Brook calls for compulsory sex and relationships education in all schools

Speaking to BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat Brook’s Chief Executive, Simon Blake, called for all UK governments to ensure that all children as soon as they enter primary school will receive sex and relationships education in schools.
Simon Blake said:
“If we get high quality sex and relationships education in every primary and secondary school across the UK all the evidence shows teenage pregnancy rates will continue to fall and will improve young people’s sexual health.
“Whilst sex and relationships education continues to be patchy another generation of children and young people do not get the education they need to form healthy relationships and protect their sexual health.”
Brook wants every primary and secondary school to be legally required to provide sex and relationships education and secondary schools to ensure that young people have access to free confidential contraceptive and sexual health services.
Brook is undertaking a public vote asking the question, Do you agree that Government must ensure that all children and young people get education about puberty, relationships and sex at primary and secondary school? To register your vote please see www.brook.org.uk.
For media enquiries please contact Natalie Collyer, Press Officer, on 020 7284 6062 or 07500 786 762

Moving beyond the birds and the bees by Jackie Behan

I enjoyed Julie Wray’s discussion of language in particular what we call our body parts last week. It made me think how crucial the issue of language is in sexual health and how often in this country we find it easier to use words and phrases which confuse, rather than clarify.

It reminded me of the comments of young people made in a video booth consultation we carried out when we moved premises. I should add that I work for Brook Manchester, a free, confidential young people’s sexual health and advice service, and part of a national network of Brook centres http://www.brook.org.uk/.

We asked young people how they would improve sex and relationship education and one young women offered this evaluation of the SRE delivered in her school, “it’s just the birds and the bees, what’s that all about?”

Indeed, what is that about? I was surprised to see what feels like such an old fashioned and also oblique phrase still be used by young people today. I was certainly disappointed that this young person was receiving SRE that left her feeling so short changed.

Across the UK through it’s clinical services, its campaigning and lobbying work, and its outreach and education work, Brook and its partners are facilitating a shift away from SRE which leaves young people feeling ill equipped to navigate modern relationships and lacking the skills to negotiate safer, more pleasurable sex.

We want to see programmes that offer a broad range of both skills and knowledge being embedded into the curriculum and beyond. We have seen at first hand how they can develop a young persons’ confidence, their emotional resilience and their ability to reflect upon risk and the impact this might have on their life.

We want to move from comments like that to this resounding evaluation by one young women of a programme Brook Manchester delivered in a school non-attenders’ project.

“I learnt not be ashamed of my sexuality.”

I think I can hang up my hat when all young people describe their SRE in terms like that!

Jackie Behan
Outreach Manager
Brook Manchester
Email: jackieb@brookmanchester.org.uk