UK asks parents to contribute to sex education curriculum

The UK government today urged parents and teachers to participate in a new eight-week consultation to help in shaping sex education curriculum of the country's schools.
UK education secretary Justine Greening had earlier announced that sex and relationships education would be made compulsory in all schools in England and all primary and secondary schools must teach children about same-sex relationships and be "sensitive" to transgender issues.
The UK government launched a mass consultation to overhaul the sex education guidance last updated in 2000.
It is seen as out-of-date as it does not address issues like "sexting", online safety and cyberbullying, as well as mental well-being.

"The world's changed a lot since then, not least the online risks that our children and young people face, whether cyberbullying, the huge amount of inappropriate material that is on the internet and sex so we now need to update this guidance," Greening said.
"This call for evidence is about giving teachers, parents and especially young people a chance to help shape that new approach and I'd urge them to take part," she said.

The consultation will be led by Tenax Schools Trust's Ian Bauckham, who said he hoped the initiative would "improve provision for all our young people in all types of school".

It will look at areas such as what teachers think pupils should be taught, how parents expect children to be taught age-appropriate sex and relationships education, and what youngsters think they would benefit from being taught.
From September 2019, all schools in England will be required to teach Relationship and Sex Education (RSE).
In primary schools, the focus will be on building healthy relationships and staying safe, while in secondary school it would focus on sex as well as relationships.