School Gate: Why pupils need to talk about sex

Every secondary school should have a sexual health clinic on site to offer pupils advice on contraception, pregnancy tests and screening for sexually transmitted diseases, a Government commissioned report by a leading charity has said.

The National Children’s Bureau (NCB) also recommends the Government make sex education compulsory for all sixth formers.

In some areas only one quarter of secondary schools provide sexual health services for pupils compared with 75 per cent of further education and sixth-form colleges, a survey by the NCB indicates.

Schools in London have the worst provision, with only 11.4 per cent offering basic sexual heath services such as free contraception.

In the North West, 40.6 per cent of schools have on-site clinics where pupils can get pregnancy tests and long-term contraception such as the implant or injection.

The survey found 17 faith schools offering sexual health clinics. The Church of England and Roman Catholic schools mostly offer tests for STDs and pregnancy rather than contraception, the Times Educational Supplement reports.

The report says pupils are often reluctant to attend out-of-school clinics. “Young people often feel uncomfortable accessing services in community settings because of fear about being judged and confidentiality being broken. A typical comment is: ‘We worry that the GP will phone our parents’.”

It recommends that local authorities and health and education experts set up on-site clinics. It also calls for compulsory sex education to continue after the age of 16.

A Government report recently recommended that sex education be mandatory in all schools but did not extend to post-16 education. The report says: “For teenage conception rates to drop, good quality personal, social and health education is needed, alongside better access to services. Without learning about the importance of looking after one’s sexual health, on-site services are unlikely to be effective.”

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