Anger at sex lessons for five-year-olds

Children as young as five will receive compulsory lessons in sex education and the dangers of drink and drugs, the Government announced.

The curriculum shake-up is intended to tackle Britain's high teenage pregnancy rate and steer youngsters away from drug and alcohol abuse.

Children aged five and upwards will be taught to correctly name body parts and facts about animal reproduction. Two years later, they will learn about puberty and the facts of life. From the age of 11, they will receive detailed information about contraception, sexually transmitted infections and abortion.

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Yesterday's announcement follows reviews into sex and drugs education in schools. The changes will be implemented from September 2010. But campaigners for traditional family values condemned the plan, accusing ministers of subjecting pupils to controversial issues before they are ready.

Norman Wells, the director of the Family Education Trust, said making sex education mandatory would "seriously undermine parents". He added: "The so-called 'safer sex' message is abandoning young people to the heartache and misery of a series of broken relationships, and exposing them to the risk of disease and mental health problems. All this in turn makes it more difficult for them to establish a truly intimate, trusting and fulfilling marriage later on."

Stephen Green, the national director of Christian Voice, said the proposals would only "encourage experimentation" and contribute to the rise in teenage pregnancy and infertility. He said the idea of teaching young children about sex was "a wickedness" from a government that wants to see "a whole generation fornicating".

Announcing the findings yesterday, the Schools minister, Jim Knight, said: "We want to be clear we're not talking about five-year-olds being taught about sex. At Key Stage 1 [five to seven-year-olds] they will be learning about themselves, their differences, their friendships, how to have strong friendships and how to manage their feelings. That then allows them in Key Stage 2 [seven to 11-year-olds] to learn about puberty and then about the facts of life, all these sorts of matters."

But parents could still be given the opportunity to take their child out of some sex lessons. Sir Alasdair MacDonald, the headteacher of Morpeth School in east London, is to lead a review into the best way to make Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) – which covers sex and relationships as well as drugs and alcohol and other life lessons – compulsory.

Mr Knight said parental opt-out was one of the issues to be considered by Sir Alasdair. "I think it's important for individual parents' views to be taken into account in some of these sensitive areas and their right to withdraw from parts of education in those areas that they do not feel comply with their moral views and beliefs and that they will be better dealing with in the home," said Mr Knight. "That would be something that would take us a lot of persuading to move away from."

Faith schools will not be allowed to opt out of the new programme on religious grounds. However, the Government has promised that the compulsory framework behind the new lessons will be flexible enough not to conflict with the beliefs of the different faiths.

But John Dunford, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, opposed the proposals and wrote to Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, saying: "Regrettably, governments have a horrible habit of making more and more things compulsory and increasing the constraints on state schools."

Facts of life: When to teach them

* Five to seven-year-olds: Taught to name parts of the body and basic facts about animal reproduction; about the differences between people, including between men and women; how to have strong friendships; how to manage their feelings.

* Seven to 11-years-olds: Will learn about puberty and the facts of life.

* 11 to 16-year-olds: Will learn about contraception, sexually transmitted infections, homosexuality and abortion.