Are 12-year-olds taught systematically how to masturbate and how to have anal sex in U.K. schools? No, that's not true: While relationships education is compulsory for all pupils receiving primary education and relationships and sex education (RSE) for all pupils receiving secondary education in U.K. schools since September 2020, there is no evidence that masturbation or anal sex are taught to 12-year-olds in a systemic manner.
The claim originated from a video published by TikTok user @goldfmromania on June 19, 2023, with the caption (translated from Romanian to English by Lead Stories staff):
12-year-olds are taught how to masturbate and to have anal sex.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Jul 13 09:07:02 2023 UTC)
According to the U.K. government's Education Hub, relationships education is compulsory for all pupils receiving primary education, as is relationships and sex education (RSE) for all pupils receiving secondary education, with health education now being compulsory in all schools.
In primary schools, the focus is on building healthy and respectful relationships, especially in families and friendships. In secondary school lessons should develop pupils' understanding of health, with focus on risk areas such as drugs and alcohol. Additionally it should teach about intimate relationships and sex and how to have positive and healthy sexual relationships.
The claim does not mention the schools where masturbation was supposedly taught, apart from the name of a parent, Clare Page, an activist for impartiality in British education who claimed that she witnessed politicized and indoctrinated teaching at her children's state schools.
The claim about teaching masturbation or anal sex was made in a June 19, 2023, article published in the Daily Mail that doesn't include any additional information about the schools or the teachers supposedly involved and that doesn't give any concrete evidence for the allegation.
