1. See J Harrison Sex Education in Secondary Schools (Buckingham: Open University Press, 2000).

2. See British Medical Association School Sex Education: Good Practice and Policy (London: BMA, 1997).

3. See the website available at http://www.ccfwebsite.com/news_display.php?ID=59&type=new and see ‘MPs in sex education row’BBC News (27 June 2000) available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/808503.stm.

4. See Christian Institute Faith in Education Issue 2 (May 2002).

5. See R Thomson Religion, Ethnicity and Sex Education: Exploring the Issues (London: National Children's Bureau, 1993).

6. See P Meredith Sex Education. Political Issues in Britain and Europe (London: Routledge, 1989).

7. For example, in Re Agar-Ellis, Agar-Ellis v Lascelles (1883) 24 ChD 317, Brett MR held that ‘the rights of a father are sacred rights’ in relation to a child's upbringing.

8. For example, during Victorian times, the rights of parents over their children were almost absolute. On this generally, see J Montgomery ‘Children as property?’ (1988) 51 MLR 323.

9. For example, see Tremain's Case (1719) 1 Strange 167. More recently, in Re KD (A Minor) (Ward: Termination of Access)[1988] AC 806 at 812, Lord Templeman commented that ‘[t]he best person to bring up a child is the natural parent…Public authorities cannot improve on nature’.

10. For example, see Universal Declaration on Human Rights 1948, Art 26(5); European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950, Protocol 1, Art 2; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966, Art 18(4); and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966, Art 13.

11. K O’Halloran The Welfare of the Child (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1st edn, 1999) p 64.

12. On this generally, see J Eekelaar ‘The emergence of children's rights’ (1986) 6 OJLS 161 and B Dickens ‘The modern function and limits of parental rights’ (1981) 97 LQR 462.

13. Lord Scarman in Gillick v West Norfolk and Wisbeach Area Health Authority[1986] AC 112 at 184.

14. For example, in Mabon v Mabon and Others (2005) The Times, June 2, Thorpe LJ expressly recognised ‘the growing acknowledgment of the autonomy and consequential rights of children’.

15. On this generally see Gillick, above n 13.

16. See the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989.

17. In view of regional differences in the UK in the area of SRE, I will confine my discussion to England and Wales.

18. Education Act 1996, s 352(1)(c). For what is meant by a ‘maintained school’, see Education Act 1996, s 350. Unlike secondary schools, primary schools are under no legal obligation to hold sex education classes and the government has rejected calls for the introduction of SRE lessons in such institutions. See ‘No Primary Sex’The Times 31 January 2004 at p 6.

19. See Sex and Relationship Education Guidance (DfEE 0116/2000, July 2000).

20. Education Act 1996, s 405. Equivalent powers of withdrawal are vested in parents in Scotland and Northern Ireland. On this, respectively, see Sex Education in Scottish Schools. Effective Consultation with Parents and Carers (Scottish Executive, 2001) p 2; Circular 2/2001 (Scottish Executive, 2001) p 4, para 13; Respect and Responsibility: Strategy and Action Plan for Improving Sexual Health (Scottish Executive, 2005); and Relationships and Sexuality Education (DENI Circular Number 2001/15) p 1, para 3.

21. Social Exclusion Unit Teenage Pregnancy Cm 4342, 1999, p 39.

22. For example, see A Bainham ‘Sex education: a family lawyer's perspective’ in N Harris (ed) Children, Sex Education and the Law: Examining the Issues (London: National Children's Bureau, 1996) p 41; C Furniss and A Blair ‘Sex wars: conflict in, and reform of, sex education in maintained secondary schools’ (1997) 19(2) JSWFL 189; and Harrison, above n 1, p 71.

23. In this paper I will focus on maintained secondary schools, rather than maintained primary schools, since only the former are required by law to provide SRE lessons to their pupils. Considerations of space also preclude discussion of the issues relating to the provision of sex education in special and non-maintained secondary schools.

24. Education Act 1993, s 241.

25. Baroness Blatch Hansard HL Deb, vol 547, col 1292, 21 June 1993.

26. Ibid, col 1400.

27. Education Act 1996, s 405.

28. Duke of Norfolk Hansard HL Deb, vol 547, col 1312, 6 July 1993.

29. Lord Pearson Hansard HL Deb, vol 547, col 127, 21 June 1993.

30. Lord Elton Hansard HL Deb, vol 547, col 1315, 6 July 1993.

31. For example, Baroness Blatch asserted that ‘individuals should have the right to act on strongly held beliefs in this difficult and sensitive area’; Blatch, above n 25, col 1292.

