PSHE Association welcome's PSHE (Statutory Requirement) Bill
We welcome the presentation of a Bill to require that the Secretary of State makes PSHE education a statutory requirement in all state funded schools. Presented by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, and supported by Labour MPs Valerie Vaz, Yasmin Qureshi Glenda Jackson and Barbara Keeley as well as Liberal Democrat president Tim Farron MP, the Bill will provide a valuable opportunity for Parliament to discuss this crucial issue.
The Bill also specifies that PSHE should include sex and relationships education (SRE) and education on ending violence against women and girls and that teachers should receive 'initial and continuing' education and guidance on best practice for delivering PSHE and SRE.
Such support from MPs across parties for compulsory PSHE education and well trained and supported PSHE teachers is encouraging. This first reading of the bill, and its second reading in the Autumn, will provide good opportunities to analyse the importance of these elements to the quality of PSHE and SRE education pupils receive.
