the facts of life in the way that they feel is best. Children mature at different rates and whilst some nine or ten year olds may be able to understand, for others talking about this sensitive subject could be confusing and upsetting. It’s also very embarrassing for children to have to learn about these kinds of things alongside their classmates – it’s much better for them to learn in the safety of their own home.

I know many teachers also feel embarrassed talking about sex in lessons and it’s not fair to ask them to explain the facts of life to young children. They are not necessarily qualified to talk in this area and could give children vague or misleading information.

Primary school children should be allowed to enjoy their childhood for as long as possible. We should be protecting their innocence at this young age – rather than introducing them to the adult world.

For me, I think it is far better to wait until children start secondary school before introducing sex education into the classroom. Then it can be taught as part of their biology lessons in a scientific and correct way at an age when they are able to handle the information. Up until this point, I think the matter should be left to parents.

Categories: Children, children mature, Education, primary school, primary schools, schools nbsp, secondary school, sex education, young age

Sex education should start as early as 10: study

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Sex education should be imparted to children as young as 10 in order to curb unwanted early pregnancies, unsafe abortions, maternal deaths and STDs across the world, a new study suggests.

 

According to researchers at the Georgetown University, parents should shed their inhibition and talk to their young adolescents about sexual matters as young as age of 10.

 

Researchers say that sexuality begins emerging in ‘younger adolescents’, defined as those between 10 to 14 and this is the time when a kid may first experience changes in their body and start experimenting with sexual behaviours, ‘wallstreetotc.Com’ reported.

 

In case these the kids are not well informed about safe sex, they may take uncalled for and fatal risks, researchers said.

 

They said most of the sexual health programmes are not customised to target this age group.

 

According to the study, much more can be done to make younger adolescents aware about their sexual and reproductive health.

 

“If programmes are implemented at a time when adolescents are still malleable and relatively free of sexual and reproductive health problems and gender role biases, very young adolescents can be guided safely through this life stage, supported by their parents, families and communities,” researchers said.

 

Categories: adolescents, nbsp, reproductive health, Researchers, sex education, sexual, young, young adolescents, younger adolescents

Govt calls for overhaul of sex education

 

Respectful attitudes to sex would become a core part of sex education in schools under an overhaul recommended to the Government.

The revamp would aim to broaden the subject beyond a narrow focus on the physical mechanics of sex and reproduction.

The proposal has come from Parliament’s health select committee after a cross-party inquiry which found New Zealand’s high teenage-pregnancy rate was partly the result of inconsistent and sometimes non-existent sexual and reproductive lessons in schools.

Sex education is mandatory, but the 18-month inquiry found programmes were “fragmented and uneven”, parents were able to keep children out of them and classes often focused on physical aspects of sex.

The select committee recommended that the Government give all schools two years to create programmes that meet Ministry of Health standards.

The Education Review Office would monitor whether schools were meeting the needs of students of all cultures, ethnicities and sexual orientations.

Cabinet ministers said yesterday that they would “partially accept” the recommendations.

The committee made 130 recommendations for changes to sex education and to healthcare, maternity care, alcohol abuse, nutrition and early intervention programmes.

The Government accepted 55 recommendations, partially accepted 54, noted 14 and rejected seven.

Committee chairman and National MP Paul Hutchison said he was encouraged by the Government’s overall response and was optimistic it would adopt the sex education proposals.

“Given the issues with the Roastbusters case and other recent cases, there’s a growing view that we need to do this. I would hope that the Government will look to the evidence and then form a basis of action.”

Others were sceptical.

Family Planning chief executive Jackie Edmonds said it appeared the Government had no intention of requiring the ERO to monitor whether schools were meeting students’ needs in sexual health and education.

The inquiry found that the ERO had been “very passive” in monitoring sex education.

Labour health spokeswoman Annette King said the Government’s response was a “two-fingered salute” to two years of hard work because it did not commit to deadlines and half-heartedly accepted the recommendations.

