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Sex education should no longer be "opt-out" says a Conservative MP who also wants parents to have more information about what their child is taught about relationships.
Andrea Leadsom MP has called for a shift in the way primary school children are taught sex and relationship education (SRE).
Leadsom welcomed the idea that children need to be taught about responsible and safe sex but argued that some campaigns and organisations were "completely inappropriate" and sent out "totally the wrong message".
Speaking at a Westminster Hall debate, the Member of Parliament for South Northamptonshire said that "guidance should be given to aid local authorities, school governors and parents in finding the right material to use in SRE in our primary schools".
Annette Brooke MP intervened, suggesting it would be better to ensure that teachers were well-trained and retained rather than worry about education packages.
Citing the system used by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), Leadsom shared her concern that a number of parents are unaware of what their child is being taught at school. To address this, she suggested changing the provision of SRE so a parent has to 'opt-in' a child.
Stephen Gilbert MP argued in favour of SRE, stating it was important in helping people "better negotiate the point at which they want to take part in sexual activities”. He said it was a myth that sex education did not work and merely encouraged increased sexual activity.
Pamela Nash MP pointed to rising HIV infection levels and increased prevalence of HIV discrimination, as highlighted in recent work by the National AIDS Trust, as a reason to not shy away from SRE.
"Young people simply are not learning the facts about HIV and AIDS, and that has to change if we are to make any headway in reversing the number of new infections," she added.
Nash returned to Brooke's point that teachers' knowledge and skills needed to be stronger, citing an Ofsted report which was critical of teaching levels.
Shadow education minister, Kevin Brennan, deemed the opt-in suggestion "inappropriate".
Nick Gibb, the education minister, made it clear that there were no plans from the government to make SRE compulsory in primary schools.
He did, however, acknowledge the important role that parents had and urged them to become more involved through engaging in dialogue with governors and headteachers.
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