Give children better sex education to fight views distorted by cyberspace, says top headteacher

Head of private school in south London warns of dangers of children learning about consent, sexual violence and diseases online
A leading headteacher has called for better sex education in schools
(Ben Birchall/PA)

A leading headteacher has called for better sex education in schools, warning that a generation of children face learning about sex from social media and artificial intelligence.

Nick Hewlett, head of £21,000 a year St Dunstan’s college in Lewisham, said young people risk getting a distorted view of what sex looks and feels like, and are learning about issues such as consent, sexual violence and diseases from an unregulated cyberspace.

He spoke out after MPs on the women and equalities committee warned that children are turning to pornography and social media to learn about sexual health because schools are failing to provide proper sex education. Mr Hewlett said sex education in schools is inconsistent because there is a lack of detailed guidance from the Department for Education.

He said: “Our young people are growing up in an online world dominated by social media and artificial intelligence. If we don’t start educating young people properly around relationships and sex education, we will end up in a society where a generation have had sex lessons through an unregulated cyberspace.”

Last year St Dunstan’s held a conference on the teenager pornography crisis, which Mr Hewlett said highlighted the desperate need for more to be done to tackle the issue. This summer the school will host another conference looking at addiction.

Mr Hewlett said: “If we don’t educate young people, we risk these young people will having a completely distorted view of what sex should look and feel like, which opens the doors to many troubling issues, such as the prevalence of STIs, but also the issues around consent and sexual violence.”

The latest report from the committee called for relationships and sex education to be taught up to the age of 18. It found that pupils are being exposed to an “unacceptable risk of harm” by learning about sexual health from the internet.

The committee blamed the trend on the “absence of authoritative advice.” It called for the Government, school leaders and Ofsted to place a greater priority on teaching about sex, and to help parents understand that providing information about STIs is “a safeguard rather than a threat”.

Mr Hewlett said: “This latest report once again shows the need to get a grip on this and that we desperately need to start talking to and educating young people properly in this area.

“Teaching relationships and sex education does not need to be undertaken in a binary way of wrong or right, but it is my view that schools should be leading and facilitating these sensitive conversations, ensuring through transparent collaboration that families are able to support this teaching from home and in line with their values.”

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