THE Government’s recent announcement that sex-and-relationships education is to be made compulsory in all schools in England has been welcomed by local education providers.

The Department for Education said it wants all children to learn about safe and healthy relationships and, at an appropriate age, about sex too.

But it said that it remained “committed” to parents’ rights to withdraw their children from secondary sex-education classes “but not from relationships education at primary” schools.

Religious schools will also be able to teach these subjects “according to the tenets of their faith”.

At present, sex education is compulsory only for secondary schools run by local authorities.

Academies, on the other hand, have more freedom and are not strictly bound to the National Curriculum in the same way as maintained schools.

However, now the Government wants all primary schools - including academies, private schools and free schools - to teach relationship education; and all secondary schools to teach age-appropriate sex and relationship education.

The Government said it will consult experts on what should be taught to children, and at what age, with a public consultation on the matter set for later this year.

Peter Edgar, executive member for education at Hampshire County Council, said: “We support the introduction of statutory relationship and sex education in secondary schools, and age-appropriate relationship education in primary schools as part of the personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum.

“Good relationship and sex education in schools helps to provide children with the knowledge, resilience and confidence they need to challenge exploitative relationships - that includes tackling the additional issues for this generation posed by social media and the internet.

“In our view, it is not necessary for the Government to provide standardised frameworks or programmes of study.

“It is important that schools have the freedom to choose the resources they feel are appropriate to support their teaching, and the flexibility to teach a PSHE programme that includes relationship and sex education and meets the needs of their pupils.

“However, we fully recognise the need to respect a range of views and the importance of approaching this area of PSHE sensitively.

“For this reason, we always stress to schools the importance of developing policy and practice with governors, and that content should be shared with parents so that they can also help shape the nature of those lessons.”

Mill Chase Academy principal Paul Hemmings told the Bordon Herald about the importance of equipping students with this kind of worldly knowledge.

At Mill Chase Academy students have five experience days per academic year, where they are taught about personal-development learning, covering specific personal, social and health education and citizenship statutory requirements.

This includes learning about safe and healthy relationships and sex and relationship education.

“Our age-appropriate lessons emphasise what constitutes healthy relationships along with the dangers faced by modern challenges such as sexting and cyber bullying,” Mr Hemmings added.

“We consider this to be an important part of our work to safeguard our students while we prepare them for adulthood.

“Mill Chase was inspected for the first time since becoming an academy in October, when the school was graded as ‘good’ in all areas and Ofsted reported that ’the culture of safeguarding evident throughout the school is recognised by pupils, parents and staff.

“‘Pupils are safe, happy and well looked after because of the positive relationships they have with their teachers and other adults in the school. Pupils’ welfare is at the heart of the work of all those involved in the school community.’"