Late last year, Prime Minister John Key said the Government would have to tread carefully in expanding sex education in schools because some parents felt it would cut across their responsibilities, while others felt more education would enable young women to know their rights.

Dr Hutchison said the Government would have to consult parents and schools. ”I think this area needs to be made … acceptable to the majority of parents and students so that they will regard human reproduction and health as a normalised part of general education, rather than putting their head in the sand over it.”

A former board of trustees member who resigned over “unacceptable” sex education classes at her school opposes recommendations that sex education programmes be mandatory for all schoolchildren.

Jo-Anne Sim resigned last month as a trustee of the Blaketown Primary School on the West Coast after a teacher taught what Ms Sim said were explicit lessons that were not appropriate for Year 7 and 8 pupils.

The classes included discussion about oral and anal sex, flavoured condoms, and pleasure points – despite parents having been told in writing beforehand that pupils would be taught only the basics.

Ms Sim said families should be given a choice when it came to educating their children about sexual health.

“Some parents like to be the people who give that advice in the family and guide the children at the right time,” she said.

But if sex education was to be taught in schools, it had to be by a health professional.

- NZ Herald

Categories: Education, Government, health, ms sim, Parents, Schools, select committee, sex education, sexual health

How To Talk To Your Teenage Child About Sex

Sex education has always been a sensitive subject. How much should you teach children about sex? And how early should you start to teach them? These are very difficult questions that are faced by all parents who are bringing up their children. Indeed it is also a problem that is faced by schools as well. Almost all sensible schools teach some sort or form of sex education and the controversy that surrounds that is always high. The fact is that the most important sex education that your child can get happens at home – and this leaves you free to set the boundaries. But given this is the case, it’s important to be geared up with the facts for what is sensible to teach them and when. So, here’s our guide to talk to your teenage child about sex.

 

Sex education at school is a great way of teaching children the basics of sex. Teenagers are notoriously difficult to talk to about sex and as awkward as it may seem, you are the person who needs to take the responsibility in education them about the reality of sexual activity and sexual intercourse. By reinforcing and expanding on what they have learned in sex education classes you are setting them up with a fantastic foundation with sexual knowledge. Indeed you are setting them up for their lives to be able to have a happy and healthy sexual time.

 

We are all exposed to sex all of the time. Through the mediums of advertising, news and other media including films, TV and books, sex surrounds our daily lives. While this is a bad thing for some people who would not like their children to be exposed to this sort of thing all of the time – we look at it as an opportunity. The fact is that children become relatively desensitised to sex and that means you can talk to them more openly and honestly about. So, one of our number one tips about talking to teenagers about sex has to be: seize the moment – when there is a news story or a scene in a TV show, talk the opportunity to discuss good sexual practices and bad ones. Remember that it is far more awkward to sit a child down to have a “chat about sex” than it is to just bring it up naturally in conversation.

 

Remember to consider your teenager’s point of view – don’t give them a lecture, make it a sensible discussion where nothing they say is ridiculous, just a step in the process of their learning. Don’t try to scare them off having sex – it is natural to be protective of your child, but you must also be realistic, and if they find themselves happy in the situation to have sex, it is better they have the true facts of the situation rather than lies designed to make them fear sex.

 

Make sure that you don’t just talk about the facts – teenagers need to know that there is much more to sex than just the raw, physical act. It is important for them to understand about the right ways to go about sex and about feeling comfortable in what they are doing.

 

There are plenty of topics surrounding sex that you’ll need to deal with including big questions such hanging around what do if they think they might be gay, or that their partner wants sex and they don’t but they don’t know how to tell them. You should be equipped to answer their questions and keep them feeling confident.

Categories: Child, Children, Education, nbsp, sex education, sex nbsp, talk, talking to teenagers, teenage child, teenager

Sexpert Knowledge: Weird Facts You Never Knew about Sex

Where would we be without sex? Well, the short answer is we wouldn’t be here at all, but aside from providing us with the beginning of our existence, sex is extremely beneficial to your wellbeing if only because it’s the focus of some weird and wonderful facts. Let’s take a look at some of the coolest things you never knew about sex and sexual health.

