YWCA England & Wales

News

Categories: press releases, sex education and sexual health, young mums and teen pregnancy
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
YWCA welcomes compulsory PSHE

Compulsory sex and relationships education a positive step

YWCA England & Wales welcomes the announcement of compulsory personal, social and health education (PSHE) in schools. Making PSHE, and within it sex and relationships education (SRE), compulsory is a positive step in ensuring young people are better informed when making choices about their lives.

"Those who have questioned the starting age of five should bear in mind that programmes will be age appropriate." says Sarah Payne, Chief Executive YWCA. "This programme is about informing children and young people about safe and healthy relationships and reducing ignorance around sex. The programmes are designed with parents to give children high quality education. This allows them to make informed choices later in their lives that are right for them."

The young women who YWCA works with, including hundreds of teenage mums, tell us that their sex and relationships education was too little, too late and too biological. They feel so strongly about the importance of good quality SRE they regularly take their messages out on the streets and in classrooms, urging their peers to get informed about their sexual health and personal relationships.

The Government should be congratulated for listening to the voices of young people seeking guidance in today's complicated world.

You can read our briefings and information sheets on sex education here.