School axes ‘explicit’ sex ed DVD after parents’ complaints

A primary school in Sussex has scrapped a sex education DVD after parents complained about its explicit content.

Governors at Turners Hill Primary School ruled that the video was not in keeping with their ethos following concerns about sexually graphic scenes.

From September the video, which had been used for a year, will be replaced with a new discussion-based PowerPoint presentation.

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Parents will be invited to see the new material before the pupils see it and may withdraw their child from the lessons if they wish.

Head teacher of the Church of England school, Oliver Burcombe, supports the governors’ decision.

He said policies had been reviewed, and it was decided all materials “should be changed and based more around Christian principles”.

Decision

And parents spoken to by a local newspaper welcomed the move, including Lynda Reeves, 45, who said: “I think it was the right decision to make and I trust the school’s judgement.”

But one school governor said parents had created a “hoo-ha” by raising concerns and felt the video was acceptable in the classroom.

A primary school in Croydon recently postponed showing a controversial sex education DVD after parents complained about explicit content.

Series

One parent said the material, which is part of Channel 4’s Living and Growing series, could be classed as pornography.

And in Dunblane, children aged six were shown the Living and Growing DVD which featured full sexual intercourse during a sex education lesson.

The school claimed it was an honest mistake but one annoyed mother said the apology was “not good enough”.

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