1. The basics: Ok, you probably know the basics of sex, but here’s how the numbers stack up. If you’re a woman, you only – as you’re likely already aware – release one egg a month. If you’re a man, on the other hand, your production is much more prolific. In just one ejaculation, you emit anywhere between 30 million and 750 million sperm.

2. Getting piggy with it: However many sperm men expel in a single ejaculation, you fellers have nothing on pigs – a single swine ejaculate contains about 8 billion sperm cells.

3. Mission impossible: With so many pregnancies being unintended or “happy accidents,” the stats surrounding the sheer possibility of conception are mind-boggling. In order to get a single sperm to a ready egg, it has to arrive in the small three to six-day window in which women are fertile. The sperm rarely remain viable for more than two days or so, but they can hang around in the reproductive tract for up to five days.

4. It’s getting hot in here: When you’re ovulating, this process heats up your body by as much as half a degree Fahrenheit. Before ovulation, your body temperature lands between 96 and 98 degrees F (35.5 to 36.6 degrees Celsius), but right after ovulation, your body temperature rises to an average of 97 to 99 degrees F (36.1 to 37.2 degrees C). This is why many women who try to conceive, or try to avoid conceiving, take their temperature every day to detect ovulation.

5. Animals in the bedroom: Aside from being frowned upon, bestiality has been found to be detrimental to your wellness. In 2011, a study found that having sex with animals – be they chickens, pigs or horses – might raise men’s risk of penile cancer. This is possibly because these acts cause microtrauma to the penis and lets foreign microorganisms in. This includes the human papilloma virus (HPV) which can cause cancer in humans.

6. It’s a bit nippy: Nipples are proven erogenous zones, and it seems like the big man upstairs knew what he was doing. Brain-imaging research on women has shown that the same area of your brain that registers nipple stimulation also registers stimulation from your vagina, cervix and clitoris.

7. Let’s talk about sex, baby: While you may be worried that sex education encourages children to go out and give sex a try, in fact the opposite is true. A 2012 study published by the non-profit Guttmacher Institute found that any sex education at all delays teen sex.

8. The more the merrier: However, before you pat yourself on the back for teaching your teenager the birds and the bees, delaying sex doesn’t stop adolescents experimenting in more than pairs. Yep, a 2011 study found that one in 13 (7.3%) teen girls aged 14 to 20, have had a group-sex experience. The study, which was published in the Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, also found that these girls were also more likely to have been exposed to pornography and childhood sexual abuse than their peers. More than half of that group reported being pressured into the multiple-sex-partner situation and, perhaps most worryingly of all, 45% indicated no condom was used during their most recent group-sex encounter.

Categories: body temperature, degrees, group sex, Nipples, ovulation, pigs, sex education, single, sperm, study

Porn Has Little Impact on Teen Sexual Behaviour, Study Finds

No parent likes to think about what their teenager is watching on the internet, in part because you worry that this will have an impact on your teen’s sexual health and wellbeing. Many parents as concerned that viewing sexually explicit programmes or content on websites may distort young people’s view of sex, leading them to put their wellness at risk by having sex with multiple partners. However, this is not, in fact, the case, say researchers from the Netherlands.

 

While a new report, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, showed that watching porn does have some effect on teen sexual behaviour, it does not truly influence whether a young adult will have risky sex or lots of partners. The results of the study revealed that watching porn can make your teenager to have a one-night stand or sex for money, but the influence porn has is minimal compared to other factors, like personality type, educational and family background, and poverty. This was based on a survey 4,600 young people between the ages of 15 and 25 living in the Netherlands during 2008-2009.

