- Compulsory sex education for five-year-olds will be demanded
today by government advisers on teenage pregnancy, as an essential step
towards halving the under-18 conception rate by 2010.
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- The teaching of sex and relationships in primary schools
is not progressing fast enough to prepare children for the earlier onset
of puberty, the Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy will warn
ministers in its annual report.
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- The advisers have been encouraged by a 10% reduction
in the teenage conception rate since 1998, and they attribute part of this
improvement to more confident teaching of personal, social and health education
(PSHE) in secondary schools.
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- But the government-appointed group is expected to say:
"We are disappointed this new confidence is not reflected in primary
schools."
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- It will call for PSHE to be made part of the statutory
curriculum at all key stages of education from five to 16, with regular
checks by Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, on the competence of teaching.
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- Under the current rules, most state schools provide PSHE,
but only the study of citizenship in secondary schools is compulsory. Ofsted
reports on the emotional, spiritual and moral development of pupils, but
there has been no thorough study of sex and relationship education.
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- Gill Frances, deputy chairwoman of the advisory group,
said: "We know this is not properly assessed across all schools."
But it was important to start education about sex and relationships in
the early years at primary school.
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- Encouraging children to start talking about feelings
and relationships developed emotional skills that helped them to avoid
teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted infection and drug taking, she
said.
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- The advisory group will ask ministers to give statutory
force to sex education guidelines prepared by Ofsted. They say pupils by
the age of seven should be able to compare the external parts of the human
body, share their feelings and use simple rules for resisting pressure
from strangers.
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- By 11 they should be able to express opinions about relationships
and bullying, recognise their changing emotions, discuss moral questions
and know how to resist unwanted physical contact. They should understand
the physical changes that take place in puberty, the need for love in stable
relationships and the safe routines needed to avoid the spread of viruses
including HIV.
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- Ms Frances said the report would advise ministers to
leave schools some discretion over the pace of the sex curriculum: "There
is no point in pushing schools to do more than parents and the local community
can stand."
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- The advisory group is expected to call on the government
to do more to change the behaviour of hard-to-reach groups. Proposals include
a national information campaign targeted at boys and young men, particularly
from black and ethnic minorities, and an advert to ensure under-16s know
they have the same rights to confidentiality as adults when they seek advice.
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- SocietyGuardian.co.uk © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2003
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- http://society.guardian.co.uk/publichealth/story/0,11098,996042,00.html
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