Kids to be taught about porn and sexting in ALL secondary schools under plans to make classes on sex and relationship compulsory
Sources claim Ministers have drawn up radical proposals in bid to address explosion in sexual bullying in the classroom
KIDS are to be taught about porn and sexting in ALL secondary schools under plans to make sex and relationship education compulsory.
Sources claimed Ministers had drawn up radical proposals in a bid to address an explosion in sexual bullying in the classroom.
A report last month claimed sexual harassment was “part of everyday life” in schools. And an NSPCC study this year found 7 per cent of 11 to 16 year-olds had sent a sexual image to someone else.
The new rules are set to be introduced as an amendment to the Children and Social Work Bill, currently before Parliament.
Education Secretary Justine Greening is set to end an ‘opt-out’ that allows free schools, academies and faith schools to choose whether to run sex education classes.
An insider told the : “Justine is clear that this is something that has to be looked at.
“It is not just a question of making it mandatory but also of what we should be teaching, including issues such as sexting and domestic violence.”
The chairs of five cross-party parliamentary select committees recently urged Ms Greening to push ahead with the move.
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Tory campaigning MP Maria Miller, who heads the Women and Equalities Committee, insisted sex education had to be brought up to date.
She said: “What is currently compulsory in secondary schools is the science of reproduction.
“The rest is based on guidance that was last updated at the turn of the Millennium and makes no reference to pornography through which, as we know, more young children are finding out about sex.”
A spokeswoman for the Department for Education last night refused to confirm when any changes may be tabled.
But she said: “We are actively looking at options to ensure that all children have access to high quality teaching of these subjects.”
In November, Ms Miller said the explosion in smartphone use in schools meant girls were having to deal with behaviour that would never be acceptable in the workplace.
Her committee’s report said nearly three-quarters of all girls and boys had heard terms such as “slut” or “slag” used on a regular basis.