 

The researchers, led by Gert Martin Hald of the Department of Public Health at the University of Copenhagen, found that 88% of teenage boys and 45% of teenage girls had looked at some form of sexually explicit media over the past year. This included all kinds of porn, such as bondage, soft core, and violent images, but the influence of that porn on behaviour was small, albeit scientifically significant. The scientists classified sexual behaviours into three broad areas: adventurous sex (e.g. threesomes or sex with someone met online), partner experience (such as one-night stands) and transactional sex, involving payment. Watching porn increased the likelihood of young adults saying “yes” to one or more of these behaviours.

 

However, the important element of this study is that Hald and his team also asked questions gauging traits like gender, age, education, religious belief, relationship status, ethnicity, self-esteem, sexual sensation-seeking (how driven a person is to seek new experiences) and others. According to Hald, even though few studies have tried to incorporate these other factors, ‘associations between porn and sexual behaviour or attitudes really always should be studied in conjunction with other relevant factors, such as personality.’

 

Young people with the personality type of sexual sensation-seeking were highly likely to engage in risky sexual behaviours. Hald explained, ‘only 2-3% of our sample engaged in transactional behaviours, and the proportion of these behaviours explained by porn viewing was only 1% for men and 2% for women.’ He noted that other factors, such as poverty and culture, were more important. The frequency of looking at porn explained only about 3-4% of behaviour, and so, the study concluded, ‘This suggests that frequency of [porn] consumption is just one factor among many that may influence the sexual behaviours of young people.’

 

Still, it’s important to note that this study took place in the Netherlands, which has somewhat more liberal sexual cultures where, for example, prostitution is legal. Hald commented, ‘I think that the social and sexual context of viewing pornography impacts the association between pornography and the sexual behavioural outcomes studied.’ Chauntelle Tibbals, a sociologist at the University of Southern California who studies the adult entertainment industry, agreed, pointing out that young people may turn to porn for sex clues in countries that don’t provide solid sex education. ‘If you did not already know about this in real life, or have sex education, or experience it with a peer, and you see it in porn, you may think, “Oh, I want to do that,”’ she said.

Categories: personality type, Porn, Research, sensation seeking, sex education, sexual behaviour, sexual behaviours, sexually explicit, Teen Sex, teen sexual, watching porn, young people

New Sex Ed Curriculum: Useless Facts, Omits Vital Topics

The Sex Education Forum have spent the last year campaigning for Education Secretary Michael Gove to keep the term “sexual health” in the curriculum, but were sadly “disappointed” in their attempts. In the new programme of study for science, the Department for Education has taken out all references to the term, which may put your children’s sexual wellness at risk in the future.

 

As it stands, the curriculum states that pupils should ‘consider how knowledge and understanding of science informs personal and collective decisions, including those on substance abuse and sexual health’. The reason why the Forum – which represents organisations and charities including the NCB and Brook – has been battling to keep the term “sexual health” is due to fears that teachers will avoid talking about this subject to children if all references are removed from the curriculum. This puts the wellbeing of children and teenagers at risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unwanted pregnancies, as they won’t be properly educated about contraception and risky sexual behaviour.

 

Not only does the new programme of study – which will come into effect from 2014 – omit the term “sexual health;” it also discourages teachers from explaining ‘how reproduction occurs’ and from talking about hormones. This latter restraint will certainly be tricky considering that talking about puberty is still expected of teachers, albeit being a subject included within the non-statutory part of the curriculum. Moreover, the new curriculum comes a week after David Cameron has openly backed the Telegraph Wonder Women campaign to bring sex education into the 21st century – it’s no wonder that Forum chair Jane Lees said the Government was sending mixed messages about sex education!

 

According to Lees, ‘The Sex Education Forum is disappointed that the new National Curriculum presents a confusing picture about sex education that will hinder teaching about this vital subject. While puberty is clearly included in science, teachers are discouraged from explaining “how reproduction occurs” and about hormones. Omitting sexual health from the curriculum fails to prepare children properly for adult life. The Government has missed a perfect opportunity to link up their education policy with their stated commitment to improving the nation’s sexual health, just days after the Prime Minister talked about the need to modernise sex and relationships education to make sure it is relevant to the lives of children today.’

