Schools 'ignoring' sex education

Pupils spent an hour a week on average discussing personal issues

Some secondary schools in England do not provide any sex education or advice on other "vital" health issues, the education watchdog Ofsted says.

A study based on visits to more than 60 schools and over 100 inspection reports found a shortage of specialist staff.

Many schools used form tutors to deal with the subject and good lessons were described as "few and far between".

The Department for Education said the government had provided extra cash to raise the number of specialist staff.

'Vital'

Schools are required by law to provide "balanced and broadly based" personal, social and health education (PSHE).

Ofsted's chief inspector, David Bell, said: "High quality personal, social and health education is vital to young people's development in and out of the classroom.

"It is important that both schools and parents take this role seriously in order to ensure that our young people are prepared for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences they will face in later life."

The report finds some schools did not teach PSHE "in any form".

It adds: "The position of these schools is untenable. Schools are required to contribute to the personal and social development of their pupils and some of this provision is best met by teaching within a PSHE programme."

On average, secondary pupils received 60 minutes' classroom tuition a week on it.

'Fragmented'

Where form tutors looked after PSHE, the training was often "fragmented" and was found to "severely limit the effectiveness".

Schools that were not teaching PSHE had often decided to concentrate their time on academic subjects instead.

Too many schools failed to offer pupils individual personal support and many could not guarantee confidentiality, Ofsted found.

Some schools included citizenship in PSHE classes, cutting the time they spent studying important issues like sex, relationships and drugs.

A Department for Education and Skills spokeswoman said: "Over 5,000 teachers are set to benefit from additional training in the next two years."

Tests were also being developed to allow teachers to assess pupils' progress in PSHE, she added.

Sexually transmitted infections are continuing to grow, with more than 700,000 new cases recorded in 2003 in the UK.

Chlamydia cases increased by 9% to 89,818, genital warts went up by 2% to 70,883 and syphilis by 28%.

UK teenage pregnancy rates are also the highest in western Europe.

The Ofsted report is called Personal, Social and Health Education in Secondary Schools.