The “appalling” content of sex education resources which are being used with children as young as five has been criticised by a Conservative Peer.
Lord Eden of Winton also hit out at the “damaging impact” that television programmes can have on the nation’s children.
He was speaking during a House of Lords debate on the Education Bill making its way through Parliament.
Appalling
Speaking yesterday Lord Eden sounded a warning about sex education saying that “the content of material, and the fact that it is projected to our children in schools from the age of five, is appalling.
“This is something that does need to be tackled sensibly.”
The former government minister also addressed the issue of unwanted pregnancies, pointing to “the damaging impact of the constant replication on television of various human relationship activities which I don’t think accord to the highest standards of individual conduct”.
Vulnerable
He said that if Peers were able to make those who regulate television programmes take more responsibility for the content “relayed into homes, where it is often watched by those with vulnerable minds, we would probably do a very great service to our children.”
In March Andrea Leadsom MP said that sex education resources should be licensed to ensure they are age-appropriate following concern among parents about “inappropriate” materials.
Tickling
Her comments followed the release of The Christian Institute’s report on sex education. The report shows the resources recommended by public bodies, mostly local councils, for use by primary schools that choose to teach sex education.
One of the resources helps five-year-olds to identify the clitoris, and another tells seven-year-olds that sex is like tickling or skipping.
An educational video produced by the BBC featuring full frontal adult nudity is being pushed to children aged as young as seven.