In 2008 the DCSF announced that the teaching of Sex and Relationship Education is to be made compulsory in schools. Exactly how the new SRE programme will address abortion is uncertain, but with over 20,000 teenage girls terminating their pregnancies annually, it is likely that it will at least be an optional element. Many schools and teachers feel anxious about teaching this contentious subject, yet it is being taught in a number of schools, both in PSHE and RE lessons. To find out more about how and why abortion is being taught in schools, we visited a school where the pupils helped design the SRE curriculum, a sexual health centre where young people are being advised about abortion in their communities, and, to start with Charles Edward Brooke School in south London, where they’re tackling abortion education head on.

Video Series: School Matters
Release Date 2008