Sex ed for Primary kids will cause more ‘Alfies’

Primary school children in Leicester are to be given sex education starting this autumn following the case of 13-year-old father, Alfie Patten.

But critics say they fear the move will “result in more little Alfies”.

Baby-faced Alfie sparked a national debate when it was reported he had fathered a baby girl with his 15-year-old girlfriend. Two other teenage boys claim to be the dad.

The Government wants to make sex education compulsory in primary schools, with press reports saying the plan will start in autumn 2010.

But education bosses in Leicester are in a rush to start a sex education programme in its 25 primary schools after the summer.

Family campaigners have urged the Government to give parents a greater say in their children’s sex education, warning that values-free classes will simply give children the impression that they are expected to be having sex.

Leicester has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in England. One school in the city has already begun the lessons which include teaching children the differences between girls’ and boys’ bodies.

Linda Jagger, headteacher of Caldecote Primary School, said: “When I was watching little Alfie on TV it really got me concerned and I wanted to do something to prevent it happening with the children in my school.”

But Patricia Morgan, an academic who has conducted extensive research into the issue of teenage pregnancy, said: “I fear all this will only result in more little Alfies.”

Commenting on Alfie’s story last month, Norman Wells of the Family of Education Trust said: “Unless we begin to address the issue of underage sexual activity we shall continue to see cases like this.

“The Government’s teenage pregnancy strategy with all its emphasis on sex education and making contraception freely available to young people is creating a climate in which teenagers think it is normal to be sexually active under the age of 16.”