Lack Of Sex Education A Ticking Time Bomb, Councils Warn

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-38967856

I always thought that sex education WAS compulsory in schools, but apparently that isn't the case.

I can remember the sex education that I received, at the tender age of 13 in the 1966. It was done by the local GP, for us boys and his sister, who he shared the practise with, did the girls. I am unsure who was more embarrassed....us boys or him !

[Cloverjo]

I always thought it was compulsory for schools to provide it, but parents had the option of removing their children from the classes. I'd hate to be the odd one out being taken away.

For some reason it was down to the PE teachers to tell us about periods, while the biology teachers taught us the 'mechanics' of it all. I also vaguely remember a condom on a banana and dire warnings of AIDS.

[maggiebee]

While I think there is a place for sex education in schools, I feel it is down to the parents to educate their children on the subject. My own grandchildren have all received sex education in school, but this was to supplement what they had already been taught by their parents.

[Islay]

We had it in primary school via a program called living and growing and then again at high school with the biology teacher and cucumbers and condoms!!
It definitely needs to be taught in schools especially as girls can get pregnant at younger ages now.
But also from a health point of view the dangers of sleeping around and what is correct and not correct use of sex.

[mikey4444]

Its interesting that according to the link, these new Academy Schools don't have to provide SE if they don't want to. Neither do they have to follow the National Curriculum if they don't want to either !

We don't have Academies here in Wales, but it seems a very rum do when 78,066 new diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections were seen in 2015 in England, in some as young as 15.

Surely every child should receive SE as a matter of course.

[Old_Geezer]

When I was at school that lecture was pretty much a waste of lesson time. It only covered what we already knew. Couldn't answer any scientific queries. But worst of all offered no advice on how to seduce the girls at all :-(

[EDDIE51]

There has always been 'sex education' in schools, usually taught 'behind the bike sheds' ;-)

[Togo]

Yeah, I remember sex education lessons in Grammar School. The teachers were astonished when we told them how to go about it.

[Mamyalynne]

Teaching children about their bodies, how they work,what different parts are called and having a healthy respect for their bodies and keeping safe is something that should ideally be done at home.

It should be as natural as teaching them to brush their teeth.

School may have a role to play but parents have a greater one.

[Caran]

Our sex education at school was very patchy. Explained about sperm and eggs but didn't say how they met.
I asked the question how and where did they meet, I got sent to the headmistress for being rude. This was in the mid fifties when I was about 12.
Mum attempted to tell me about periods , but couldn't tell me where I would bleed from. I was constantly checking everywhere, arms, body legs for blood spurting out. Thank heavens I asked a friend who filled me in properly.

[jourdain2]

Well, when I was at school a nurse came and showed a very scratchy film about periods. Then the poor, embarrassed, biology master had to explain the mechanics with animals and refer to humans being the same.

I was completely taken aback when (doing my homework at the kitchen table) I realised that my knickers were wet. I went to ask Mum and she had a panic and had to run across the Green to a friend in order to borrow some pads. Hilarious in retrospect and, to be honest, it didn't traumatise me or anything.

I discovered that (when Supply Teaching) I was often thrown into the situation where I copped a Sex Ed. lesson and ended up in a class watching a video of the birth of a baby or, worse, with a box of prophylactics trying to explain how to use them to a bunch of Muslim boys - and that Mars bar wrappers simply would not 'do'. I'd never met any of these kids before.

Surely it is better now?

[atalanta]

You cannot rely on parents to provide sex education. My own mother was a nurse and told me nothing. Not a word. When I started bleeding I was distraught, thinking I was dying. She still told me nothing. Just provided the goods I needed. Leaving children in ignorance is to leave them open to predators. It goes like this "Oh, no sweetie, this isn't sex, or your parents would have told you about it, wouldn't they ?"

[Mamyalynne]

That is a true sadness and my generation should be ashamed if we didn't educate our children, thank goodness I and many others bucked that trend as my children have done with my Grandchildren.

[jim360]

I'm sure most of us would agree that it *should* be down to the parents -- but the whole point of a (compulsory) Sex Ed at school is in case this doesn't happen, or if it does happens in a way that's even more damaging.

The ideal approach is for Schools and parents to work together -- and certainly isn't for either of these to wait for the other lot to get around to it.