|
Sex education classes at a north Devon school have met with mixed reaction from parents and the local community. Apause, or Added Power and Understanding Through Sexual Education, will offer the morning-after pill, condoms and testing for sexually transmitted infections to children as young as 14. The new service - which is part of a government strategy - is being offered by the North Devon Primary Care Trust. It has already started at Braunton Community College and will soon be extended to other schools in the district.
 | | At what age should schools teach sex education? |
Pupils at Braunton who have been through sex education lessons at the college and are aged 14 and over, can now access the available services. Several parents have spoken out against the scheme, saying it will encourage sexual activity. Neville Whelan from Chittlehampton is horrified. He feels children will be damaged by the classes and says it raises many concerns. "These classes threaten to undermine the relationship parents have with their children, since there is encouragement for children to become sexually active," he says. "How are we to prevent our daughters being taken off by school nurses to have abortions without us as parents even being told? "What rights have parents got when schools and colleges hand out to our 14 and 15-year-old daughters, the abortion inducing morning-after pill? "How do we uphold the dignity of our children by preventing them being screened for sexually transmitted diseases and being given condoms?" Confidential services The North Devon Primary Care Trust says making the services confidential to the pupils is part of respecting their informed decisions. The Director of Public Health, Dr Katherine Gronqvist, says sex education works:
 | | Some say the best contraceptive is abstinence |
"There's proof that it increases the age of sexual debut," she claims. "Obviously if you have your sexual debut later, you're less likely of becoming a teenage mother or having a sexually transmitted illness. "One of the government's targets is to reduce the amount of under 18 conceptions by 50% by 2010. "It's also worth noting that in Britain the level of teenage pregnancies is the highest in Europe and it's often assumed that it's due to a lack of proper sex education in schools." Mr Whelan thinks there is a better alternative. "Why is abstinence not being put forward?" he asks. "It's shown to be so successful in America where children are taught to wait and have respect for each other's sexuality."
| 