32. Ibid, col 1318.

33. A Bradney ‘Ethnicity, religion and sex education’ in Harris, above n 22, p 92.

34. G Sarwar Sex Education: The Muslim Perspective (London: Muslim Educational Trust, 2nd edn, 1992) p 3.

35. For example, there were claims that groups such as the Plymouth Brethren lobbied hard for the right of parents to withdraw their children from SRE lessons. See Baroness David Hansard HL Deb, vol 547, col 1300, 6 July 1993.

36. For example, see Lord Judd Hansard HL Deb, vol 547, col 137, 21 June 1993.

37. See Bishop of Guildford Hansard HL Deb, vol 547, col 130, 21 June 1993.

38. For example, see the speeches of Lord Houghton Hansard HL Deb, vol 547, col 1306, 6 July 1993; Baroness Brigstocke Hansard HL Deb, vol 547, col 1305, 6 July 1993; and Lord Addington Hansard HL Deb, vol 547, col 128, 21 June 1993.

39. For example, Children Act 1989, s 1 provides that the welfare of the child must always be the primary consideration in matters relating to the upbringing of the child.

40. For example, see the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No 4 (CRC/GC/2003/4, 2003) para 3. See also UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, Art 24(1) and 24(2)(f); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966, Art 12(1); and UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women 1979, Arts 14(2)(b) and 16(1)(e).

41. It has been suggested that one in four girls and almost one in three young men aged 16–19 have lost their virginity before the age of 16. See K Wellings et al ‘Sexual behaviours in Britain: early heterosexual experience’ (2001) 358(9296) The Lancet 1846.

42. For example, see the House of Commons Health Committee reports, Sexual Health HC 69, Third Report of Session 2002–2003 and New Developments in Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Policy HC 252-1, Third Report of Session 2004–2005.

43. For example, see National Statistics Sexual Health. Chlamydia Rates Continue to rise (23 November 2004), available at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget_print.asp?ID+412.

44. See A Johnson et al ‘Sexual behaviour in Britain: partnerships, practices and HIV risk behaviours’ (2001) 358(9296) The Lancet 1835.

45. See Ofsted Sex and Relationships HMI 433 (2002) para 64.

46. See Sexual Health, above n 42, para 64 and New Developments in Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Policy, ibid, para 2.

47. Ofsted, above n 45.

48. Social Exclusion Unit, above n 21.

49. See Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (CRC/C/15/Add 34, 25 January 1995) at paras 15 and 30.

50. See Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (A/54/38, 1 July 1999) at para 309.

51. K Wellings ‘Provision of sex education and early experience: the relationship examined’ (1995) 311 BMJ 417 at 418.

52. See D Paton ‘The economics of family planning and underage conceptions’ (2002) 21 Journal of Health Economics 207; V Riches Sex Education or Indoctrination? (London: Family Youth Organisation, 2004).

53. See Sex and Relationship Education Guidance, above n 19, at 1.7.

54. Lord Houghton Hansard HL Deb, vol 547, col 1306, 6 July 1993.

55. See UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, Art 13(1); European Convention on Human Rights, Art 10(1); International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966, Art 19(2); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966, Art 13(1); and UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women 1979, Art 10(h).

56. See UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, above n 40, para 26.

57. See Handyside v UK (1979–80) 1 EHRR 737.

58. Kjeldsen, Busk Madsen and Pedersen v Denmark (1979–80) 1 EHRR 711.

59. On this generally, see L Measor, C Tiffin and K Miller Young People's Views on Sex Education (London: Routledge, 2000).

60. Governing bodies and headteachers are only required to consult parents in the development of their SRE policies; Sex and Relationship Education Guidance, above n 19, pp 7–13.

61. Notwithstanding the fact that international treaties such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 have not been incorporated into British law, Ward LJ has commented that they still ‘command and receive our respect’; Re P (A Minor) (Residence Order: Child's Welfare)[1999] 3 WLR 1164 at 1188.

62. See UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, above n 40, para 8.

63. See Concluding Observations: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (CRC/C/15/Add.188, 4 October 2002) para 29. Author's emphasis in text.

