The Government’s announcement making sex education and the dangers of drugs and alcohol compulsory for children as young as five, has family values campaigners up in arms, saying instead of deterring, it will only ‘encourage experimentation’. 

The new curriculum will see children aged five taught body parts and facts about animal reproduction. Two years later, they will be taught the facts of life and about puberty. Age eleven onwards, detailed information about contraception, sexually transmitted infections and abortion will be provided to them. 

The changes to be implemented from September 2010, come after reviewing sex and drugs education imparted in schools. However, those campaigning for traditional family values feel that children will be subjected to controversial issues, much before they are ready to handle them. Some like Norman Wells, the director for Family Education Trust, feels mandatory sex education mandatory and the call for ‘safer sex’ will only abandon young people to the pain of numerous broken relationships, besides exposing them to the risk of sexual diseases and mental health problems. 

However, parents will still have the option of taking their children out of certain sex education lessons.