As I embarked upon the mystifying, transitional journey from child to adolescent I became reliant upon the genial advice offered to similarly confused pre-teens in the problem pages of bubblegum magazines such as Mizz and Sugar. Their affable responses to sleep addling questions such as, “I touched my boyfriend’s penis, am I pregnant?” helped guide me gently through the rough waters of adolescence. Coupled with the playground oracle who has been sexually active since they were 11, I began to develop what I considered to be a wealth of knowledge on the subject of sex and whilst despite receiving relatively little information in the way of sex education in school, thanks to the increasing exposure of sexually concerned media and the generic ‘birds and the bees’ chat from my parents, I felt somewhat prepared for what to expect. That said, I am completely behind the current sex and relationships (SRE) curriculum presently taught in some primary schools and only wish the wealth of resources available to educators now were existing when I was younger. (Mostly, this is due to the joyous little illustrations that encapsulate and explain the various ambiguities surrounding the topic).
Being able to address the mechanics and understand the ins and outs (sorry) of sex without embarrassment in early education is in my opinion one way to attempt to counteract the over sexualisation of children. Sex is found around almost every corner in every possible medium we encounter on a daily basis, it would be laudable to try and impose standards of chastity on those under the arbitrary age of the physically mature 16 year old. The goal of SRE is to inform as much as it is to guide and protect, and by introducing children to the anatomical aspects as well as emotional responses to sex, children are more likely to develop a mature and healthy attitude.
The report by the Christian Institute, which tries to raise concerns about SRE in primary schools, is particularly worried about "explicit" materials that it says may become more widespread if a campaign for compulsory SRE in schools succeeds.
The Christian Institute has complained that at least 10 books or teaching packs used in English primary schools for lessons on sex and relationships contain images or descriptions that are "obviously unsuitable". Its report, Too Much, Too Young, criticises, among others, a BBC teaching pack for its images of a nude man and woman and the children's book Mummy Laid an Egg, by Babette Cole, for its child-like drawings of a man and woman having sex on a skateboard and wearing red noses. It should be noted that this book won the British Illustrated Children's Book of the Year.
The report also advises parents to contact their children’s schools and recommends they ask teachers to show them the materials being used. This I wholly agree with, I’m sure sex educators do not wish to cause unnecessary upset to parents and children, and the teachers with the responsibility of conducting SRE classes will use their professional judgment when deciding what materials are appropriate. The resources and teaching packs available are simply recommendations and not compulsory, however, if they were to become utilized in a greater number of schools, I can’t foresee the extent of the damage the Christian Institute believes they would cause. The lessons are not used as an intention to teach children to have sex, their purpose is to educate on the facts and the difference between boys and girls’ bodies. I may be criticized for commenting so ineptly on a subject that I can’t claim to have any association with, I’m not a parent nor am I an educator. I do have friends with children though, and they have begun to express an interest in understanding their bodies and have been given matter of fact responses when they’ve queried “how?” Or “why?” And their response towards the opposite sex when it is suggested that they may have a boyfriend/girlfriend is generally one of utter repugnance. I don’t think you’d be taking away from a child’s innocence by giving them frank answers on the birds and the bees and I certainly don’t think it would encourage children to engage in sexual activity any earlier, if anything, the viewing of a live birth or a photo of someone’s STI riddled genitalia may be enough to put them off the idea for years!
Ultimately, teaching about sex and relationships in schools is always going to be a grey area, riddled with opposition from those with a religious bias. It shouldn’t be a subject at the heart of so much controversy though especially when we live in times where sex, whether we like it or not, has become an everyday occurrence.