64. See N Harris Law and Education. Regulation, Consumerism and the Education System (London: Sweet and Maxwell, 1993) p 221.

65. Measor et al, above n 59, p 34. Similarly, when a group of young people testified before a Commons Health Select Committee, the view was expressed that the influence of parents in the field of SRE should be reduced. See Uncorrected Evidence to the Health Select Committee HC 69-v, 23 January 2003.

66. See the website available at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/citizenship/.

67. K Plummer ‘Intimate citizenship and the culture of sexual story telling’ in J Weeks and J Holland (eds) Sexual Cultures: Communities Values and Intimacy (London: Macmillan, 1996) p 46.

68. T Beavet and J Thompson ‘Parents talking: sex education in secondary schools’ (1996) December, Pastoral Care 12.

69. See Ofsted, above n 45, p 6.

70. On this generally, see ‘Belonging to a religion’Social Trends vol 34 (London: HMSO, 2001).

71. According to the 2001 census, just over three-quarters of the UK population described themselves as ‘religious’; see the website available at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=293&Pos=6&ColRank=1&Rank=176.

72. See T Modood ‘Culture and identity’ in T Modood et al Ethnic Minorities in Britain: Diversity and Disadvantage (London: PSI, 1997) p 297.

73. For examples of this from the Judaeo-Christian tradition see The Bible Proverbs 4:1 and Ephesians 6:1.

74. See Thomson, above n 5.

75. A Hunter Virtue with a Vengeance: The Pro-Family Politics of the New Right PhD dissertation (Department of Sociology, Brandeis University, 1988) cited in N Trudell Doing Sex Education (London: Routledge, 1993) p xi.

76. For example, see R Whelan Teaching Sex Education in Schools: Does it Work? (London: Family Education Trust, 1995).

77. R Masters ‘Sexual overload: the effects of sex education on innocent minds’ (1992) Family Matters (no page numbers) as cited by MJ Reiss ‘Conflicting philosophies of school sex education’ (1995) 24(4) Journal of Moral Education 373.

78. For example, see C Swann et al Teenage Pregnancy and Parenthood: A Review of Reviews. Evidence Briefing (London: Health Development Agency, 2003), available at http://www.had.nhs.uk/evidence.

79. Wellings et al, above n 41, at 1847.

80. The main sources of information about sex for young people are lessons at school (77%), friends (53%), mothers (52%), the media (45%) and television (45%): Evaluation of the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy. Tracking Survey (BMRB International, 2003), available at http://www.teenagepregnancyunit.gov.uk.

81. M Parker-Jenkins Children of Islam (Stoke: Trentham Books, 1995) p 70.

82. Sarwar, above n 34, p 7.

83. See F Naylor The Family Way: The Case for Abstinence Education (York: Campaign for Real Education, 2000) and J Proom ‘Sex and Relationship Guidance’ (2000) 11 Family Youth Organisation Bulletin 2.

84. G Sarwar British Muslims and Schools (London: Muslim Educational Trust, 1994) p 10.

85. See P Bearman and H Bruckner ‘Promising the future: virginity pledges and first intercourse’ (2001) 106(4) American Journal of Sociology 859.

86. See S Blake and G Frances Just Say No! to Abstinence Education: Lessons Learnt from a Sex Education Study Tour to the United States (London: National Children's Bureau, 2001).

87. J Denekens ‘Doctors should not advise adolescents to abstain from sex’ (2001) 322 BMJ 1244. Indeed, it has been claimed that some abstinence programmes may actually lead to an increase in pregnancy rates. See A DiCenso et al ‘Inventions to reduce unintended pregnancies among adolescents: systematic review of randomised controlled trials’ (2002) 324 BMJ 1426.

88. Sex and Relationship Education Guidance, above n 19.

89. Baroness Young Hansard HL Deb, vol 615, col 855, 18 July 2000.

90. For example, see Baroness Young Hansard HL Deb, vol 611, col 437, 23 March 2000 and Andrew Robathan Hansard HC Deb, vol 348, col 247, 11 April 2000.

91. Education Act 1996, s 403(1A)(a) as amended by Learning and Skills Act 2000, s 148(4).

92. Sex and Relationship Education Guidance, above n 19, p 5, para 9.

93. Ibid, p 7, para 1.2. On this generally see the website available at http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/pshe/.

