sex education in year 4.any other schools do this?

[mumandlovingit]

hi,

my ds is 8 and in year 4 at school and they've just been taught about penises and vaginas and exactly how babies are made. does this sound right to anyone else?

i think its far too much information for an 8 year old. my son is now using the words completely out of concept and at innapproapriate times and is getting into trouble at school over it.

ive got an appointment monday to discuss what exactly he's being taught and the concept in which its being taught so that we can answer questions better at home and backup the learning from school as at the moment no one has told us if they have said that its only done to make babies or if theyve said its in consenting adult relationships or what.

surely 8 year olds dont need to know all this yet.is it a new guideline that they learn this young? the national curriculum website says keystage 3 which is age 11 but is it up to the school when they teach it all?

any help/advice is appreciated.

thank you

[rebeccaw]

I have to say that I fully agree you should have known what your child was being taught.

But it does seem so much better that they should know early before the rumour mill starts! I thought for a number of years that you could only get pregnant when you were on your period - these dangerous misconceptions can start young and persist.

[MrsBrollyhook]

With the questions my 4 (now just 5) year old has been asking over recent months I think we'll have had to have had "the chat" long before yr4. But I would want to be the one discussing things and knowing what they were covering before it happened at school, so totally understand your concerns.

[bigstripeytiger]

This sounds pretty normal to me. My DD1 is 7, and this is the sort of thing that they have begun to cover. I think that this is the right age to cover this sort of thing, as they have started talking about sex etc in the playground, so probably better that they are properly informed.

[escorchio]

I think the context is often covered in PSHE. Starting gently much further down the school, and progressing.

[mumandlovingit]

we were given a leaflet that said it would be covered in keystage 2 which covers 7-11 years old. we havent been told what will be said, just human reproduction and have not been offered to see any course material.

its hard not knowing what has been said and i dont want to push my son to tell me it all word for word.

he seemed to learn about his bits, female parts, how the sperm gets into the woman, the baby growing inside the woman and where the baby comes out of all in a matter of a few lessons.he's learnt it all in 2010 before may.

the head told me on the phone that they tell them all the facts and use the proper words and that they have to know this young.

im just concerned as to what to say at the meeting monday. am i entitled to see the course material used and in what concept they are saying sex happens?

he's been told it all now so we cant take it back. we were told we could withdraw them but werent told exactly when they would be being told about sex. i thought it would just be body parts and keeping clean and not letting anyone touch certain places etc at this age and more next year but i was wrong!

[bigTillyMint]

Yes my DS and DD did "round 1" in Year 4, then more in Y5 and yet more in Y6. It was not a problem for either of them.

The school invites parents in to see the video before it is shown to the children and to discuss any concerns.

[TheNextMrsDepp]

Same as Bundle

[bellavita]

Ours usually learn about in in Yr6 just before the residential visit. This year, they are starting it in Yr5 (DS2 is Yr5) and our meeting about it is next Monday and we will be shown exactly what they are going to show and say to the pupils.

[escorchio]

You should have been told in advance that they were about to cover it, and there will be a school policy, which you should ask to see.

There should also be a plan of learning objectives.

I think (don't quote me on this I'm rusty) you should also have had the opportunity to have your ds not take part in the lesson if you wanted, and to be able to review the course materials before they were used.

I think most schools start to introduce it in Y5/Y6, so Y4 does seem a little early. Do you know if any other parents have concerns? Has anyone thought about bringing it up with a parent governor?

Good luck!

[bundle]

we had a meeting at school the other evening, ours learn about menstruation and puberty in year 5 (9/10) and next year they will learn about sex