SCHOOLS have hit back at criticism that they are not teaching sex education properly.

An Ofsted report this week claimed teachers are not doing enough to teach young people about the moral and social aspects of sexual relations.

The education watchdog warned teachers are failing to counter the false message from magazines read by hundreds of thousands of girls each week that all teenagers are having sex.

The watchdog said while schools are good at teaching pupils the physical facts of life, they could do better when it comes to educating children about sexuality and relationships,.

Chippenham secondary schools Sheldon and Hardenhuish said they take the issues very seriously.

"I am disappointed schools are criticised," said Hardenhuish headteacher Colin Smith. "My experience here and at other schools is that they work very hard to address these issues.

"And maybe, if we are still not getting it right in spite of that, it is not just an issue for schools, but for others involved in it a wide circle of people and agencies, including the media."

Graham Cooke, speaking for Sheldon School, said: "It is not for us to comment on what Ofsted has seen, but the senior management and governors at Sheldon are more than satisfied that we cover all aspects in a very detailed and thorough manner."

The Ofsted report said teachers had to be more aware of the messages contained in magazines such as 19 and J17 and should incorporate critical study of the information they contained into lessons.

In an analysis of inspection findings from 140 schools and interviews with 650 pupils in England Ofsted found sex and relationships education is inconsistent.It is generally good for ten and 11-year-olds in primary schools and for GCSE students but less satisfactory for 11 to 14-year-olds.

Mr Smith said Hardenhuish School approaches the subject in two ways.

The physical facts of life are taught through the science curriculum, with the consent of parents.

The social and moral dimension of sexual relationships are taught in the personal and social education lesson.

"This addresses issues such as relationships, moral attitudes, and the impact of social and peer pressure facing young people," said Mr Smith.

"It is a broad area that we cover under a moral and personal framework staged at intervals over the five years of compulsory secondary education.

"But the most challenging aspect of it is that schools can not work in isolation we need to work with parents and acknowledge the social factors that are involved, such as peer pressure and the media. We must not underestimate the influence they have on young people."

Sheldon School also addresses these issues in personal, social and religious education lessons, taught to all year groups.

"The lessons come back to revisit the same material in each year, with increased depth each time," said Mr Cooke.

Malmesbury headteacher Malcolm Trobe said he was confident the school was tackling the moral and social aspects of sex education, but he said Ofsted's criticism could be helpful if it caused schools to take another look at what they were doing.

"The physical side of sex education is covered in the science curriculum the other dimension is covered in personal, social and health education," he said.

"Young people do not take to being told what to do by adults," he said.

John Cranfield, the deputy head of Pewsey Vale School said: "We have a comprehensive sex education programme based on a moral stance with the family being the core unit. As part of our English course we look at the media studies and are fully aware of the range of magazines on sale and what they are saying.

"We work on building up our pupils' self esteem so that they feel good about themselves and we build up their assertiveness so that they can say no."