94. Ibid, p 3, para 3.

95. Sex Education in the School Curriculum. The Religious Perspective. An Agreed Statement (Cambridge: Islamic Academy, 1991), p 3.

96. For example, see Sarwar, above n 34, p 11 and Christian Institute, above n 4.

97. For example, see Gerald Howarth Hansard HC Deb, vol 348, col 266, 11 April 2000 and Baroness Young Hansard HL Deb, vol 615, col 854, 18 July 2000.

98. Sex and Relationship Education Guidance, above n 19, para 8.

99. See School Inspections Act 1996, s 10.

100. See Education Act 1996, s 403(1A)(b) as amended by Learning and Skills Act 2000, s 148(4).

101. For a list of these rights see Sex and Relationship Education Guidance, above n 19, pp 7, 9 and 12.

102. See Ofsted, above n 45, p 6.

103. See Education Act 1996, s 405 (formerly Education Act 1993, s 241(3)). As a consequence, all young people are expected to receive classes on the biological aspects of human growth and reproduction covering instruction on puberty and hormonal forms of contraception such as the pill; Social Exclusion Unit, above n 21, p 39.

104. It has, however, been acknowledged that it would be ‘impossible to measure accurately’ parental dissatisfaction during this period; Bradney, above n 33, p 91.

105. For example, one author has claimed that for British Muslims ‘sex education at schools is a matter of great concern [and] has been placed almost at the top of all educational demands raised during the past three decades’; F Amer ‘The problems of sex education within the context of Islamic teachings’ (1997) 14(2) Muslim Education Quarterly 19.

106. See JM Taylor and JV Ward ‘Culture, sexuality and schools: perspectives from focus groups in six different cultural communities’ (1991) 19 Woman's Studies Quarterly 121.

107. An example of how sex education is provided in a Muslim school is offered by SA Mabud in ‘An Islamic view of sex education’ (1998) 15(2) Muslim Education Quarterly 88.

108. For example, see N Burtonwood ‘Social cohesion, autonomy and the liberal defence of faith schools’ (2003) 37(3) Journal of Philosophy of Education 415 and G Snik and J De Jong ‘Why liberal state funding of denominational schools cannot be unconditional: a reply to Neil Burtonwood’ (2005) 39(1) Journal of Philosophy of Education 113.

109. The Association of Muslim Social Scientists has called for more state-funded Muslim schools: Muslims on Education (2004) part 4, available at http://www.fairuk.org/Muslims_on_Education_Policy_Paper.pdf. See also M Parker-Jenkins ‘Equal access to state funding: the case of Muslim schools in Britain’ (2002) 5(3) Race, Ethnicity and Education 273.

110. The European Convention on Human Rights, Protocol 1, Art 2 provides that ‘No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions’.

111. Kjeldsen, above n 58.

112. Ibid, para 53.

113. Christian Institute, above n 4.

114. See Education Reform Act 1988, s 9(3).

115. Kjeldsen, above n 58, para 56.

116. See A Brown ‘Church of England schools: politics, power and identity’ (2003) 25(2) British Journal of Religious Education 103.

117. See Stephen Twigg Hansard HC Deb, vol 428, col 1366W, 20 December 2004.

118. As has been argued elsewhere, the imbalance in the number of state-funded minority faith schools rests uneasily with Britain's human rights obligations; P Cumper ‘Freedom of thought, conscience and religion’ in D Harris and S Joseph (eds) The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and United Kingdom Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995) p 383.

119. A complaint would have to be brought under Art 14 (the principle of non-discrimination) with Protocol 1, Art 2, since Art 14 is not a ‘stand alone’ clause; Belgian Linguistic Case (No 2) (1979–80) 1 EHRR 252.

120. The Kjeldsen ruling will doubtlessly encourage groups that are campaigning for the introduction of compulsory sex education in primary schools such as the Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy. See Second Annual Report of the Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy (11 July 2003), available at http://www.info.doh.gov.uk/tpu/tpu.nsf.

121. The European Convention on Human Rights, Art 10(1) provides that ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This Article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises’.

122. For example, the European Convention on Human Rights, Art 10(2) provides that ‘The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary’.

