Poll: Should children receive compulsory sex education at primary school?

In a new report, it called for personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) to be given statutory status in all of England's state primary and secondary schools to ensure that enough lesson time is devoted to the subject and teachers are properly trained.

Sex and relationships education (SRE) should be a "core part" of these classes.

But the committee also said that parents should retain their right to withdrawn their children from lessons.

Campaigners have called for the subject to be mandatory, and a damning Ofsted report published in 2013 found that PSHE education was not up to scratch in two fifths of schools.

Some noted that increasingly easy access to pornography through the internet is shaping young people's behaviours - such as "sexting" and fuelling the need to reassess PSHE.

Although ministers have taken action recently to improve PSHE and SRE, these are not enough to make a difference, the report suggested.

It warned: "There is a mismatch between the priority that the government claims it gives to PSHE and the steps it has taken to improve the quality of teaching in the subject."

The Government should formally endorse and issue supplementary advice on SRE drawn up by charities and advisory groups last year, MPs said, as well as checking that schools are publishing information about their PSHE and SRE curriculum on their website.

Under the current system, primary schools do not have to provide sex and relationships lessons beyond what is covered in the science curriculum, while local council-run secondaries have to cover sexually transmitted diseases as part of science for 14-16-year-olds, the report noted.

Academies do not have to offer SRE, but if they do, must take into account the Government's guidance.

The committee said that there is a "lack of clarity" over the status of the subject, adding that many people had suggested there is confusion over whether SRE is compulsory and in what schools.

Committee chair Graham Stuart said: "There is an overwhelming demand for statutory sex and relationships education - from teachers, parents and young people themselves. It's important that school leaders and governors take PSHE seriously and improve their provision by investing in training for teachers and putting PSHE lessons on the school timetable. Statutory status will help ensure all of this happens.

"Young people have a right to information that will keep them healthy and safe. SRE forms an important part of any school's efforts to safeguard young people from abuse, and is particularly needed to protect the most vulnerable children. PSHE builds character and resilience, and will help young people to live happy and healthy lives."