Sex education appears to begin at 5, the exciting bits don’t come till late primary school or after. It’s all here.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/158295/0042865.pdf

My reference to a low age of sex education (not consent) was to growth in Height, not Number of the population and the consequent earlier physical maturity.

Deliberate malnutrition of the Dutch population during the war resulted in birth problems when girls born during that period became mothers. The next generation, better fed and benefiting from modern ante-natal care are growing faster than the Americans (who are getting fatter and shorter).

Seal Pup, I never specifically mentioned Muslim families. I referred to problems relating to people from a specific geographical area, but I think these problems arise out of their long-standing culture rather than their religious beliefs.

I suspect any opposition to this legislation is due to suspicion about the Government’s motives, which publication of an objective review and analysis (if there is one) might allay.

“Will people like the wretched Balls never learn? Can’t he see that it is his government’s policies that have led to countless poorly-educated young girls thinking that getting pregnant is the quickest way to picking up both a large welfare cheque and a key to their own council flat.
The tragedy is that ministers seem utterly incapable of realising that it is proper education that these girls need to help them escape poverty – not more sex lessons. ”

This viewpoint resonates particularly with me having spent a half-term week week with my chidren & grandchildren.

One of my two teenage grandaughters describes classes in which the teacher doesn’t turn up & children sit waiting; classes in which teachers stand in to take a subject they do not understand, and subjects which are of particular interest to her which are taught at a level she finds simplistic ,boring & patronising.

As a result she is totally cynical about her so called education.

Try joining Facebook -as I have just done-and read your children’s & grandchildren’s exchanges.

Their education is a joke for some of our youngsters.
No wonder we have the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Europe-sex must be something interesting to do as a stimulating change from school.

What many people ( I believe) are very wary of is the teaching of this subject -particularly to young children-in the context of “ethics”, “emotions”, “relationships” …..and that much misused word “values”.

These contexts allow far too much scope for the teacher to promote ideas & attitudes which they espouse, but which may not tally with those of the child’s parents.

I notice that no poster who has raised the point that “children belong to their parents, not the state” has addressed my point that not all parents are good parents. It simply is not enough just to say that government should just get out of the way and allow untrammelled “parental choice” to decide the educational outcomes of every child on the country. We already have a situation where parental choice is limited in the sense that all children must be provided with some kind of education which meets certain minimum standards. To me sex education is a key aspect of an education which meets those minimum standards.

Neil, you write that “there is absolutely no need for 5 year olds to be taught about puberty, or 7 year olds about same sex marriage. That is the content of primary school sex education in the UK, which is frankly pretty shocking”. Those ages are too young to be learning about such things. However 10 or 11 is in my view not.

That’s the nub of it. In terms of peoples’ ethical values, this is a minefield. You either end up with a subject that is extremely contentious, and generates real anger among many parents and pupils, or else, like RE, bland lowest common denominator stuff.

It’s typical of this government to think that every social problem can be fixed by the government.

On sex education – it is suitable for secondary school children – but there is absolutely no need for 5 year olds to be taught about puberty, or 7 year olds about same sex marriage. That is the content of primary school sex education in the UK, which is frankly pretty shocking.