ABSTRACT
McNaugh-ton has adapted health education material for pupils with special educational needs. The health and sex education programme may be best placed in the context of Personal and Social Education but in so doing it is vital that it does not get 'brushed under the carpet'. A sex education programme devised for streetwise adolescents with severe learning difficulties or emotional and behavioural problems would be as inappropriate for youngsters with profound and multiple learning difficulties as attempting to teach them Key Stage 3 Mathematics. It is essential that the people involved in teaching sex education are sensitive to the pupils' individual needs. Legally the governing body of the school must decide whether sex education is taught and if they decide in favour they are responsible for drawing up a sex education policy. Evaluation of the effectiveness of sex education programmes cannot be undertaken without prior consideration of the goals of sex education.
