Schools to segregate boys, girls for sex education class
Move intended to help cut teenage pregnancies
London: Boys and girls will be separated for sex education classes as part of a drive to cut the number of unmarried young mothers in an area notorious for teenage pregnancies.
Knowsley has been dubbed Single Mother Central with nearly 70 per cent of children born outside marriage, one-and-a-half times the national average.
Now the Merseyside borough's schools are planning to segregate pupils for sex education after a review found children were more likely to heed the advice in same-sex groups. It is also hoped that lessons could be more closely targeted, for example educating boys about the responsibilities of fatherhood.
But family values campaigners, who blame Britain's seemingly insoluble teenage pregnancy problem on the emphasis on sex education, branded the initiative wrong-headed yesterday.
In the late 1990s, Knowsley became notorious for one of the country's highest rates of teenage motherhood, at almost 55 pregnancies per 1,000 girls.
That was cut to 43.3 by 2008, compared to a national average of 40.4.
But the area still has the highest proportion of children born outside marriage at 68.5 per cent.
The borough council is expected to approve a report backing segregated sex education classes in a bid to further cut teenage pregnancy.
Confidence
It comes after a review found pupils said they would feel ‘more comfortable' in single-sex groups. Officials are also targeting parents, encouraging them to feel confident to talk about sex with their children, as well as ensuring teenagers can get contraceptives. Norman Wells, director of the Family Education Trust, said the plan will not have the effect the council is hoping for.
"There is always a danger that discussing sexual issues in the classroom could break down the inhibitions of children and young people and make them more vulnerable, and this may be a particular risk within a mixed-sex group," he said.
- Do you support sex education? At what age do you think it should be introduced? Will such an initiative lower the number of unmarried young mothers?
