Where do we draw the line on sex education in schools?

MANY parents these days would probably agree that appropriate sex education in schools is a good thing. However, a report by the Christian Institute claims materials made available for teaching by local authorities, and aimed at children as young as five contain unsuitably explicit language and information.

One book, How Did I Begin? by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom, is recommended for children aged five and up. It contains information such as “as they cuddled, your dad’s penis moved gently inside your mum’s vagina and the sperms flowed out”. Another book, Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle, shows cartoon pictures of nude people and descriptions of their bodies.

The report highlights a primary school sex and relationships education pack, recommended by a number of authorities, which it claims includes a glossary giving definitions for terms including “anal intercourse”, “bisexual” and “clitoris”.

Let’s Talk About Sex by Robie H Harris includes discussion of heterosexuality and homosexuality, and is aimed at pupils aged seven plus, says the report.

“At a time when there is growing alarm at the sexualisation of childhood, using sexually-explicit resources in schools can surely only make things much worse,” claims the report’s introduction. “A national curriculum for sex education would see control taken out of the hands of schools and centralised in the hands of those who advocate the use of material which most parents would find unacceptable.” At the moment, both primary and secondary schools have to teach pupils age-appropriate lessons about the biology of sex in science. Schools must also have a sex education policy, although the subject is not compulsory. The future of sex education is currently part of a government review of the National Curriculum.

Christian Institute spokesman Mike Judge said: “Most parents would be deeply upset if these materials were used with their primary-aged child. Parents must have the right to be fully consulted about them. They must be able to review them, and veto any that are unsuitable.”

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: “By law, schools must make sure that sex and relationship education (SRE) classes are appropriate to pupils’ ages and maturity. It’s down to teachers themselves to use their professional judgment in deciding this – and it’s common sense to involve parents closely. Parents retain the right to pull their children out of any SRE class, outside statutory science, if they are unhappy with teaching... it is important that all children have high quality SRE while at school so they can make informed and safe decisions about their lives as they grow up.”

A spokesman for Brook, the young people’s sexual health charity, said: “All children and young people have the right to education about sex and relationships which equips them with the information and skills they need to form healthy and positive sexual relationships and protect themselves from harm. Education about sex and relationships is age-appropriate and starts by teaching children and young people about friendships, feelings and boundaries, names of the body parts and preparing them for puberty. In secondary school it teaches them about relationships, as well as the biological aspects of sex, and the links with alcohol, risk-taking and personal safety.”

Mick Manning the award-winning author from Keighley who, with his wife Brita Granstrom, co-wrote How Did I Begin? as well as 65 other children’s non-fiction books covering everything from science to history says his popular book has been in print for 15 years and is very much a “gentle introduction” prompted by questions his own four children asked when very young.

“It is aimed at six-to-eight year-olds, both for parents to show them and for teachers to use, and is about the whole nine months of gestation told in a very sensitive yet honest way. How can you do that with euphemisms? I think the report by the Christian Institute is misleading, in that it is lumping all these books together, when obviously they have been written for different age groups and are used appropriately. Using well-researched books for sex education is far preferable to children hearing silly or crude versions of the facts on the back seat of the bus. I also think the Institute are confusing sex education with sexualisation, which is very different.”

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