Birmingham's problem changing teenage attitudes to sex
So, a new 3Rs is set to hit Birmingham’s schools.
Instead of the traditional 3Rs subjects of reading, writing and arithmetic, the class of 2009 has at least got the correct spelling behind it as the city council rolls out its new targets of Relationships, Respect and Resilience.
And, some might argue, these new aims have just as much importance as the fundamental subjects of literacy and numeracy that have been at the core of education in this country for decades.
For the new 3Rs cover the all-important issues of sexual health and relationships.
And, whereas all pupils need to leave secondary school with a firm knowledge and understanding of reading, writing and maths, all too blossoming educations can easily be ruined by a casual encounter that leads to an unwanted teenage pregnancy.
Birmingham’s children and education scrutiny committee has gone to the very people who matter to carry out its review, namely members of the Birmingham Youth Parliament.
And they have reported a mixed bag of sexual education in schools across the city, with some providing very little in the way of relationships lessons and others accused of a ‘patchy’ or ‘inconsistent’ approach. With Birmingham’s teenage conception rate alarmingly above the national average, it is to be hoped that fewer impressionable young lives will be hampered by a sudden, unwanted pregnancy and all the difficulties encountered with it.
But with a separate study among admittedly older 16 to 24-year-olds in Birmingham revealing that nearly three-quarters fail to practice safe sex, then the city clearly has a major problem on its hands if it wants to change teenage attitudes.
It is to be hoped that the major shake-up of sex education acknowledged by the authors of this report as being well overdue will start to make a significant inroad into the 1,119 teenage girls who became pregnant in Birmingham during 2007.
