Quango calls for sex education for primary pupils

BY ED WEST
A QUANGO has called for sex and relationship education to be taught to primary school children.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), which advises Government on public health issues as well as approving drugs for use on the NHS, wants the lessons alongside classes advising children as young as five about the dangers of alcohol.
Its draft guidance says sex education should begin with lessons on how to value friendships and respect other people. At present older children are taught about the biological effects of alcohol but the dangers of binge drinking, recommended safe limits and the consequences of being drunk are not covered in any formal way in schools.
Nice also recommends that parents should be offered parenting classes to help them talk to their children about sex, relationships and alcohol, and homework should be set to encourage discussion of the issues in the home. Parents should also be reassured that sex education would not mean encouraging children to engage in sexual activity.
Nice said children should be given lessons which are “factually accurate, unbiased and non-judgmental”, tailored to each age group, and take into account “cultural, faith and family” issues.
Plans for compulsory sex education were contained in a Bill put forward by the last government. But the proposals, which would have seen pupils taught about contraception, abortion and civil partnerships, were dropped from the Bill shortly after the general election was called.
Gillian Leng, Nice deputy chief executive, said: “Starting personal, social, health and economic education early can help improve a child’s ability to develop and sustain friendships, and understand the importance of valuing and having respect for others, building the foundation for later teaching about important subjects such as alcohol and sexual relationships.” Norman Wells of Family and Youth Concern said the Nice proposals would be used to campaign for greater state involvement in sex education.
“The team that drafted the guidance included representatives of lobby groups with an agenda to break down traditional moral standards, re-define the family and encourage sexual experimentation. Organisations with a clear commitment to marriage and traditional family values were not represented at all,” he said.
“There is no evidence that sex education in primary school leads to lower teenage pregnancy rates, better sexual health or more stable marriages in later life.”