WA Health – Talk Soon. Talk Often. A guide for parents talking to their kids about sex.
Study no longer available:
The Latrobe University 2010 study for the WA Department of Health into parental attitudes found most parents consulted were supportive of sexual health education in schools with some conditions:
- Parents want their children to be well informed about sex, sexual health and relationships; however, they want to be kept informed about school programs.
- Parents want to be assured that the educators who will be teaching their children about sexual health have the skills and qualifications to do their job well, and remain sensitive to the diversity of values among their students and their families.
- Parents believe schools need to take an active role in providing written communication about what will be covered in sexuality education programs and be open to meet with parents who have concerns.
Key recommendations for future action to support productive family–school relations:
- Schools and teachers be supported by the state department of education in order to provide high quality sexual health education for students at developmentally appropriate stages throughout their education.
- The state department of education and individual schools ensure that teachers receive specialised professional development and training in sexuality/sexual health education to enable them to be qualified, competent and confident sexual health educators, able to work in partnership with parents
In 2014, sexuality education in WA was criticised here on the ABC for the lack of teacher training the the subject. See on the same link the call by the WA Youth Affairs Council for Sexuality education to be compulsory and here for more of the debate.