Should Y7 science classes on reproduction include the clitoris?

[Wineoclocksomewhere]

Am I being unreasonable in being surprised that there was no mention of this on the diagrams my 12 year old is currently using? Or is it because they don’t ‘directly’ involve reproduction? I can’t work out if I’m being OTT or actually making a reasonable point that female sexuality is not properly promoted to young people....

In year 7 we only focus on the basics and you have to be conscious that some parents will disagree with teaching the topic at all in year 7 and certainly will kick off over more controversial areas like sex and gender or what they see as overly detailed Information. Having had a parent complaint drag on for weeks over just teaching the curriculum it is usually best to stick to a scheme of work.

We don't teach about frenulums either so there is always a lack of detailed anatomy at that age.

@TheSockMonster I teach in a very deprived area (one of the most deprived in the country) so it's likely not as big an issue where you live. We have a very good SEN team and spend alot of time on literacy work in year 7 and 8. We do set at the top and bottom end still and have mixed groups in the middle so they can be given the stretch or specialist support that they need. We have a handful maybe 10 students each year that will get 7,8 or 9s.

@Springchickpea in terms of the words sex and gender I talk about how sex is genetic and can't be changed as its in your DNA. I will talk about how in science 'weight' and 'mass' mean different things but in everyday language it means the same. So you can change gender and not sex but in every day language people often mean it to mean the same thing. I might talk about if I dyed my hair brown or green and changed my outward appearance that my body would still make my hair blonde as its in my DNA.

During the lesson on puberty somewhere I will get them to write something along the lines of, "During puberty girls bodies change into a women's body. A women is an adult human female." and the same for boys into men.

Personally I'm waiting to get pulled up and told off.

Yes it should and i would talk to the school about it as its part of female reproductive anatomy. They usually label other surrounding parts of the body not directly involved, such as urethra and pubic bone etc, so yes they should mention the clitoris. It is not taboo any more

I wouldnt tell my child i was complaining though

Brava! And how ridiculous a world we live that a science teacher needs to be worried about whether teaching biological fact will get them into trouble.

If this was the only lesson she was ever going to do involving sex and genitals then I would agree with you, however realistically not everything can be done in one fell swoop. I don't see a problem in tackling the basic sperm meets egg bits in one lesson and then dealing with surrounding topics in other lessons. If lessons get derailed from their objectives then gaps in knowledge occur and nothing gets sufficiently covered.

There is no harm in enquiring, but complaining is different.

I’m glad there are teachers like you @HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime

*not implying that teachers are not generally awesome of course!

I agree that it will be covered in several aspects- biology, pshe etc. The more times it is covered, the more likely that learning will happen and connections are made.

I also wonder if it's part of a safeguarding stance, with acknowledgement towards female circumcision. Making young people aware of its existence, and seeing that it is a natural part of the anatomy etc will be part of the education needed to stop this practice.

I'm surprised it's not included in reproduction as it plays an obvious role.

Out of interest how would parents here like the clitoris covered in a KS3 science lesson? What is it you would want to tell your own children and there classmates?

A lesson where some of the students have only just turned 11, a lesson where it is highly likely some children in the year group will be sexually abused at home, a lesson where some parents are very against any kind of sex Ed being taught for cultural or religious reasons.

Yes of course its important but at what stage do you stop, do you talk about stimulation, increasing lubricant other erogenous zones? When you teach sex Ed from this point of view and start talking about sex for pleasure you put male and female teachers in a very difficult position. I've already had several students excluded for inappropriate sexual talk and actions aimed at me whilst I'm more than happy to talk about structure and function I would not want to go down the Pleasure side of things at all to safeguard myself.

*their

@HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime

Surely just a label on the diagram and a factual explanation of what it's for and why it's there. Very strange for it to be deliberately missed out. If a child is being sexually abused or from a home where these things aren't discussed it's far more important that they're being properly educated on at least the basics at school. Hopefully most girls will know what the clitoris is way before 11 but some boys may not.

It doesn’t really matter whether it’s covered in reproduction or not, the point is if you have a diagram of a woman’s reproductive organs you have to deliberately remove the clitoris or reference to it.

I’ll bet both the urethra and anus are depicted and labelled.

@PegasusReturns no, on the diagrams we label we 'follow the journey of the egg' same as in the male diagram we 'follow the journey of the sperm cells' so no anus on either diagram and urethra only on male diagram.

@TheSockMonster

Surely the clitoris is part of human reproduction, since sexual pleasure is the primary driving force in human reproduction?

You’d also need to know where and what the clitoris is if you are going to learn how reproductive tissues develop into male or female during embryonic development.

Hopefully this will be on the year 8 curriculum, but no harm in politely checking.

This.

How can you separate our enjoyment of sex from reproduction. Also sexual pleasure male sexual intercourse easier doesn’t it....surely reproduction follows on from that?!

I’m not saying it should all be covered in the same lesson at the same time. However I don’t consider reproduction to be completely separate from sexual pleasure, knowledge of body parts and their purpose.

When is it taught in PHSE then? What year?
If the science teachers who are posting say it's not appropriate, in Yr 7, science lessons.

@Oblomov21 PSHE guidance is here. Science lessons focus on eggs and sperm meeting and fertilisation, menstruation, contraceptives, and STDs. PSHE focuses on relationships and respecting your body and others, consent and pregnancy choices. If you don't feel the sex ed curriculum is broad enough I recommend complaining to the DFE, individual teachers have to follow the scheme of work and can't just decide to do their own thing.

The national curriculum is the same thing as a scheme of work though, is it? The DfE sets statutory guidance for what should be covered in each statutory subject, and where and when, but it’s up to schools and teachers to translate that in actual schemes of work and lesson plans in ways which are appropriate, relearned engaging for their learners.
Plus, while the curriculum is set out by subject, I’m pretty sure there’s still something in there about the value of interdisciplinary teaching and learning, so there’s actually nothing in the statutory guidance that prevents a school’s curriculum combining elements of say, science and PSHE for example....

The NC isn’t the same thing as a scheme of work that should be! Oh, for an edit button

Just looked at my daughter’s year 7 science homework and there is no mention of the clitoris. I don’t understand. It is involved in reproduction. Why would it not be included?