123. Ofsted, above n 45, p 6.

124. Ibid, p 1.

125. C Packer ‘Sex education: child's right, parent's choice or state's obligation?’ in E Heinze (ed) Of Innocence and Autonomy (Aldershot: Dartmouth, 2000) p 170.

126. For example, see RH Mnookin ‘Thinking about children's rights – beyond kiddie libbers and child savers’[1981] Stanford Lawyer 24.

127. For example, in Re P (Minors) Wardship: Care and Control[1992] 2 FCR 681, Butler-Sloss LJ commented that ‘it is the duty of the court to listen to the children, ascertain their wishes and feelings and then make decisions about their future having regard to but not constricted by those wishes’.

128. On this generally, see J Herring ‘The Human Rights Act and the welfare principle in family law – conflicting or complementary’ (1999) 11(3) CFLQ 223.

129. Eekelaar, above n 12, at 171.

130. MDA Freeman The Rights and Wrongs of Children (London: Frances Pinter, 1983) pp 48–52.

131. Eekelaar, above n 12, at 177–182; and Freeman, ibid, pp 40–54.

132. For example, see J Eekelaar ‘The importance of thinking that children have rights’ (1992) 6 IJLF 221.

133. Bainham, above n 22, p 26.

134. For example, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, Art 3(1) provides that ‘the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration’, and in Sahin v Germany[2002] 1 FLR 119 at para 42, the European Court of Human Rights recognised that ‘the best interests of the child…may override those of the parent’. The ‘best interests’ principle test, however, is arguably not as exacting as the ‘paramount consideration’ test, employed in Children Act 1989, s 1, above n 39.

135. Teenage birth rates in Britain are five times those in the Netherlands, three times those in France and twice those in Germany. See UNICEF A League Table of Teenage Births in Rich Nations Innocenti Report Card No 3 (Florence, 2001), available at http://www.unicef-icdc.org/publications/index.html.

136. See Teenage Pregnancy Cm 4342, June 1999, p 4.

137. For example, see Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV Response to the Health Select Committee Report on Sexual Health (January 2004) para 7.1, pp 13 and 14.

138. For example, see A Phillips ‘It is time we adults grew up: we now know that comprehensive sex education cuts teenage pregnancy rates. It should be compulsory’The Guardian 1 July 2005 p 26.

139. See New Developments in Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Policy, above n 42, paras 88 and 89.

140. On this generally, see P Alston The Best Interests of the Child: Reconciling Culture and Human Rights (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994).

141. The Guardian 26 May 2005 p 1.

142. See Baroness Blatch Hansard HL Deb, vol 547, col 1294, 6 July 1993.

143. For criticism of this view, see Lord Eatwell Hansard HL Deb, vol 547, col 1311, 6 July 2003.

144. For example, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, Art 12(1) guarantees that states ‘shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child’.

145. The presumption that most young people wish to attend sex education lessons can of course be rebutted. It is possible that there may be occasions where, perhaps for religious or ideological reasons, the impetus for a young person being withdrawn from SRE comes from him/her rather than from the parents. In such circumstances, one could argue that the interests of the community take precedence over those of the individual, and that a young person should not be entitled to remove him/herself from SRE lessons.

146. This age limit would be consistent with the view that young people aged 13 have the capacity to make important decisions and that, accordingly, the law should be liberalised for those aged between 13 and 16. On this generally, see R Lindley ‘Teenagers and other children’ in G Scarre (ed) Children, Parents and Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989) pp 85–92.

147. A standard pack of information is offered by the DfES to parents seeking to withdraw their children from SRE lessons, but they are under no legal obligation to use it; Sex and Relationship Education Guidance, above n 19, at 5.7, p 26.

148. N Harris ‘The regulation and control of sex education’ in Harris, above n 22, p 13.

149. For example, certain groups of parents would probably complain that they were being unfairly stigmatised (eg members of conservative religious organisations), while others (eg those lacking confidence about expressing themselves in English) might appear to be particularly disadvantaged.

150. For example, jurisdiction could be vested in a review panel composed of, say, a school governor, a healthcare professional and a senior teacher from the school, while a right of appeal from its decisions would be vested in the local education authority.

151. See J Walker ‘A qualitative study of parents’ experiences of providing sex education for their children: the implications for health education’ (2001) 6(2) Health Education Journal 144.