 

Lees added, ‘We urge both primary and secondary schools to consult pupils about their sex and relationships education (SRE) to make sure that what they provide responds to their needs.’ This assertion has the support of wellness experts, who have argued that the current curriculum is too skewed towards the “mechanics” of reproduction rather than giving due attention to good relationships, sexual health or the sex education that pupils really need – and that’s just the current curriculum! The new curriculum is taking a step backwards, expecting pupils to only learn about ‘reproduction in humans (as an example of a mammal), including the structure and function of the male and female reproductive systems, menstrual cycle (without details of hormones), gametes, fertilisation, gestation and birth, to include the effect of maternal lifestyle on the fetus through the placenta.’

 

If that sounds a little clinical, wait until you read the addition in the non-statutory guidance section. ‘Pupils should draw a timeline to indicate stages in the growth and development of humans,’ it says. ‘They should learn about the changes experienced in puberty. Pupils could work scientifically by researching the gestation periods of other animals and comparing them with humans; by finding out and recording the length and mass of a baby as it grows.’ Rather than being concerned about safe sex and healthy relationships, I’m sure all parents want their kids to learn about animal gestation and draw a nifty timeline – that will really take care of their sexual health (if I’m allowed to use that term.)

Categories: current curriculum, curriculum, Education, education forum, New Curriculum, relationships education, reproduction occurs, Scientific Knowledge, sex education, sexual health, term sexual

Would Young People Actually Want Social Media Sex Education?

Many wellness experts believe that modern teen sexual health problems require a modern solution; social networking. The theory goes, to talk to teenagers about their wellbeing, you have to speak their language – and these days that language involves a lot of YouTube videos and hash tags. However, according to a new study, published in the May issue of Reproductive Health Matters, those who wish to harness the power of Facebook for sex education should proceed with caution.

Because social media sites like Facebook and Twitter use a network of peers, it provides a great platform for sex education. Learning sexual information from peers is often argued to be more effective than learning from adults, and so researchers conducted focus groups with 22 young people, aged 16 to 22, in New South Wales, Australia, in order to better understand the sex education potential of social media.

However, the researchers found that the decisions young people make about the information they share, the comments they make, and the photos they upload are not made lightly, but often carefully considered in relation to an imagined audience. One participant explained, ‘With health information, I think it’s better if it’s anonymous because I don’t think everyone’s really comfortable about talking about that kind of stuff with random [people]… It’s something they want to keep to themselves.’ Another added, ‘It’s, like, you don’t really want that on your wall.’

The focus group explained that young people would be more likely to discuss sexual health issues via personal messaging or conversations among close friends, and the researchers noted that health educators and social media users therefore have conflicting agendas. While educators may want to get across a serious message, social media users are more likely to share and disseminate information that is self-created, adapted or subverted (for example, through parodies).

According to one participant, ‘No one wants to get a lecture while they are online and trying to do their social thing.’ Another suggested, ‘I think you need to have a funny element because if it’s just serious it’s going to scare people off. So I think you need to draw people in using funny and then maybe have like a serious kind of punch line at the end or something.’ However, the study authors warned that as humour is personal and subjective, without careful handling it could encourage stigma or shaming.

Categories: Research, sex education, Social Media

US Sex Expert Leaves Child in Therapy After School Talk

Scottish head teachers have been warned not to let a hard-line US Christian sex campaigner speak in their schools, after a pupil required therapy after one of her talks. Pamela Stenzel spoke to nearly 200 pupils form various schools at a seminar at Catholic St Andrew’s Academy in Paisley. However, afterwards, it was found that one pupil was so upset he required extensive support. Critics of Stenzel accuse her of using false information in order to promote her views on pro-abstinence and anti-abortion topics, leaving children intimidated and afraid of sex. Her claims include the fact that condoms are unsafe, and that the Pill leaves women exposed to the risks of infertility and even death. She’s also been known to say ‘No-one has ever had more than one partner and not paid’.

