How sex education is changing

How did you learn about the birds and the bees?

I was around 7 or 8 and my mum handed me a book and said “read this”. It was a cartoon about how babies were made; I was aware of the whole process through whispers in the playgroups and because I had older friends I had heard and knew what sex was even if I didn’t have the whole picture.

My Barbie dolls would have “sexy time” so we could introduce babies to the game, with Barbie and Ken stripped of all their clothes and rubbed together for a few seconds then “POP” we had a mini Barbie or Ken.

We watched Grease and giggled at the cartoon bare bums in the opening credits and blushed when Rizzo and Kenickie had an unfortunate moment with a broken condom. I wasn’t shielded from it; in fact if I had questions, my mum was always there to give an honest, open answer. I remember asking what virginity was after hearing it in the Sandy Dee song and my mum telling me. Oh how I brushed at her answer.

At the age of 9 or 10, children are giving the cold medical facts of life in school and actually get to see a baby being born. I have found out from a fellow mum that they still in fact use the same video they showed us nearly 25 years ago. Though the mechanics of sex haven’t changed, the world and the view of sex have changed significantly. Is it time to change how we teach our children about sex?

Well it is due to be changed and by 2020 will have a much needed over haul. The thing is the focus isn’t going to change. Sex is and will continue to be taught in a negative way. It’s taught as a problem that has to be managed other than a thing of nature. Often delivered like it’s an afterthought and by embarrassed teachers to equally more embarrassed students.

The number of young adults leaving school with little or no knowledge of contraction, relationships or what is consent is shocking. They aren’t prepared for a huge part of adult life...which is relationship and sex.

LGBT will be included in this new look and about time too; I believe there is not a child out there now a day that is not aware even if just a tiny bit about this fact of life. Far too many students feel lost, sitting in a classroom where a teacher fails to identify how they feel and any experiences they have or may encounter. Sex education for the LBGT ignores their needs and ignores the need for others to be educated on this to. Cora knows that people marry for love, this is helped by the fact she has a good friend that has two mummies and an uncle who will marry a man. This is life and without education this leads to ignorance.

Parents will still have the rights to censor their children from the class if they wish and it may also be altered to deal with any sensitivities dealing with religious beliefs.

Young people in Holland, Demark, Finland and Sweden have sex education and information about sexual diversity through secondary and primary schools, this is compulsory. These countries are leader in the field boosting some of the lowest teenage pregnancy rates in the world. Studies have shown that well-designed and well-taught sex education can support positive sexual health outcomes, such as reducing teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection rates.

Schoolchildren will also be taught about consent and peer pressure for the first in both the real world and the virtual one which is so important in the this day and age, understanding what consent means, how to both give it and recognise it in others, as well as the laws around sexual exploitation, abuse, grooming, harassment and domestic abuse will be explained and this is vital in this day and age. We should be teaching our children the dangers of this, as the time of brushing it under the carpet are gone.

Pupils will be taught concepts of consent in an age-appropriate way, beginning in primary school, including how to deal with peer pressure so consent is not forced and the understanding that consent can be withdrawn, both online and offline. Damian Hinds, the education secretary, said: “It’s vital that every child knows about their rights and that nothing should happen to them without their consent.

The makeover is heading in the right way but still has a long way to go. I do feel though this all starts at home and that we must continue to educate our own children in the way of sex and relationships. It is not all down to the schools. It may not be the most comfortable talk you have with your children but a vital one and one I am sure they will thank you for as soon as they stop blushing.

Many parents fear that talking about the basic information is the same as giving young people permission to have sex. While for many good reasons teenagers are not ready for sex, withholding information about sexuality, STDs, and contraception until young people are "ready" only increases the chance that they will make mistakes. And mistakes do happen, the UK does have one of the highest teen pregnancy rate in Europe.

Parents need to provide guidelines for their children that fit their morals. Given the fact that many teens have sex without their parents' consent, as parents we can try to make sure that these experiences aren’t awful. Standards are good for children, as well as for adults. Children want and need sensible rules to follow.

How do you feel about this? Is it about time we reassess sex education? I would love to hear what you think.