Sexual Education and health in schools

[amyskelton]

Hey there, my name is Amy and I am doing a Graphic Design degree at UWE, bristol. I am doing some research into what parents think about sexual education in schools and was wondering whether you could spare a couple of minutes and answer some questions to help in my investigation.

1- DO you think that more should be done to teach young people about STI's and STD's during class? (why and how??)

2- WOULD you agree that a sexual health clinic (in senior schools) so your child can anonymously seek help/ get tested etc. is necessary in protecting and teaching young people about safe sex.

3- DO you think that homosexual sexual health should be taught along side heterosexual sexual health in schools (bearing in mind that homosexuals have a higher number of STIs and STDs compared to heterosexuals) ?

4- DO you think that normalising the testing of STIs in young people would be an effective way of teaching young people about how to get tested and reducing the stigma that follows STIs and STI testing? (for example once your child hits 16 they would get automaticly tested in a professional and safe environment at school and then would be invited to take a test every couple of years or so)

IF you think that anything else could be done or have any other comments please let me know

Thank you for your cooperation
Amy

1.I think in good schools where PSHE is taught well STI's and STD's are given a good space on the curriculum. There is always more that can be done, but there is room for them to be taught alongside awareness of other health conditions such as cancer and diabetes etc. The problem in my experience is that teachers can be inexperienced in dealing with it and they are not trained well enough to deliver the information.

1. No - schools are places in which we deliver education. I would be very against this option and would not send my kids to a school which included a clinic like this. These clinics should exist and should be accessible to all young people but schools are not the place for them
2. Yes - homosexual and heterosexual health should be given equal weighting.
3. Normalising testing is fine, automatic testing is not.

I think conflating the education of sexual health with general education is a dangerous thing sometimes as children have very different feelings about school (negative connotations etc.) and the two should be separate but supportive.