HC Deb 14 January 1991 vol 183 c364W
Mr. Hinchliffe

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what provision is made within the core curriculum for preparation for marriage and adult relationships.

Mr. Atkins

Within the core curriculum, the national curriculum science order requires that pupils should know about the physical and emotional changes during adolescence and understand the need for responsible attitudes to sexual behaviour; the processes of human conception; and the factors necessary for the well-being of young children in the early stages of their development. More broadly, the National Curriculum Council has offered guidance to schools on the incorporation of such topics into the curriculum in its publications on cross-curricular themes: "Curriculum Guidance 5: Health Education" and "Curriculum Guidance 8: Education for Citizenship".