Sex and relationships education is to be made compulsory in all schools under plans being drawn up by the government in which pupils would be taught about pornography, sexting, domestic violence and the nature of consent.
The proposals, which could be included in amendments to the Children and Social Work Bill, currently before parliament, aim to broaden what is taught at present.
The move is being driven by concern that sexting and sexual bullying are now endemic in schools.
The chairmen and chairwomen of five parliamentary select committees recently wrote to Justine Greening, the education secretary, calling for sex and relationships education to be a statutory subject.
The topic is now being viewed as a safeguarding issue, with warnings of the risks to children left unschooled in the dangers. A report last month revealed that sexual harassment was “part of everyday life” in schools: 29% of girls aged 16-18 had experienced unwanted sexual touching at school and 71% of pupils regularly heard girls referred to as “slag” or “slut”.
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An NSPCC study this year found that 7% of children aged 11-16 had sent a sexual image to someone else and more than 5,500 sex crimes were reported in schools between 2012 and 2015.
Free schools and academies — which now make up more than half of all secondary schools and which include most Christian, Jewish and Muslim schools — do not have to teach sex education or personal, social, health and economic education. Parents can also withdraw their children from sex education classes.
Christian, Jewish and Muslim schools have traditionally been reluctant to teach pupils about issues such as pornography, homosexuality and sex before marriage.
In a hint that the opt-out could be dropped, a government source said: “Justine is clear that this is something that has to be looked at. It is not just a question of making it mandatory but also of what we should be teaching, including issues such as sexting and domestic violence.”
The quality of lessons in those schools that do teach sex education has been graded inadequate in 40% of classes by Ofsted.
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The education department confirmed this weekend that it was a priority area for Greening and that proposals had been drawn up. It refused to confirm that the plans would be tabled as amendments to the bill — but MPs are understood to be preparing to debate such changes.
The department said: “High-quality education on sex and relationships is a vital part of preparing young people for success in adult life — helping them make informed choices, stay safe and learn to respect themselves and others . . . we are actively looking at options to ensure that all children have access to high-quality teaching of these subjects.”
Sir Michael Wilshaw, chief inspector of schools, told The Sunday Times in his last interview before stepping down this week that sexting and sexual bullying are now endemic in schools.
He warned that the government had to bring in compulsory sex education lessons “urgently” and said they should include teaching about good relationships, the dangers of porn, respect for others and domestic violence.
“I see this as a priority given there are new forms of violence now in schools, not the sort of violence we saw in the 1970s and 1980s,” he said.
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“I talk to heads all the time and there are increasing concerns about cyber-bullying, inappropriate behaviour to girls and sexting.
“I think the government needs to act quickly to bring [sex education] in, given the way schools have changed and the new problems that are emerging . . . It is important we take sex education seriously.”
The Tory MP Maria Miller said: “What is currently compulsory in secondary schools is the science of reproduction; the rest is based on guidance that was last updated at the turn of the millennium and makes no reference to pornography through which, as we know, more young children are finding out about sex.”