School sex

lessons compulsory under law
MRS. Margaret Thatcher. Secretary of State for Education, confirmed last week that parents had no legal right to withdraw their children from school sex instruction.
And in a B.B.C. television programme on Suhday she expressed regret over this state of affairs but reiterated its legality. She hoped that head teachers would use their discretion wisely in cases where a parent objected to his child having to attend such instruction.
Mrs. Thatcher's original declaration followed an investigation of complaints from parents that headmasters were refusing permission for children to be dispensed from attending sex instruction. Some children had been compelled to watch B.B.C. sex education films for eight and nine year olds.
She set out her views in a letter to the National Viewers and Listeners Association founded by Mrs. Mary Whitehouse in 1965 to combat permissiveness in the mass media.
Mrs. Thatcher was reminded of a pledge made by Miss Alice Bacon (now Lady Bacon) in 1969 that the B.B.C. had undertaken to seek parents' consent in every case before the sex programmes were shown.
EDUCATION ACT Mrs. Thatcher pointed out that the Schools Broadcasting Council, which had originally commissioned the series of sex films,was in no position to give any undertaking of the kind Lady Bacon had mentioned.
A Department of Education spokesman said that parents under the 1944 Education Act had the right to withdraw their children from religious education, but sex education was not mentioned. Therefore it could come within the category of compulsory lessons.
In her television interview Mrs. Thatcher admitted she did not know whether sex education was being handled with sufficient care in schools at the moment.
Her Department's views had not been sought by the B.B.C. over the sex film series. But she did not think any legislative change was needed to give parents the right to withdraw their child from sex classes.