Alternative view

1st December 2006, 12:00am
Nearly a quarter of parents are content with “alternative sexual practices”

such as bondage being taught in the classroom, new research claims.

A poll found that only 77 per cent of parents of secondary school children believe the topic should not be covered, while 27 per cent do not believe homosexuality should be discussed.

Of the 800 parents questioned, 74 per cent admitted they did not know if their child was sexually active, with 44 per cent of them not having spoken about sex in-depth with their son or daughter.

Andrew Bethell, Chief Executive of Teachers TV, which commissioned the study, said: “Our research shows that parents have their heads in the sand when it comes to their child’s sex education and expect teachers to deal with even the emotional and relationship aspects of sex.”

Global sex education, page 20