One Hull headteacher has apologised to parents if homework asking pupils to research different types of pornography led them to undertake inappropriate web searches.
Children in years 7, 8 and 9 (11 to 14-year-olds) at the Archbishop Sentamu Academy, a Church of England School named after the outgoing Archbishop of York, were asked to ‘define’ pornography, soft pornography, hardcore pornography and transsexual pornography, as well as female genital mutilation, wet dreams, trafficking, male circumcision and breast ironing as part of their work in a Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) class.
Following complaints from parents, the academy has now apologised for any offence caused.
School principal, Chay Bell said: “I am genuinely sorry if parents or students have unnecessarily researched any of these phrases and for any offence caused by this mistake.”
He added that students “were not directed to research these topics themselves on the internet because all the answers to the questions posed are contained in the teacher-produced materials we shared.
“I have asked that no future PSHE materials contain any potentially sensitive content and will ensure all materials are fully age-appropriate.”
One mother, named as Mrs Taylor, spoke to the Hull Daily Mail about the incident: “My daughter is still very much a child, we’ve still got magic elves, her bedroom is done in My Little Pony. She is very innocent and naive.
“I’m just thinking is there kids out there who have done this work? You would be scared at what you saw. At 11 I was playing with Barbies. If they have seen it they can’t unsee it.
“Now it’s making me think what they are learning about at school that we don’t know about. We only know about this because they’re home learning.”
Speaking to the BBC, Leon Dagon says he was ‘flabbergasted’ when he saw his 13-year-old sister’s homework: “My little sister knows make-up and TikTok at the age of 13. She doesn’t know about hardcore porn, and then asking her to define it.” He added that the majority of children won’t necessarily know what an internet search on the topic would bring up.
One recent survey found that 94% of children had been exposed to porn by the age of 14. Reportedly, 25% of all search engine requests are pornography related. That is 68 million searches per day.
From September 2020, the government wants to introduce new guidance on Relationships and Sex Education in primary and secondary schools. The new lessons would take out the parental opt out that currently exists in primary schools, and make lessons on LGBT themes compulsory for young children. Find out more about what parents should know with Roger Kiska.
However, the regulations state that parents must be consulted before the guidelines are introduced. While the country has been in lockdown, this has been impossible. Would you consider writing to your MP, urging the government to delay the introduction of RSE until parents have been properly consulted? It is time that the government took seriously how these sort of lessons affect young children and respect the rights of parents to raise their children according to their beliefs.
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