152. There have been calls for more single-sex classes generally from some religious groups. For example, the Association of Muslim Social Scientists observes that ‘some Muslims are in favour of reversing the decline in single-sex schools, particularly within the 10–16 age groups’; Muslims on Education, above n 109, para 2.6.9.

153. For example, the Health Select Committee has commented that ‘schools must ensure that young people have access to SRE delivered by males’. See Sexual Health, above n 42, para 299.

154. For example, it has been claimed that separate sex education lessons would help to reduce disruptive behaviour in SRE lessons by male pupils. See GLS Hilton ‘Sex education issues relating to boys’ (2001) 1(1) Sex Education 37.

155. See Sarwar, above n 34, p 18 and G Singh ‘A Sikh perspective’ in Thomson, above n 5, p 94.

156. Measor et al, above n 59, p 142. See also JM Halstead and S Waite ‘Living in different worlds: gender differences in the developing sexual values and attitudes of primary children’ (2001) 1(1) Sex Education 73.

157. See above n 110.

158. R v Newham Londong Borough Council, ex p K[2002] EWHC 405 (Admin), [2002] ELR 390.

159. Ofsted, above n 45, p 5.

160. S Denman et al ‘Sex education in schools. An overview with recommendations’ (1994) 108 Public Health 254.

161. New Developments in Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Policy, above n 42, para 84.

162. Ofsted Personal, Social and Health Education in Secondary Schools HMI 2311 (January 2005) p 6, para 7.

163. Ofsted, above n 45, p 6; Ofsted Personal, Social and Health Education in Secondary Schools, ibid, para 8; New Developments in Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Policy, above n 42, para 86.

164. The Framework for Sex and Relationship Education (London: Sex Education Forum, 1999) p 3.

165. British Medical Association, above n 2.

166. The Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association has recommended that in terms of the nurse:pupil ratio there should be a school nurse, a community nurse and a support worker (all employed on full-time contracts) for a school population of 6000–7000; The Guardian 6 June 2000.

167. See ‘Massive increase in number of school nurses needed’Times Educational Supplement 23 April 2005.

168. Ofsted, above n 45, p 34 and Ofsted, above n 162, p 3.

169. Sexual Health, above n 42, para 292.

170. Ibid, para 293.

171. Sex and Relationship Education Guidance, above n 19, paras 6.8–6.10.

172. See S Forrest, V Strange and P Oakley ‘A comparison of students’ evaluations of peer-delivered sex education programmes and teacher-led provision’ (2002) 2(3) Sex Education 195.

173. See Reply: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the List of Issues (E/C.12/UK/2, 28th Session, Geneva, 29 April–17 May 2002) p 37.

174. Measor et al, above n 59, p 152. See also W Kyman ‘The first step: sexuality education for parents’ (1995) 21(3) Journal of Sex Education and Therapy 153.

175. See Harrison, above n 1, p 82.

176. On this generally, see P Flowers-Coulson, M Kusner and S Bankowski ‘The information is out there, but is anyone getting it?’ (2000) 2 Journal of Sex Education and Therapy 178.

177. See Sex and Relationship Education Guidance, above n 19, at 5.1, p 25.

178. N Kurl ‘A Hindu perspective’ in Thomson, above n 5, p 37. See also G Singh ‘A Sikh perspective’ in Thomson, ibid, p 94.

179. Any claim that there might be a correlation between the religious/cultural background of parents and their willingness to provide sex education in the home is dispelled by the fact that most young people, of all backgrounds, receive the bulk of their information about sex from friends rather than parents. See Wellings et al, above n 41, at 1847.

180. New Developments in Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Policy, above n 42, paras 8 and 9.

181. See Office of National Statistics Sexual Health – Teen Infection Almost Doubled during 90s, available at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=721&Pos=2&ColRank=2&Rank=192.

182. See above n 134.

183. On this generally, see M Reiss ‘Conflicting philosophies of school sex education’ (1995) 24(4) Journal of Moral Education 371.

184. For example, see SA Mabud ‘An Islamic view of sex education’ (1998) 15(2) Muslim Educational Quarterly 86.

185. A Harris ‘What does “sex education” mean?’ (1971) 1 Journal of Moral Education 7.

186. DE Massey (ed) Sex Education Source Book: Current Issues and Debates (London: Family Planning Association, 1995) p 8.

187. Sexual Health, above n 42, para 326 and New Developments in Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Policy, ibid, para 2.