 

NHS officials state that they have emailed schools to warn them of this woman and the effect she has on children, leaving some ‘utterly traumatised and in need of extensive support’. Sources have claimed that her messages were packed with lies and confusing information, much of which is poor information to give to children who are in the dark about these issues. Sex education is important for children in order to give them a thorough and honest education about sex, relationships and the emotions they will be feeling in the near future. By lying to them and scaring them into abstinence, it’s leaving many children open to confusion and anxiety about the issue – something they will often already be feeling.

 

Will Harris, a member of the sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust, stated that scaring children when it comes to sex won’t stop them having it, it will simply make them less confident about how to do it safely and with the right attitude. Deferring children into waiting for sex is an obviously beneficial message, as many children rush into sex without being emotionally ready for it, but they still need to be educated about it in the right way in order to know what to expect when the time arrives that they feel ready to engage in sexual activity.

Categories: Children, sex education, sexual health

Where Did I Come From? Talking to Your Kids About Sex

The first time you name the parts of the body to your toddler, his or her sex education has begun. What you teach your children can have a big impact on their future sexual wellness, as well as other aspects of their wellbeing, and so seemingly simple questions like: “Where did I come from?” and “Why is my body different from your body?” can put a lot of pressure on you and your family wellness.

However, the earlier you open that dialogue with your child, the better, because it will help them to continue talking to you about sex and sexual health throughout the years. Robie H. Harris, author of many children’s books, including It’s Perfectly Normal, and Who Has What, says that her advice to parents who have not started talking with their kids yet is; ‘Just roll up your sleeves, take a big breath, and start in as soon as you can, and if possible, before puberty begins. Our kids know we are not perfect, so if you fumble or mumble, just know that you can go back the next day and talk with your child again.’

But if you are worried about fumbling your way through it, there is help available. Many children’s and teenagers’ books exist around the subject of sexuality which can help you to figure out what information your kids need at every age and stage. These books can provide you with the language you need to talk with your children about this complicated topic, and sharing the book with a young child, or letting your older child read one independently, can help to get the questions and conversations about sexual health started.

Your child or teenager can only make responsible choices about sexual health when they have a solid understanding of their bodies and sexuality. Sex comes with real and serious risks, such as sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy, as well as the emotional outcomes of having sex. Do you want your teenager to find out their information from unreliable websites or their just-as-misinformed peers? Education is one of the most effective prevention tools you have as a parent, and so talking to your kids and giving them responsible resources can help them stay healthy throughout childhood and adolescence.

Where Did I Come From? Talking to Your Kids About Sex

Categories: Books, Conversation, sex education

Why Should You Talk Openly About Sex with Your Teenager?

Believe it or not, there was a time – only a decade ago – when Facebook and Twitter did not exist and mobile phones were owned primarily by adults. Today’s teenagers are now being called the “mobile generation,” with 75% owning a mobile phone – 84% of whom sleep with it turned on by their bed. But what’s that got to do with sexual health?

With all this new technology has come a constant barrage of sexual imagery. Your teenager’s sexual wellness, and overall wellbeing, is being shaped by advertising, prime time television and all forms of popular media, creating new obstacles to “the talk” that weren’t there just a decade ago. As a result, parents, teachers and members of the community need to come together to work with today’s young people and understand the world our teens are facing. Research shows that teens who report having open conversations with their parents about sex are more likely to delay sex, have fewer partners and use condoms and other birth control methods when they do have sex.

Because of this, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains’ Responsible Sex Education Institute, in partnership with the Healthy Colorado Youth Alliance, hosted a panel discussion entitled Sexual Health in the Digital Age at the Denver School of Science and Technology last year. Perhaps it wasn’t the pithiest of titles, but, in 2011 alone, the Responsible Sex Education Institute presented over 1,000 educational presentations to almost 18,000 participants – they must be doing something right!

