Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to launch a consultation on statutory guidance, external speakers and resources in relationships, health and sex education classes.
Answered by Nick Gibb
On 8 March, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced that the Department had brought forward the review of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. The review will cover the full scope of the statutory guidance, including the use of external speakers and resources, and will involve working closely with stakeholders and experts to draw on the best available evidence.
On 31 March, the Department announced further details of the review, including the plan to set up an independent panel of experts to advise on what can be done to ensure that what is taught is appropriate by, for example, introducing age restrictions. Further details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/review-of-relationships-sex-and-health-education-to-protect-children-to-conclude-by-end-of-year.
The Department will undertake a public consultation on the amended guidance in the autumn.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including knife crime awareness in the relationships, health and sex education curriculum.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The subjects of relationships education for primary school pupils, relationships and sex education for secondary school pupils, and health education for all pupils in state-funded schools became compulsory in state funded schools in September 2020 and can help address the underlying causes of knife and gun crime.
Whilst the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance does not mention knife crime explicitly, it does reference situations that often lead young people to carry weapons. These include criminal exploitation though involvement in gangs and county lines drugs operations, and the grooming relationships that often accompany this.
As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools will have flexibility over how they deliver these subjects, so they can develop an integrated approach that is sensitive to the needs and backgrounds of their pupils.
Issues around knife crime can also be taught as part of a school’s wider curriculum. For example, schools can choose to include lessons on weapons awareness and gangs as part of their personal, social, health and economic education or citizenship curriculum.
The Department has recently brought forward the review of the RSHE statutory guidance. As part of this, the Department will explore whether any more content is required. The Department expects to consult on guidance in the autumn and publish revised guidance in early 2024.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support recruitment and retention of high quality teachers.
Answered by Nick Gibb
We have increased scholarships and bursaries to attract top graduates in priority subjects; supported the growth of Teach First and enabled schools to reward their best teachers in line with their performance. We announced a £67m package to recruit an additional 2,500 mathematics and physics teachers and improve the knowledge and skills of 15,000 existing teachers. For 2016/17, we have given greater freedom to initial teacher training providers to recruit the trainees they need within recruitment controls set by the National College of Teaching and Leadership.