Thursday 23 October 2008

Lessons on sex 'to be compulsory'

The government is expected to announce later that sex and relationship lessons will be made compulsory in primary and secondary schools in England.


A review was ordered after ministers branded teaching on the issue "patchy".
Currently, it is only compulsory to teach children about the biology of reproduction and changing bodies.

A BBC poll of more than 1,000 people found that 87% would support a change in approach, as long as teaching did not begin at too young an age.

In Wales, sex and relationship education is already part of the curriculum and it is a legal requirement in Northern Ireland.

There is no legal requirement in Scotland.

The UK has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe with 27 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19.

'Greater involvement'

It is not yet clear exactly what will be taught to each year group in England, but some reports suggest five-year-olds could receive some level of sex education. Read more

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