Daily Telegraph sex ed campaign is misleading parents, says parents' campaign group

London, : The Daily Telegraph's campaign calling for school lessons about the dangers of pornography is misleading, according to a leading parents' advocacy group, Safe at School, a campaign of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) which supports and advises parents whose children are subjected to unacceptable sex education in school.

Antonia Tully, national co-ordinator of Safe at School said: "What the Daily Telegraph campaign doesn't say is what will actually be taught in schools. My fear is that parents, and many people who have signed their petition, don't realise that current proposals for teaching children and teenagers about pornography are not about warning them of the dangers."

Mrs Tully continued: "The influential Sex Education Forum has published an online magazine showing teachers how to introduce children and teenagers to pornography. These lesson ideas are not about teaching children and teenagers about how to avoid pornography, but normalising it."

Mrs Tully said: "The prime minister has pointed to the fact that most internet access among children takes place at home. This means that parents are literally best placed to protect their children from pornography. The Daily Telegraph campaign is calling for so-called sex education 'experts' to teach children. It's time to recognise that parents are the experts when it comes to their own children."

David Cameron has rejected the Telegraph's call for sex education guidelines to be withdrawn, saying that "teachers can talk about porn within the existing guidelines".

Safe at School has said that any change to the sex education guidelines could be extremely dangerous in the light of the Sex Education Forum's proposals for the inclusion of pornography in sex education.

For press enquiries please call Antonia Tully on 07926 007175