PARENTS in Wirral are to be given more information about sex education provided to their children following complaints about a leaflet given to young boys.

Wirral Council reviewed a sex education leaflet after furious parents complained about the contents.

The leaflet invited young teenage boys to chat about sex and advised them on the use of condoms, and was described as "quite horrendous" by the chairman of Wirral's education select committee.

The leaflet from the Brook Advisory Service explained which condoms to use in different situations, and had been handed out at school to teenagers as young as 14.

The manager of Wirral Brook Advisory Service, Harriet Gill, confirmed they had looked again at the content of the leaflet, but said it was a key part of their campaign to protect the area's young people from teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

In the poorer parts of Wirral, up to one in 10 girls becomes pregnant before 18.

Cllr Les Rowlands, chairman of Wirral's education select committee, said there had been a loophole which allowed the leaflet to go into schools and this had now been closed.

He said: "The LEA wants to have sight of material going into schools.

"We're sorry this happened in the first place, but it highlighted a problem that can occur."

The leaflet is being reviewed by Wirral Council education scrutiny committee when it meets next Wednesday, February 23.

In a report to the committee, Howard Cooper, director of education and cultural services, said: "Given that this concern has arisen, the issues of the use of outside agencies, the selection of appropriate materials and also liaison with parents over the content of the Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) programme will be revisited during the termly meetings for school personal, social and health education (PSHE) co-ordinators."

Cllr Rowlands said: "I don't want to pre-judge the committee, but this is a good result and I was right to bring this before the education committee and highlight the problem.

"I did feel parents were being left out of the loop."

He said the LEA provided training for teachers on how to present sex education to pupils, but not all schools take this up and instead use outside agencies such as the

Brook Advisory Service. He said: "I'm aware now that the LEA had done everything they can and can't force schools to take up this training. Outside bodies can come in and use unvetted material."

He said the changes showed the effectiveness of the scrutiny committee in dealing with problems.

liammurphy@dailypost.co.uk