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Sex education will start at age 4 in Glasgow
From The Times
October 9, 2009

Children as young as 4 are to be given sex education in Scotland’s largest local authority area, in a move which the council says has been welcomed by parents and teachers. Primary one (P1) pupils in Glasgow will learn about human body parts and animal reproduction as part of the new Sexual Health and Relationships Curriculum, which runs through to the sixth year.

In the early years, youngsters will learn the names of different parts of the human body and discover how animals reproduce. By P3 — aged about seven — they will “know and understand where humans come from”. In their final year of secondary school, they will be taught about issues around Aids and HIV.
Glasgow City Council claimed that the lessons had the “overwhelming support of pupils, parents and teachers alike”. However, the Conservatives raised concerns about their suitability for the youngest children. Maureen McKenna, the city’s director of education, insisted that topics would be “introduced at an appropriate age and handled in an appropriate way”.

The scheme has been piloted in 13 primaries and two secondary schools in the east of Glasgow and is aimed at encouraging a link between home, school and community learning for pupils. It is currently being rolled out across the council area.

Although the city does not have the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Scotland, it still stands at 54.1 per 100,000 of 15to 17-year-olds. Almost half of the 109 new cases of HIV recorded in Scotland last year were from Glasgow.

An evaluation of the sex education pilot project found that primary pupils were more enthusiastic about the lessons than secondary pupils. It also established that "parents, once fully aware of the new approach, welcomed it, recognising the importance of the topic while appreciating that their involvement is always encouraged".
Councillor James Coleman, the deputy leader of Glasgow City Council who chairs the steering group, said: "As we understand, this is the first curriculum to give pupils a comprehensive sexual health and relationships education throughout their school careers. Work on the curriculum has been

built upon a long-term understanding of what parents and children want to see in sexual health and relationships education.
"Both parents and children made it very clear to us they wanted to be closer to one another on this issue and this curriculum allows for that to happen. Stronger bonds between parent and their child helps to encourage young people to delay engaging in sexual activity until they are physically and emotionally equipped to deal with the consequences." Liz Smith, teh Scottish Tories’ spokeswoman for children and schools, said: "There will be massive concerns in many quarters about extending sex education to the school curriculum for children in primary one.”