Primary mixed sex ed classes

I think separate is best. Of course, you can have a general class overview for all but separate sex education is really important especially because of the maturity differences between the sexes at that age. Girls will be going through puberty earlier than boys and it's a much more immediate issue for them. And girls deserve privacy to talk about their bodies without the interference of boys. I don't care how kind or respectful a boy may be (and there are many lovely boys at that age) his mere presence changes the dynamics of the class.

I'm sure this is true for boys as well. Shouldn't they have a space to talk and learn about their own bodies without the presence of girls?

I'd be concerned if they weren't all together. I would imagine some teachers would allow children to write down questions anonymously for the teacher to answer as to not cause embarrassment.

Surely boys learning that periods aren't a girls dirty secret is ideal? Not all boys have siblings or mothers who menstruate. My mum had a hysterectomy in her early 30's before I'd even started mine. My brother only properly learned about periods in school as no way was I talking about it in front of him during my teens. My dad was absolutely useless and had a massive freak attack when I leaked the once as a teenager.

Trust the teachers on this. They really know what they are doing. They probably will have separate sex discussions. But you could have a discussion at home. School what’s app groups are a nightmare. Glad I’m not in that situation anymore.

I taught sex education in a primary school 25 years ago and it was the whole class together. So not a new thing. You are at liberty to remove your child I believe.

Surely doing it separate just reinforces that that's women's stuff, not for us males to worry about. I thought we were trying to reduce period stigma for women, I say do it all together

Yep, you can’t move for traumatised kids who’ve been through this experience can you? It’s on the news, both national and local, daily. Oh wait…never mind.
Parents WhatsApp groups make anything into the biggest something almost as a rule.

We always taught Y5 and Y6 together as it’s important that they each have an understanding of puberty in both sexes.
As a pp has said, we did split girls and boys for a separate more sensitive chat with more detail on periods, wet dreams etc.

Nothing stops them from discussing their own bodies and changes at home though. By the time we had sex ed at school it was old news to me.
Of course kids should be taught together. It massively helps to remove the stigma around it and prevents threads like we had a few days ago where a male doctor didn't "deal with women's issues".

We haven't taught single sex education in primary schools since the early 1990s! Why don't boys need to know the details of female anatomy? Might help them as adults empathise with girls who are menstruating and might even help them find the clitoris!

They tend to be taught together, then separated for more detailed discussion and questions. You need to trust the school and the process.
It’s important this stuff is taught properly to protect children. It gives them the knowledge and vocabulary they need to use to report if something ‘not right’ happens to them or their friends.