The majority of school children want sex and relationships education, so why isn't it compulsory?

Kids in classroom
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According to a poll commissioned by Bernardo’s and carried out by YouGov, three quarters of kids between the ages of 11 and 15 think they’d be safer if given age-appropriate sex education in school.

This comes at a time in which more and more pressure is being put on the government to make sex and relationships education (SRE) compulsory, as chairs of five parliamentary committees have recently written to the education secretary in favour of the idea.

Why now? If you’re a parent who has even the slightest insight into your how kids spend their free time, you’ll be well aware that their lives are more digital than ever – and that as well as the valuable information and knowledge they have access to, they can also be exposed to porn, sexting and online grooming.

Girl on phone
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So the idea behind compulsory SRE is that these aspects of modern life are impossible to entirely censor, so children must be equipped with the knowledge to navigate them safely instead.

But as of yet, not much beyond the basic biology behind menstruation and egg fertilisation is compulsory to teach – and last February, the education secretary rejected calls to make SRE compulsory, much to the dismay of campaigners.

So what gives? Despite the poll’s findings, there are several arguments against the idea too.

For religious parents that prefer to send their children to faith schools, the current system means that their kids won’t be bombarded with education that opposes their own beliefs towards sex, contraception and abortion.

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The fear for these parents is that new policy would prevent them from withdrawing their children from classes they felt weren’t appropriate – they’d have to be taught the subject matter with no exceptions.

And many believe – religious or non-religious – that topics such as sex, contraception and digital safety is a parent’s responsibility to teach their child in a way they deem appropriate, not the government.

Though there’s a problem here, particularly when it comes to the digital world of sex.

Can anyone truthfully say they can navigate technology more effectively than their children? Anyone that’s seen their two-year-old navigating an iPad can probably admit it – nope; according to a 2014 Ofcom report, even six-year-olds understand digital technology better than their parents.

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So chances are, your kids are being exposed to things you don’t even know exist, let alone things you know how to protect them from. According to the NSPCC, for example, one in seven young people have taken a semi-naked or naked picture of themselves – and over half went on to share the picture with someone else.

That certainly wasn’t a reality when we were on the playground, so how can we expect to help our kids navigate it?

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg; do you feel you have the knowledge to teach your kids how to avoid online groomers, or how best to deal with the porn being shared around at school?

Exactly.

Do you think sex and relationships education should be compulsory at school? Tweet us at @YahooStyleUK.

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