YOUNGSTERS must be given an understanding of how "healthy, safe" relationships work to combat child sexual exploitation, Dorset's police and crime commissioner says.

Martyn Underhill spoke after Secretary of State for Education Justine Greening confirmed that age-appropriate sex and relationship education is to be made compulsory in all schools in England.

The PCC said he has been approached by Dorset parents concerned about the plans.

However, he said placing sex and relationship education on a statutory footing "marks a significant step forward in achieving a more holistic approach to safeguarding vulnerable children",

"Until now, schools that are not under local authority control - academies, free schools and private schools, of which Dorset has many - have not been obligated to teach sex and relationship education," he said.

"Children attending schools that are under local authority control need only receive biology lessons to tick the box.

"What this means in practice is that children’s conceptions of ‘normal’ relationships are being shaped, or perhaps misshaped, by what they experience at home, what they see online and what their peers deem to be acceptable.

"This leaves children in a vulnerable position."