Children aged seven to be given graphic lessons in sex
CHILDREN as young as seven are to be given graphic sex education lessons in a radical pilot project.
Toddlers and young children will be taught to name sex organs when they are in nursery and P1 – aged around three to five.
But lessons for seven and eightyear-olds will be even more detailed, effectively focusing on sexual pleasure, according to documents seen by the Scottish Daily Mail.
The classes are part of the SNP’s Curriculum for excellence and part of a strategy to promote pupils’ ‘health and well-being’.
however, a campaign group yesterday urged parents to withdraw children from the classes ‘en masse’.
Details of the pilot scheme were uncovered by campaigners opposed to the SNP’s ‘named person’ initiative, aimed at appointing a state guardian for every child in Scotland.
A spokesman for the No To Named Person campaign group said the sex lessons were ‘abhorrent’.
he added: ‘ The authorities seem intent on robbing our children not only of their childhood, but al s o of t heir innocence.’
Documents on the content of the sex classes explain that the ‘ f ramework’ has been developed by experts with support from the education Scotland quango.
Nhs Lothian will pilot the classes in Stoneyburn and Greenrigg primary schools in West Lothian. It could then be extended across the region and beyond if successful.
As part of the l essons, children should be able to ‘name and locate’ a variety of body parts including sexual organs. Boy and girl dolls will be used as ‘visual resources to discuss body parts’. Anatomically correct dolls are used at P2 level so pupils can ‘name a variety of sexual body parts’.
By P4, children aged seven and eight will be taught vocabulary i ncluding the word ‘clitoris’.
Organisers say the classes are aimed at helping children only to name such body parts.
But campaigners fear that, in practice, it is l i kely t he function of the clitoris would be discussed – in effect teaching children as young as eight about sexual pleasure.
P5 children will be able to label body parts on life- size diagrams indicating changes during puberty.
By P6 pupils should be aware that ‘when I touch parts of my body it feels pleasurable’.
NHS Lothian insisted it did not ‘recognise’ the part of the curriculum about pleasurable touching, but it appears in the documents seen by the Mail.
Teachers should discuss with children at this stage ‘feelings and emotions associated with puberty, for example touch, pleasure, frustration, anger’.
Norman Wells of the Family education Trust said: ‘It is deeply disturbing that government agencies regard such explicit materials age-appropriate for primary children. This is clearly a case of far too much, far too soon.
‘hopefully, most schools will have more respect for pupils and parents than to use these lessons but, if not, parents would be well advised to withdraw their children en masse.’
A West Lothian Council spokesman said: ‘The pilot of the programme which was developed by the NHS, with s upport f r om education Scotland, is planned to take place following consultation and information evenings for parents or carers.’
An education Scotland spokesman said: ‘ The framework guidance highlights recommendations that parents and carers should be provided with information on the content and language used before their child undertakes this learning.’
‘Robbing them of their innocence’