Faith-based schools cannot be allowed to teach sex education in a way that is true to their ethos, according to the Liberal Democrats and the British Humanist Association.

They say they by permitting this, those schools will teach sex education in a manner that is ‘homophobic’, ‘sexist’ and would ‘violate’ human rights.

The British Government has said that faith schools can teach sex education in a manner that reflects their ethos.

The full version of the sex education programme, approved by the Government, includes lessons on contraception, on the equivalence of marriage and same-sex partnerships, on cohabitation etc.

Although the Government has given faith schools a partial opt-out from some of this programme, there is concern that the opt-out doesn’t go far enough.

Nevertheless, the Lib Dem spokesman on children, David Laws, said the amendment was “a serious and undesirable U-turn.”

The British Humanist Association said it would permit faith schools to teach sex education in ways there was homophobic, sexist, and anti-human rights.