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What you say

"It is about being taught the things that you don't learn in other lessons, like keeping safe, and you use your own opinions to contribute."

Year 10 student


Children's organisations and sexual health experts back the campaign for compulsory SRE

In a letter to the Times, a large group of leading children's organisations and sexual health experts back the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) campaign for compulsory sex and relationships education (SRE).

The letter highlights the findings of research carried out for UKYP, which found that many young people thought that their SRE was inadequate. Half of the 20,000 teenagers surveyed said they had never been taught about the effects of teenage pregnancy and would not know where to find their nearest sexual health clinic. More than half (55 per cent) of 12 to 15-year-old girls and 57 per cent of 16 to 17 year-old girls had not been taught how to use a condom, and the majority of pupils aged over 17 said they had not received any information about personal relationships at school.

In a comment piece in the Guardian, Polly Toynbee backs the case for compulsory SRE, and also argues for a higher priority for PSHE, a full-time nurse and a youth worker in every school, and accessible sexual health services for young people.

More from BBC News website

More info on the UK Youth Parliament's Campaign

http://www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk/sre

Last updated date : 12/7/2007


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