UK Youth Parliament - Debatable Issue 5 - text only version |
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Contents Young people set to storm House of Lords The great sex & relationships debate |
The Great Sex (and relationships!) Debate | |
On 4th December 2007, the UK Youth Parliament wrote to The Times newspaper calling on the Government to make Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) a statutory part of the national curriculum. The letter was supported by health professionals, other youth charities, MPs and celebrities such as Davina McCall and Danni Minogue. The letter gained massive media attention, resulting in key talks with the Government to discuss the way forward. In this special report, Josh McTaggart restates why SRE is so important (below), journalists give their views on the issue (opposite) and Katrina Mather gives an update on what happened at the meeting with the Government (p.14). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The importance of SRE - Are they getting it? By Josh McTaggart, MYP for North Somerset As MYPs we all realise the importance of good quality, compulsory Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) in secondary schools across the UK - the ever soaring numbers of teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases amongst teenagers is evidence of this. Yet, in some places across the country, people still feel ignorance is better than information. It is worrying for us as a generation, that those with the power to make a difference see SRE as an issue that needs to be swept under the carpet in order to not offend those who find the subject beyond the realms of public discussion. So, are our decision makers really getting it? Some may ask: What is the problem with SRE? You may be one of the fortunate young people in the UK who receive regular, high standard and relevant Sex and Relationships Education – you are, however, in the minority. UKYP finds, year on year, SRE is a national problem in schools across the UK, and so the biggest survey that the organisation has ever undertaken was used to collate national data which produced worrying results. In short, nearly three quarters of the young people surveyed felt their SRE was poor, very poor or average – with only a quarter of young people feeling their SRE was being delivered to an acceptable standard. We need to be active in encouraging our decision makers, both local and national, to understand that SRE is the right of a young child, in order to have access to the right information from an appropriate age. There is concern that where SRE is being delivered, it is either being done too late and is therefore useless, or too early and therefore unsuccessful. Delivery should be carried out by trained professionals who will not be awkward in answering personal and sometimes embarrassing questions, instead of a form tutor who is inexperienced in such areas and unaware of certain sensitive issues. So I urge you today, if you have not already done so, to look at your SRE and ask ‘Am I getting it?’. If not, pursue those who make the decisions in your local area and make sure they understand the key concerns UKYP have with the current state of SRE. Make sure they really are getting it! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The media attention: “We have the highest teen pregnancy rates in Western Europe. It’s abysmal, it’s appalling and what we need is education to ensure that doesn’t happen. We need to know all sorts of things about sex…we need education absolutely in the technical details. It’s appalling that 15-year-olds don’t know how to use a condom…We need education about relationships, about self esteem, not having sex for any other reason than feeling comfortable, ready and mature enough.” - Vanessa Feltz, Journalist and Broadcaster “As I have pointed out before, under-age pregnancy, abortion and sexual diseases have actually increased as immoral sex education in this country has spread.” - Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday Columnist “It is extraordinary that sex education still isn’t compulsory in all secondary schools. Labour’s pusillanimous law allows parents to opt their children out and governors to opt whole schools out - and they do. Conveniently, official figures fail to record how many.”- Polly Toynbee, Guardian Columnist “Do these ... half-witted signatories honestly expect us to believe that teenagers are getting pregnant and contracting venereal diseases in modern Britain because they don’t know what causes these things or how to prevent them?” - Tom Utley, Daily Mail Columnist “I can’t remember the last time I took part in a debate where the testimony has been so compelling ... I’ve never heard of relationships discussed as an academic subject, and the way it was described makes absolutely perfect sense to me. Having sat here this morning prepared at the very mention of the phrase “sex education for five year olds” to throw a strop and get really angry, I find myself reviewing my views on this.”- James O’Brien, Radio Presenter and Journalist ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- MYPS TAKE THE FIGHT TO GOVERNMENT By Katrina Mather, MYP for East Sussex A group of five MYPs met with the Minister for Schools, Jim Knight, in mid December to demand answers following the results of the UKYP SRE report “Are you getting it?” which resulted from a massive consultation with young people across the country on the quality of their SRE. The results of the survey were shocking. From the responses of 21,602 young people, we found the vast majority would describe their SRE as poor or very poor! Further to this, out of the young people receiving this bad SRE, 49% didn’t know where their local sexual health clinic was. Young people were being denied the right to access and gain vital information to them. We knew this was a major problem and wanted answers from the Government. After a week of amazing press coverage, in which UKYP got its first front page story, we met the Minister to find out what he was going to do! After two hours battling out the solution to the UK’s sky high teenage pregnancy rates and a rise in homophobic bullying (I think we all enjoyed this a little more than Jim Knight who was finding it hard not to agree with us completely) he committed to reviewing the government policy on SRE and how it can be most effective. This was followed by a meeting on the 30th of January with government officials to negotiate the terms of the review. It will look at: the content of SRE taking into account age appropriation and how best to gain parental support for this; tackling issues within schools’ senior management teams, who currently aren’t prioritising SRE and reviewing the curriculum planning as part of this; and most effective ways to share best practice. Depending on the end result, SRE’s compulsory status may or may not be reviewed. The review committee will be made up of a combination of 3-4 young people, professionals from teaching and schools, and sexual health experts. We are still waiting to hear whether a young person will be co-chairing the committee along with Jim Knight and another professional, but while we pend that decision I think it’s fair to say this is a brilliant result for the campaign and what all of us have worked to achieve. It is a perfect example of the influence UKYP can have on national policies and lets hope for an even more successful 2008! |
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