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Compulsory sex ed for 5 year olds? Yep, NICE is at it again…

Big Brother Watch's favourite overbearing, nanny-state quango – the National Institute for Clinical Excellence – has dive-bombed back into controversy this morning.

Kids Fresh from trying to regulate the inside of our homes, and suggesting we are grilled on our alcohol use when we go to see the dentist; the ironically named 'NICE' are now keen that toddlers are taught about the missionary position at primary school.

From the Daily Mail:

Children as young as five should be taught about sex, the Government’s controversial health watchdog said last night.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence – whose main role is to ration NHS drugs – is to write to every primary school telling it to start sex education when pupils are five.

It will tell teachers that children should not be taught to say no to sex – but should learn about the value of ‘mutually rewarding sexual relationships’.

As Emma wrote on Monday, while one half of the state tries to protect the innocence of youth, the other half is coming up with ludicrous policies like this one. This latest release from NICE is based on the flimsiest of evidence, but there will still be pressure on schools to comply with its findings.

By Dylan Sharpe

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Big Brother Watch Posted in Home
  • http://fuelinjectedmoose.blogspot.com/ Bucko

    Are there any plans to scrap this hideous quango to save money?

  • http://www.politicosonline.com Chris Hampsheir

    At the age of 5, kids don’t have any understanding of such concepts. I had my first sex ed class at 8, which was still far too young. The last year of primary school should be about right.

  • Nobody

    Oh dear. I’m afraid your organisation loses all credibility when you use The Daily Mail as your source of information for hysterical posts such as this one. A few minutes research reveals this story to be a mixture of exaggeration and outright lies.

  • http://www.bigbrotherwatch.org.uk Dylan Sharpe

    ‘Nobody’ – if you would like to provide the evidence, I would direct others to this URL: http://news.google.co.uk/news/more?hl=en&q=NICe&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ncl=duWQUyn46yt8ZSMkSPnZ0PDjXO49M&ei=FFEaTK4Hk438Br-StZwJ&sa=X&oi=news_result&ct=more-results&cd=1&resnum=1&ved=0CCIQqgIoADAA
    As you will see, this story was covered by Reuters, the Independent and Daily Telegraph. All of which carry supporting quotes from the NICE authors.
    Also, regardless of your political leanings, you should be aware that the Daily Mail is without doubt the most active newspaper in uncovering intrusions on privacy by the state. Henry Porter – Guardian journalist and founder of the Convention of Modern Liberty – said exactly this when he came and spoke at a Big Brother Watch event.

  • NeverSurrender

    This is just nuts. Speaking as an ex-primary school teacher with over twenty years of experience and, as a parent, this is far too young to be introducing sex education to children. Little children of that age have thoughts of fun, playing, being loved e.t.c. and live in a small world of innocence (environment permitting) which is exactly as it should be. The concept of sex is completely unknown to them and usually is for a few years. Children of age 10 to 12 know the word but usually not what it means. That is the time for the subject to be gently and tactfully introduced. I was never required to teach sex education but sometimes the subject cropped up naturally during other subjects such as moral education. As long as care was taken a valuable discussion could take place. However, this would never happen with very young children and if it did and, depending on the circumstances, I would have been alerting social workers about a possible problem.

  • Redacted

    I think that whatever is taught in school, children’s natural learning instinct is to observe what actually happens in the real world. The relationships of people and animals in their immediate environment are therefore vastly more likely to inform them on human nature and sexual interaction than any class in school, especially at 5 years old.
    As far as I can remember, at that age I was aware that adult men and women had a special “adult” mode of interaction, but it didn’t engage my curiosity. The world was brimming with things I didn’t yet understand and the occult nature of adult relationships was not of immediate concern to me. The time when an individual child becomes curious about such matters will vary I guess.
    At five I mainly thought about games to play and toys I wanted. Oh yes, and sulking and tempers and open rebellions against “the system” and so on. Inncocence is not really the right word, it’s rather that childish preoccupations are different. After a life of wide experience I feel much more more innocent now than I did as a child. I have come to the opinion that true innocence is an achievement of maturity, not something lost for ever in puberty.

  • Kevin

    “It will tell teachers that children should not be taught to say no to sex – but should learn about the value of ‘mutually rewarding sexual relationships’.”
    That could be interpreted to mean in exchange for a bag of sweets.

  • Leynos

    From the Reuters article mentioned by Dylan Sharpe:
    ‘”Topics should be introduced and covered in a way that is appropriate to the maturity of pupils and is based on an understanding of their needs and is sensitive to diverse cultural, faith and family perspectives,” it said.
    ‘For the youngest children, this would involve learning about the value of friendships and having respect for others.’
    I very much doubt that lessons on sexual intimacy is on the table for five-year-old. The language used by the Mail here is very much that of alarmism and hyperbole.
    I would have thought children being encouraged to treat each other with respect is something that would be welcomed by most people.

  • Rob

    No, this is not “compulsory sex ed for 5 year olds”. Quite apart from NICE being unable to compel schools to teach anything, it’s not what the consulation document is about, and it’s easy to see for yourself. The NICE press release is here: http://www.nice.org.uk/newsroom/pressreleases/2010071sexeducationpressrelease.jsp
    And the consultation guidance itself is here: http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/11673/49240/49240.pdf
    The document covers more than sexual health, and makes suggestions for primary and secondary education.
    As Leynos says above, it makes clear that topics “should be introduced and covered in a way that is appropriate to the maturity of pupils”, and suggests educators should “Help primary school children to develop and sustain relationships and friendships. Ensure they understand the importance of valuing and having respect for others”.
    The ‘Mail’ have somehow spun this to make it seem that NICE are insisting teachers tell 5-year-olds all about copulation. This is clearly not what NICE are doing.

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