‘Shockingly high’ numbers of STI diagnoses prompt councils to call for compulsory sex education in UK secondary schools
Inadequate sex and relationships education (SRE) in schools is
creating “a ticking sexual health time bomb”, councils are warning, amid
concern over high numbers of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among young people.
The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents 370 councils
in England and Wales, has joined the growing clamour urging the
government to make sex education
compulsory in all secondary schools. Currently it is mandatory in local
authority-maintained schools, but not in academies and free schools
which make up 65% of secondaries.
Izzi Seccombe, chair of the LGA’s community wellbeing board, said it
was a major health protection issue. “The lack of compulsory sex and
relationship education in academies and free schools is storing up
problems for later on in life, creating a ticking sexual health time
bomb, as we are seeing in those who have recently left school.
“The shockingly high numbers of STI diagnoses in teenagers and young
adults, particularly in the immediate post-school generation, is of huge
concern to councils.
The LGA argues that it is a health protection issue, with 141,000 new STI diagnoses for 20- to 24-year-olds in England in 2015 and 78,000 for those aged 15-19.
Sexual health is one of local government’s biggest areas of public
health spending, with approximately £600m budgeted annually.
The LGA appeal came as the government was reported to be close to making an announcement
regarding SRE and PSHE (personal, social, health and economic
education), after the education secretary, Justine Greening, flagged up
the issue as a priority for government.
Campaigners hope the announcement will be made during the next stage of the children and social work bill,
which is passing through parliament. An amendment with cross-party
support was tabled last week which, if carried, would would amount to
the biggest overhaul in sex education in 17 years, but it is not yet
clear what the government announcement will amount to, and crucially
whether it will make SRE compulsory.
Seccombe said: “We believe that making sex and relationship
education compulsory in all secondary schools, not just
council-maintained ones, could make a real difference in reversing this
trend, by preparing pupils for adulthood and enabling them to better
take care of themselves and fture partners.”
The LGA says while SRE should be made compulsory for secondary school
children, with statutory guidance on key issues including sexual
health, parents should still be given the option of taking their
children from the lessons.
Tory MP Maria Miller was among those proposing the amendment to the bill last week. It followed an inquiry by the women and equalities committee,
chaired by Miller, which heard that most children have seen online
pornography by the time they leave primary school and two thirds will
have been asked for a sexual digital image of themselves before they
leave secondary school.
According to Miller, research has shown that just one in four
children at secondary school receives any teaching on sex and
relationship issues, and Ofsted has said that when it is taught the
quality of teaching is often poor.
“Different interest groups cannot agree on a way forward that suits
them and in the meantime we are letting down a generation of children
who are not being taught how to keep themselves safe in an online,
digital world,” said Miller.
“We are not teaching them that pornography isn’t representative of a
typical relationship, that sexting images are illegal and could be
distributed to child abuse websites and how to be aware of the signs of
grooming for sexual exploitation.
“Overwhelmingly parents and children are fed up and want change. They want compulsory lessons in school to teach children and young people about consent and healthy relationships.”
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