Search

There is a need to understand teenagers' views towards having children to better tailor sexuality and reproductive health education. We conducted a survey of parenthood intentions for 16–18-year-old students. The survey was anonymous, contained open-ended and multiple-choice questions and was live from 10 May 2021 to 18 July 2022. The sample size was n = 931. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively and using chi-squared tests; qualitative data were analysed thematically. The majority of students (64%) indicated they wanted to have children in the future, with 49% desiring to have two children. Students who opted against having children cited the turbulent state of the world, concerns about parenthood, and, for many females, negative associations to pregnancy and childbirth. Many students felt concern about the possibility of having children in the future (45%), expressing concerns about their ability to have healthy children and worries about the lives their children might lead. Six themes were identified in their responses to the question 'What are your concerns about the possibility of having children in the future?': Fears; Self-doubt; Health and wellbeing; Big investment; Hinderance to personal aspirations; and Non-inclusive LGBTQ+ education. We conclude by making recommendations as to how school reproductive health and sex education might be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student-reported quality and coverage of school-based relationships and sex education (RSE) vary, with gender/sexual-minority and disadvantaged students reporting poorer provision. Experience of RSE among younger adolescents is under-explored. We examined student-reported RSE coverage and priorities and how coverage, and sexual-health knowledge and awareness of services, varies between students and schools. The data came from a pre-intervention survey of students aged 12–13 years within a trial of an RSE intervention involving 50 English schools. There was most coverage of basic information, such as puberty and safeguarding. There was least coverage of topics more appropriate for older students, such as sexual relationships, and topics teachers might find difficult to broach, e.g. pornography and masturbation. Girls, gay/lesbian students, students of bisexual/other sexual orientation, minority-ethnic students and students reporting lower academic commitment reported lower coverage than others. Knowledge of RSE-related topics and sexual-health services was generally low. Boys, students of bisexual/other orientation and students with higher school commitment had higher knowledge. Students of bisexual/other orientation and students of lower commitment reported lower awareness of services. Coverage and knowledge did not vary with school-level attainment or local deprivation. Future forms of RSE provision should ensure content and teaching methods meet the needs of all students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual consent has increasingly become a central component of Relationships and Sex Education. This paper draws upon findings from qualitative research conducted with teenagers in England, which explored their perspectives on consent within their contemporary youth sexual cultures, including in digital (sexting) contexts. The findings suggest that young people's definitions of consent often did not correspond to the socially- and contextually contingent realities of negotiating and establishing consensual sex(ting). While young people's contemporary sexual cultures may look somewhat different, longstanding gender norms and sexual scripts shaped their attitudes towards consent. The implications of the findings for RSE are discussed, including the need for more collaborative dialogue and exchange between educators and learners that engages with the situated realities of contemporary youth sexual culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background School based, peer-to-peer sexual harm is under-researched despite its prevalence and adverse effects on young people across the globe. Understanding barriers to victim disclosure and peer reporting might help towards the prevention and protection of young people. Objective This study explores dual perspectives of young people and educational staff about school-specific environmental barriers to 1) young people's disclosure of sexual harm experienced, and 2) young people's reporting of sexual harm on behalf of others. Participants and setting: Participants include 59 young people aged 13–21 and 58 educational staff, drawn from seven schools across four local authorities in England whom formed part of a wider study on harmful sexual behavior and safety in schools. Methods Focus groups were carried out with young people and education staff. The sessions were thematically analysed and focused on barriers to disclosure within the school context. Results Peer groups set powerful 'rules' that influence the ability and willingness of young people to report sexual harm. Some school responses for addressing sexual harm are sub-optimal and sexual harm is not adequately prioritised. Some schools appear to struggle to manage more subtle forms of sexual harm compared with more recognized forms of violence and abuse. A significant proportion of sexual harm is so prevalent that it is 'normalised', and therefore under-reported. This resigned acceptance to sexual harm consequently shapes young people's disclosures. Conclusions School systems of responding to sexual harm require strengthening to increase feelings of safety and empowerment of young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rates of sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancy amongst the under-16s are causing increasing concern. There is limited evidence about the sexual behaviour and sex education preferences of this age group, especially of those from Black and minority ethnic groups. This study aimed to provide data on early heterosexual risk behaviour, and to examine preferences for the content and delivery of sex and relationships education (SRE), across ethnicity, gender and school year to inform priority setting and sex education strategies. A cross-sectional study of 3334 13–17-year-olds from 10 English urban and suburban secondary schools was conducted. Multivariate analysis was performed to examine the independent effect of demographic variables on sexual experience and preferences for sex education. A number of important differences in the sexual experience and condom use of males and females across the ethnic groups were identified. Differences in preferences for the content and delivery of sex education were also identified, particularly between male and female pupils. The findings indicate the potential for quite wide variation in sexual experience and preferences within school classrooms. The challenge for educators is therefore to develop SRE curricula that are inclusive within the constraints of school teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Judith Stephenson and colleagues report on a cluster randomized trial in London of school-based peer-led sex education and whether it reduced unintended teenage pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This piece considers a pivotal period in British social, political, cultural and educational history, the decades from 1945 to 1965. It reviews key policy documents (issued by the Board of Education in 1943 and 1944 and the Department of Education and Science in 1968) which can be said to ‘frame’ the period and proceeds to examine the practices advocated and employed by two progressive teachers, Michael Duane and Kenneth Barnes. It implicates both Duane and Barnes in the development of sex(uality) education in the period but locates their motives in modernist and conformist, not radical, psychological and political/moral discourses. (Teaching about the) physiology of sex ... (should occur) frequent(ly), but ... naturally. (Board of Education, 1943, p.?3) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]