Britain has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Europe and, as such, you would think that any attempts to educate the younger generation in sex would be welcomed. However, it appears that this is not the case.

Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom has described a sex education video produced by the BBC for children as “shattering the innocence of childhood”.

The video, produced for children between the ages of nine and eleven, shows   the process of sexual intercourse through two animated characters. The video also explains the bodily changes during intercourse.

Critics say the scenes are too graphic for children, and Mrs Leadsom, with the support of concerned parents, presented a petition against the film in parliament last year.

Surely, some of these parents are just mollycoddling their children? Children are exposed to sexually explicit magazines in shops and, after talking to various children, it is clear that children as young as nine are already discussing sex, if somewhat basically, in the school playground.

Some children are already spreading their basic (and usually factually incorrect) knowledge on sex; we should be striving to educate them in a way that is not patronising, but informative.

Mrs Leadsom believes the BBC has been too explicit, however, describing the video as a “blue movie”. She was particularly concerned by the sex scenes shown by cartoon characters, saying: “It looks bizarre, it’s not missionary, the woman is on top and there’s a children’s voiceover saying something like ‘Ooh, it looks like they are having fun.’ Why is there a young child appearing to watch them?”

I also find it strange that the BBC would choose to show a less than ‘traditional’ sexual position to educate the children. However, with children as young as twelve becoming parents, surely the more information available to these children, the better.

The BBC responded to the claims that it was unsuitable for children by stating that they had consulted with local authorities and experts in education before producing the footage, adding: “They are designed to allow teachers to pick and choose the elements they feel are appropriate”.

Mrs Leadsom clearly does not agree and has suggested that sex education films be given a film-style rating as an aid to teachers.

What Mrs Leadsom appears to be forgetting, however, is a how subjective an age rating can be.

The Dutch have adopted a much more liberal attitude to sex education, teaching their children about sex and relationships from a very young age. Consequently, the Netherlands has the lowest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe. It doesn’t take a genius to see the connection.