Sex and relationship lessons

More than seven in 10 children in the North East think the Government should ensure all children have age-appropriate classes on sex and relationships, according to a leading charity.

In a new poll of 11 to 15-year-olds for Barnardo’s, 72% agreed that the UK Government should make sure all children should have sex and relationship education (SRE) at school, with only six percent disagreeing.

And nearly three quarters (73%) believe all children would be safer if they had classes on the subject,

The results support calls by the children’s charity for the Government to introduce compulsory age-appropriate sex and relationships education through the Children and Social Work Bill. Barnardo’s wants MPs to put pressure on the Government to make the change while the Bill is debated in the Commons.

Almost nine in 10 children surveyed online (87%), said it was important for them to understand the dangers of being online so they can stay safe, while 78% said they wanted to know the risks of sharing images of themselves with a stranger online, according to the YouGov poll of nearly 1,000 youngsters.

Steve Oversby, Barnardo’s director in the North East, said: “The majority of children who answered our poll believe they would be safer if they had age-appropriate sex and relationships lessons in school.”