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Sunday 7 August 2011

Sex education lessons will start at the age of seven in new Government curriculum Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1079882/Sex-educ

TEACHER Children as young as seven will be taught the facts of life in compulsory sex education lessons.

Pupils aged five will prepare for the classes by learning about body parts and sex differences. More explicit material will be covered if it is raised by the youngsters.

Family campaigners are furious at the measures. However, ministers have yet to decide whether parents will be able to withdraw children from the classes, due to be introduced by 2010.

The reforms bring personal, social and health education on to the mandatory school curriculum alongside subjects such as maths and English.

As well as covering sex and relationships, primary and secondary schools will be under a duty to teach pupils about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

Unveiling the shake-up, Schools Minister Jim Knight blamed 'soap storylines and music videos' for increasing children's exposure to 'sexual imagery and sexual content'.

He said age-appropriate sex and relationships education from five onwards was needed to combat the 'earlier sexualisation' of youngsters.

But family campaigners described the lessons as 'too much, too young' and said they could have the opposite effect and encourage sexualisation.

They accused ministers of reneging on a promise to hold a full public consultation before accepting the conclusions of their sex education review group



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