The American website "The Public School Parent's Network " carried an article under the heading

"Sex education that delays sexual activity"

This was about
'A new and more effective sex education programme called A PAUSE (Added Power and Understanding in Sex Education) takes a different approach. Based on extensive research at Exeter University's Department of Child Health, it doesn't just focus on the physical aspects of sex, but also addresses the emotional side. So far, around 100 schools have enrolled in this ground-breaking programme.'

It was an idea for peer-led sex education that initially came from similar successful programmes in the USA, where escalating teenage pregnancy rates forced sex education experts to change their approach.
The 'just say no' approach wasn't working on its own.

'A PAUSE takes young people through the biological, emotional and practical aspects of sexual health. Early in secondary school life, teachers and health professionals teach the basic principles of human development, contraception, pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, illustrating issues with 'real life stories'. Pupils discuss how they would deal with certain situations and decide the best course of action.'

''Peers educators' (16- to 18-year olds) undergo a 25-hour training programme, which enables them to run four classroom sessions with Year Nine students. The sessions focus on dispelling myths about sex and building self-esteem, and although a teacher or A PAUSE supervisor must be present, the peers lead the discussions without intervention.

Dr John Tripp, a consultant paediatrician who is a member of the team behind the A PAUSE programme, says that teenagers should not be pressurised into having sex. They may find it difficult to say 'no' without help. He says: 'Young people should not feel pressured, and should be prepared to deal with the dangers and manage them safely.'

A typical programme may include exploring the reasons why teenagers start having sex, examining media and peer pressure, performing role play and learning assertiveness techniques.'
         
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The programme became the subject of great debate across the spectrum of the press.

"After reading about the project, Vanessa Feltz wrote in the Sunday Express: "The words 'batty' and 'harebrained' would spring to mind - if the words 'irresponsible' and 'dangerous' hadn't sprung first." The programme was criticised for the training it offers teachers, in which they are asked to consider how they would answer questions about anal sex, oral sex and, most controversially, the question: "What does semen taste like?"

John Rees, director of A Pause at Exeter University, says the furore came after only the second complaint made by a teacher in the 12 years the programme has been running. A Pause is also the only sex education programme in Europe that has been proven to work. Research into how it altered young people's behaviour was published in the British Medical Journal in 1995. It showed a 5% overall reduction in underage sex - that's 13% of those who would have actually had sex.

Rees says: "Young people can ask very challenging questions; we need to be prepared to respond properly. We discuss kissing, but of course we don't teach children how to do it. The same with anal or oral sex. We have to accept that they will ask questions that challenge our own values, and be prepared to answer questions within the framework of the programme by giving them a factually appropriate answer."

He adds wryly: "So with a question such as 'What does semen taste like?', we would advise them to refuse to answer it from a personal point of view. 'I don't know, I'll go away and find out for next week', would not be an appropriate response."

Simon Blake, of the National Children's Bureau and former head of the Sex Education Forum, is frustrated that such debates are still going on. "The question that we should be asking is, given that we are three years in from the teenage pregnancy strategy, what do we need to do next? This question of whether we should teach it has gone on too long; the big question is why are there still 16-year-olds who don't know anything about sex apart from how to spell 'fallopian tubes'?"

But there is much to celebrate. Figures released last week show that teenage pregnancy rates in England - famously the worst in Europe - have fallen for the third year in a row. There were 9% fewer teenage pregnancies in 2001 compared with 1998. In other words, a total of 8,000 pregnancies in girls under 18 have been prevented.

Many agencies, including the Family Planning Association, have welcomed the government's strategy, which is delivered via local authorities through schemes such as A Pause. So why is there still so much controversy over sex education? Blake says: "The issue is that sex education always frightens people, and raises anxieties about how and what to deliver. Mostly, the question for teachers is how parents and community will respond. The real thing we need to be concerned with is saying that sex education is OK."

Angela Phillips, who sits on the independent advisory committee of the teenage pregnancy unit, which runs the strategy, says: "Teachers need proper training to deliver sex education. Not everybody can handle it. But anybody who's doing sex education in school will be faced with questions that are deliberately intended to provoke. One of the ways pupils respond to embarrassment is to try to raise a laugh. As teachers you've got to be able to deal with it."

But Phillips argues that responsibility for the way we talk about sex is not just with the teachers, but society as a whole. "The problem with sex education is a collective embarrassment about sex. Kids are up against the overwhelming feeling that sex is naughty and probably nasty - that's the atmosphere in which young people are brought up to think about sex. You've got to be able to deal with it calmly, in a dignified and non-sniggering way."

And while the criticisms about A Pause make good headlines, Blake says they undermine the good and effective work that the government, schools and children are doing. "We know that if you politicise something it just makes people anxious. We've got to stop politicising sex education. It's not helpful for children and it's not helpful for those delivering it."

from   
The Guardian, Tuesday 4 March 2003