Sex and sexuality education: live discussion

Sex education is one of the most contentious topics facing parents, teachers and policymakers. Why do we have it? Is it a parent's responsibility or should it be on the curriculum in schools? Is sex education just about stopping unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections? Or should it be about a wider agenda including empowerment, equality and informed decision making? The Guardian is running a year-long series looking at young people's sexual health and sex education in the UK and around the world, including a number of live discussions on key themes. Our first discussion, from noon on Thursday 31 May, will focus on sex education. Panel Doortje Braeken , IPPF 's senior adviser on adolescents and young people, is responsible for co-ordinating programmes in 26 countries implementing a rights-based approach to youth friendly services and comprehensive sexuality education . David Kesterton is parenting and community project manager for FPA . Anna Martinez is co-ordinator of the National Sex Education Forum , which is part of the National Children's Bureau . Dr Damian Wood is a consultant paediatrician with an interest in adolescent medicine at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust . He is also governor of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health' s young people's health special interest group. Sion Humphreys is a policy advisor for the National Association of Head Teachers and has been involved in issues surrounding sex education in schools. He was also a head teacher and deputy head at secondary level for many years. Ruth Hunt is the director of public affairs at Stonewall . Stephanie Creighton works at Brook in Milton Keynes. David Weston is a teacher who has previously written about coming out at a school and teaching young people about sexuality.