A primary school in Sheffield is facing a backlash from parents over its plans to expand sex education lessons to children as young as four.
Under the controversial plans six-year-olds could be taught about homosexual relationships and “good and bad touching”.
Eight-year-olds could be taught about contraceptives. The classes would begin with four-year-olds being given basic information about reproduction in mammals.
Father Christmas
Grenoside Primary School already teaches sex education to pupils in the top two years, but now it wants to extend this to younger children.
However, the proposal has provoked a storm of controversy with up to 20 families saying they are prepared to withdraw their kids from the classes.
Katie Burrell, 26, whose six-year-old son attends the school, said: “My boy still believes in Father Christmas, he doesn’t need to be told about these sorts of things.
Stupidity
“The lessons for six- and seven-year-olds are far too explicit. I think a lot of parents will take their children out of these classes.
“I am by no means a prude, but some of this material is beyond stupidity.”
Louise Leahy, 41, who has four children aged between five and ten at the school, said: “My view is children should be allowed to be children – we do not want them to be growing up too quickly.”
Encourage
She added: “The videos which are shown as part of the curriculum talk about children touching themselves and tell them it feels good.
“To me that is encouraging them to think in a sexual way – if anything new is presented to a child, they will be curious and they will want to investigate it, that’s only natural.”
However, head teacher Colin Fleetwood defended the plans, saying: “No decisions have yet been taken about what we will teach, because we are currently consulting with parents.
Vetted
“This curriculum starts in the infant years with very basic information and builds on their understanding in subsequent years. It is vital children learn what is appropriate to their age.”
Last month a Conservative MP proposed that sex education resources should be vetted to ensure that children as young as five are protected from “extraordinarily inappropriate” content.