Uproar at elementary school

“Sex movie” was released for lessons

Sex education is included in the primary school curriculum.

(Bild: Christian Ohde)

Children were disturbed after a sex education lesson at an elementary school in the Mühlviertel region and parents complained about the teacher's methods. The case was dropped, the director of education explained in the "Krone" newspaper.

A "sex film" shown in sex education lessons at an elementary school in the Mühlviertel region had caused great outrage among parents. The teacher had also shown the nine to ten-year-old children - two classes were involved - condoms and explained why there are different flavors.

According to the parents, some fourth-graders reacted very disturbed to the content. The Upper Austrian Education Directorate has now commented on the allegations that the accusations against the teacher were "not taken seriously".

The allegation or complaint was investigated and no misconduct on the part of the teacher was found.

Alfred Klampfer, Bildungsdirektor für Oberösterreich

Multiple complaints
"We carefully reviewed the multi-page complaints and inspected the teaching materials used. The film in question has been approved by the Ministry for teaching at this school level," says Director of Education Alfred Klampfer. In the opinion of the Directorate of Education, the teacher was not guilty of any misconduct. For this reason, the investigation and the proceedings were discontinued.

The allegations had come from two or three parents of the two fourth classes. "Of course, we take such reports very seriously, as the welfare of the children is at stake. But in this case, we were unable to find any violations," reports Klampfer.

Multi-page decree regulates sex education
The Ministry of Education has issued a multi-page "Basic Decree on Sex Education" that regulates how sex education should be taught. It states: "Sexual development is part of a person's overall personality development and takes place on a cognitive, emotional, sensory and physical level. Sex education should therefore also be seen as part of health promotion in particular."

This should begin in early childhood and sexual education should be a fixed component until the children leave school. The exact implementation is not defined; external workshops can also be integrated into lessons and there are approved teaching materials.