Made up of experts from throughout the community, the panel met to speak to the obstacles and opportunities presented by technology, and how that technology can be used to advance sexual health, address teen pregnancy rates and in turn address high school graduation rates in US communities. With an estimated 750,000 American teens (15-19) becoming pregnant each year, the United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy among comparable countries, and the statistics pertaining to STDs are just as alarming. One in two sexually active young people contract an STD before the age of 25, but as we’re hardly producing monks and nuns back in Blighty, is there something we can learn from Colorado’s initiative?

Why Should You Talk Openly About Sex with Your Teenager?

Categories: education institute, responsible sex, sex education, sexual, sexual health, technology, Teen pregnancy, teens, the talk, young people

Will Sex Education be Watered Down?

It is thought that sex education in schools could be at risk of being “watered down” if the proposed changes to England’s science curriculum go ahead. According to a team of experts, sex education should be “unambiguously” included in science lessons. A coalition of organisations has formed to promote this idea.

The letter has been signed by more than 100 organisations and individuals ranging from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to Mumsnet, the Sex Education Forum and the National Children’s Bureau. The group argues the planned changes will not help schools create an honest and open culture around sex and relationships and is more like to foster problematic ideas within schools. It urges the government “to put any adult squeamishness about sex aside”.

Its mission statement says: “The National Curriculum science is the only compulsory part of sex and relationships in education in schools and must teach children about how their bodies work to prepare them for growing up and to protect them from harm.”

The group is specifically concerned that children will not be taught about sexual reproduction and puberty at an early stage and that some will already be experiencing changes in their bodies without having been taught about what to do with them and that they are a normal aspect of growing up.

The Sex Education Forum says that the plans leave a gap in teaching about reproduction in primary school. The forum highlights the section in the draft which says that six- and seven-year-olds should be taught about the process of reproduction and growth in animals but which also says that at this age pupils “should not be expected to understand how reproduction occurs”.

Will Sex Education be Watered Down?

Categories: Education, education forum, forum, reproduction, Schools, science, sex education, taught

Sex Education: The Vital Tool for Cutting Teenage Pregnancy

Sexual health education still remains a vital component of cutting teenage pregnancies. This is according to medical wellness experts from NHS Fife, who have released a statement extolling the benefits that sex education provide to the overall wellbeing of Scottish young people.

The statement has been released following a publication of figures which demonstrates the number of underage girls being given contraceptive implants is at an all-time high, and this record has been reached at taxpayers’ expense on the NHS. It has been revealed that, over a period of two years, a total of 121 Fife youngsters under the age of consent were given implants at NHS hospitals and clinics throughout the region.

According to last year’s teenage pregnancy figures, NHS Fife leads the way in the rates for under-16s and under-18s when looking across health board areas rather than councils. In the under-16s group, there were 9.2 pregnancies per 1,000 in Fife, and this rose dramatically to 47.7 per 1,000 among the under-18s. For Dr Edward Coyle, director of public health with NHS Fife, ‘NHS Fife continues to work closely with colleagues in Fife Council and other agencies to address the issue of teenage pregnancies in Fife.’

He explained, ‘An important aspect of our approach is the delivery of high-quality relationships and sexual health education, which emphasises the importance of developing healthy relationships. Fife’s Sexual Health Strategy Group is taking forward a specific programme which encourages young people to think about whether they are ready to embark on a sexual relationship. Parents and carers have a key role in guiding young people and discussing the risks and consequences of relationship choices. It is the case early sexual activity is often regretted.’

He added: ‘Dedicated young persons’ services are available to all young people in Fife…which provide information and support to young people to make informed choices regarding their relationships. In situations where treatment is required relating to contraception or sexual health, young people are referred into sexual health services. Young people are seen by trained NHS Fife staff who understand child protection issues.’ He noted that NHS Fife staff ensure young people ‘are fully able to consent and understand the treatment they are being given. Staff would always encourage young people to discuss their situation with parents or carers.’

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Sex Education: The Vital Tool for Cutting Teenage Pregnancy

Categories: Relationships, sex education, teenage pregnancy