JOHN SMEATON, DIRECTOR OF SPUC: "Schools have no right to dictate what parents must teach their children about sex", says Safe at School campaign to Hounslow parents

Wednesday, 2 October 2013

"Schools have no right to dictate what parents must teach their children about sex", says Safe at School campaign to Hounslow parents

Parents in Hounslow met yesterday evening to hear how they can best protect their primary school children from explicit sex education. The meeting was held in response to growing concern among parents that some local schools are telling parents that their children must attend sex education classes and any parents withdrawing their children will be told by the school what they must teach their children.

Antonia Tully, national co-ordinator of SPUC's Safe at School campaign told the media:

"This is an outrageous development. Sex education is not compulsory and it has never been a statutory part of the science curriculum. Schools have no legal or moral right to dictate what parents must be teach their children about sex."

Mrs Tully told parents that they are the primary educators of their children on sexual matters. She urged parents to exercise their legal right to withdraw their children from sex education lessons if they were unhappy about the content of the lessons. She also explained that the new National Curriculum for primary school science makes it clear that human sexual reproduction is not part of the statutory requirements.

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About Me

I became involved in SPUC after graduating, when I established a branch in south London in 1974. I have worked full-time for SPUC for 42 years. I became chief executive of SPUC in the UK in 1996, having been general secretary since 1978. I was elected vice-president of International Right to Life Federation in 2005. At UN conferences in Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing, Istanbul and Rome, I helped coordinate more than 150 pro-life/pro-family groups resulting in pro-life victories in Cairo, Istanbul and Rome. I was educated at Salesian College, London, before going to Oxford where I graduated in English Language and Literature. I qualified as a teacher, becoming head of English at a secondary school. I am married to Josephine. We have a grown-up family and we live in north London.