Wales put a ban on parents preventing students attending sexuality education

A good approach to making sure everyone is educated on sex.

Sex education is an important part of school that no child should miss, but in many schools the option to take part is left in the hands of parents. As a parent I can understand why the school chooses to do it this way. I don't have a problem with my child attending sex education but some parents do and the school saves themselves grief by leaving it to the families of the pupils to decide. Unfortunately this leads to a lot of young people leaving school not knowing very much about sex or sexual health, particularly those who may be same-sex orientated. Wales has decided to put a stop to this by making it mandatory for children to attend sexual education. Welsh education minister Kirsty Williams, has removed the rights of parents to prevent their children from learning about sex and in particular same-sex education. When speaking on the issue Williams said;

"It is essential that all young people are provided with access to information that keeps them safe from harm. Today’s decision ensures that all pupils will learn about issues such as online safety and healthy relationships."

  When I was in secondary school, sex education was pretty basic and absolutely nothing was covered regarding LGBT sexual relations. A lack of knowledge when it comes to sex between all orientations and sexual transmitted infections has been cited by many organisations was the rise of HIV among young people. Speaking on the subject Debbie Laycock of HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust told PinkNews;

"This decision by the Welsh government will go some way to fixing this. It’s absolutely vital lessons are LGBT+ inclusive and have a strong focus on HIV and sexual health so all young people have the knowledge they need to form healthy and fulfilling relationships."

I personally think that this is a positive step in making sure that all teenagers leave school with a good knowledge of sex and sexual health and I would be more than happy to see a similar rule be put in place in Ireland.