A survey of attitudes to sex education among secondary school governors in Nottinghamshire

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge and attitudes of secondary school governors in Nottinghamshire, with regard to the content and organisation of sex education and to ascertain their training and support needs in this area. The data were collected by means of a self-completed questionnaire, sent to half of all Nottinghamshire governors of state-maintained secondary schools. The response rate was 67 per cent (n = 405). It was found that 83 per cent of the governors were aware of the existence of a written sex education policy in their schools. Most believed that the topics of contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, homo sexuality and HIV and AIDS should be included in sex education pro grammes. In general they appeared to be positive with regard to the entitlement of children to sex education and the teaching of the subject, However co-opted governors were at variance with the other governor types, and were more likely, for example, to believe that sex education encourages children to experiment with sex, and that sex education is the responsibility of parents, not teachers. Co-opted governors held similar views to parent governors about the government being justified in giving parents the option to withdraw their children from lessons (over half in agreement), while only a third of teacher and LEA governors concurred with this statement. Four out of five governors reported feeling confident about their role and legal responsibilities with regard to sex education, but most would welcome the provision of training in this area. Recommenda tions are made with regard to the training of governors in sex education and further research in this area is suggested.