**TL;DR : Teaching children about their bodies and appropriate touch from an early age will keep them safer** • [A Study](https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/6/9/e011329.full.pdf) funded by the NHS's National Institute for Health Research found that SRE 'gives young people the information and the skills they need to have safe, fulfilling relationships and to take responsibility for their sexual health'. • The study also found that young people reported that SRE was delivered 'too late' and that 'starting it earlier might make it easier to discuss sex'. • Furthermore, delivering sex education at a younger age gives students a basic conception of sex and appropriate touch. By teaching sex education, children are able to understand consent and have the vocabulary to report sexual abuse if it occurs.

**TL;DR : Not teaching children about sex when they are in primary school can lead to misunderstandings when they become older.** - Children are naturally curious and will begin to ask questions about their bodies, ask questions about relationships. Equipping these children with the knowledge of what their bodies can do reproductively will educate them and will also give them the responsibility and autonomy that they will need in the future. - Making it a taboo, forbidden topic will inspire curiosity, unsafe relations and misunderstandings that spread through rumours. Abstinence only approaches can be more harmful than intended as they leave women and people with vaginas particularly vulnerable. - Abstinence only stances have led to higher rates of teenage pregnancy in conservative states, which reinforces the importance of early intervention with regards to sex education.

**it is possible and necessary to teach younger people about sex in an appropriate and healthy way.** - people can be against this because of a fundamental misunderstanding of what sex ed for younger people would entail. as explained [here](https://www.benenden.co.uk/be-healthy/lifestyle/sex-education-too-young-to-know/) 'If people could see what’s going on in the best classrooms, they would be reassured rather than alarmed.' - there are age appropriate ways to address issues surrounding the topic with kids, and the earlier we begin to bring it up the better their understanding will be growing up. it forms the basis for more in-depth conversations as they grow up. issues of consent are relevant in all aspects of life, for example, not just sex. however, this knowledge would organically bleed into that aspect of their life in adulthood if it is hammered into their minds young. - children are vulnerable and susceptible to abuse due to their inability to understand what is happening to them or how to talk about it. healthy, productive and age appropriate conversations can give them the autonomy to speak up about abuse. knowing the terminology can help them in court should the need arise too, since it will allow them to clearly describe what occurred without being dismissed or misunderstood for being unclear.

**TL;DR: The current distinction between 'relationships education' in primary school and 'sex education' in secondary school is in line with childhood development. The focus shouldn't be on introducing sex ed to kids at a younger age. It should be on initially giving them an understanding of emotions and human relationships. They can then situate sex within this framework during secondary school.** - The average age for girls to start [going through puberty] (https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sexual-health/stages-of-puberty-what-happens-to-boys-and-girls/) is 11, and 12 for boys. Secondary school begins when children are 11. [Sex education] (https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum/other-compulsory-subjects), defined as ["teaching about reproduction, sexuality, and sexual health"] (https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum/other-compulsory-subjects), should be taught as children are going through puberty. Not before. - ['Relationships education'] (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-education-primary) was made compulsory to be taught in all primary schools in 2019. It covers ["relationships and health"] (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-education-primary). At the school's discretion, this can also include elements of what is considered sex education. This is the appropriate amount of education for primary school students. - It is [more helpful] (https://www.sexualwellbeing.ie/for-professionals/research/research-summaries/research-on-teenage-sexuality-2012.pdf) to build a biological understanding of sex upon an established base of emotions and relationships. Children can then assess how sexuality factors into that.