50 signatures reached
To: David Cameron
Legislate age-appropriate sex and relationship education in all schools.
Please legislate for compulsory sex and relationship education and PSHE in all schools, to keep our children informed and safer. Please support the above proposal, backed by four parliamentary select committees, five teaching unions, the Children's Commissioner, the chief Medical Officer, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, and many senior female cabinet minsters; in addition to recommendations by parents, teachers, pupils and campaigners.
Why is this important?
Sex education can teach respectful attitudes and values - including consent and communication skills, help pupils be more informed about violence and exploitation and explore sex as a regular fact of life.
Significantly in our changing world, sex education can help pupils understand on- and offline safety. From an increasingly young age, children are accessing disturbing and abusive sexual imagery online. However hard parents try to put the right controls in place, they need a helping hand from schools. Numerous polls have found there's overwhelming parental support for compulsory sex education.
Sex and relationship education won’t stop abusers preying on children. It won’t stop pre-pubescent boys watching hardcore porn. But it might help children become more ready for the world: by helping them to keep themselves safe online and off-, to be able to put inappropriate material in context, and to have a fair crack at understanding sex and relationships (to the extent that any of us do).
