DS’s school to teach abstinence education

[Childsschool128]

DS goes to a normal state school but they have sent home a letter saying that their sex ed they will be teaching from next term will include:
-the benefits of having one lifelong monogamous partnership
-the risks of contraceptives
-the dangers of unprotected sex
-the benefits of not having sex in teenage years
-the health risks of sexual promiscuity.
DS is 15 (year 10) and there has never been any indication they were anything other than mainstream in the past. Is this really what is taught in UK schools nowadays DS is my eldest so I have never had to deal with anything like this before.

Abstinence as a mainstay in sex education leads to higher teen pregnancy rates and higher sti rates

More likely to be taught in the US, which had a teen pregnancy problem in the 80s and early 90s in the poorer regions, which also tend to be more religious.

Any modern programme should be able to talk about the benefits of abstinence divorced from any religious influences (unless, of course, we are talked about a religious school).

That said, teens aren’t really having sex at the rates that earlier generations did. Varying theories about why this is the case

Are the risks of sexting / sending explicit photos by phone commonly taught in schools?

Perhaps the risks of pregnancy should be taught too - not just teenage pregnancy, but pregnancy and childbirth in general.

Risks of pregnancy are taught

Sexting, revenge porn, stalking etc all included in the 2020 framework, I published the link a while back

Abstinence is not mentioned anywhere in op’s list of things being taught and they have provided no evidence of that being the case

I am concerned about the religious bias behind this. I would contact the education.

There is no mention of religion in op’s post

Abstinence isnt about waiting until married, how strange people make that assumption. Of course all forms of contraception, along with abstinence discussion should be taught. Feelings around sexual partners can be so intense and not all teens could/should be dealing with that as well as trying to pass exams etc. Emcouraging teens to wait and sleep with people they really want to ot have feeli gs for instead of feeling pressured to have sex. For many women, myself included, sex brings a level of attachement (even if done casually) to a person that I know I could not have handled mid teens

Yes, it is good to explain it in schools as one option. I am sure I did better at school and university because I did not have a boyfriend. None of my 5 children had a boyfriend or girl friend until university either which might be because they were at single sex schools or they were just too busy enjoying school, work and hobbies that they did not get around to it and that has been fine by me. There is no rush.

The list of topics in the OP look fine to me. There is no mention of abstinence and when I started taking the pill my GP fully explained all the risks associated with it. There are risks with ANY medication. There are also risks of failure with any contraception.

There ARE dangers in unprotected sex.

But as a 50+ year old who has been with her husband and one and only sexual partner since the age of 18 I’m probably biased.

Course they had boyfriends and girlfriends they just didnt tell you.

@ChestnutStuffing you're absolutely right - but I can't teach "you'll be happier if you have one partner your whole life" as fact. It's my job to open discussion not enforce my person morals.

Incidentally I find it interesting that 25% of women say they only have one sexual partner in life but men don't

Not having a boyfriend or girlfriend (I teach in a co-Ed school and not as many kids are coupled up as when I was in school, that I know of) is no indication of wether a teenager is sexually active.

I am really surprised this still goes on. Are you in a very rural area?

I think I didn't quite read the OP properly and assumed it was a religious school but don't actually think it is?

Abstinence only sex ed is very popular in parts of America. People will not be surprised to learn that these areas have the highest number of teen pregnancies.

I would be very disturbed if this was the sex ed curriculum presented to DC of mine.

Here's an America video on The Big Problem With Abstinence-Only Programs:

Here are the statutory RSE objectives for secondary school.

I can't read that from the image, Beautiful could you post a link?

I posted the link near the start of this thread

It's not a bad thing. It gives you control and that sex isn't the be all and end of in life.

Teenagers are under so much pressure

Is it an 'Academy'. These are state schools but run by private organisations rather than local authorities. There are several academy groups run by religious organisations and they do this sort of thing. Religion by the back door.

@ChestnutStuffing

I'd lead a discussion on abstinence, what do you think it is, the positives, negatives etc. The general feeling in all my Year groups is that abstinence is undesirable and unachievable.

And yet one quarter of women have one sex partner over their lifetime, and women who don't have sex before marriage report higher satisfaction with their sex life.

Teenagers are naive and that can manifest as a foolish worldliness, where they assume "everyone" does certain things and there is not really another "normal" option. Much the way little kids assume every family does things the way their own family does.

Whether or not something s desirable is subjective but they are not in much of a position to have an educated opinion. They are simply wrong that it's unachievable. Leaving them with the impression that there isn't much real choice for them to make isn't empowering.

Source please? I find these statistics astonishing but happy to be proved wrong.

Perhaps Boris Johnson should practice what he’s preaching