Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what changes he will make to the National Curriculum to ensure that an understanding of emotional wellbeing and the principles of good mental health are embedded within it at every developmental stage.

The Department recognises the importance of supporting children and young people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing. That is why from September 2020, teaching about mental health will be part of compulsory health education in all state-funded schools in England. The draft guidance sets out that pupils will be taught about the importance of good physical and mental health including the steps pupils can take to protect and support their own health and mental wellbeing. The content will also cover understanding emotions; identifying where someone is experiencing signs of poor mental health; simple self-care; and how and when to seek support. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/relationships-and-sex-education-and-health-education.

Health education is being introduced as part of the basic curriculum alongside Relationships Education in all primary schools, and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) in all secondary schools. To support schools to enable them to deliver high quality teaching in these subjects, the Department recently announced an additional £6m funding in 2019/20 to support schools to design and develop the training and resources that schools need. The Department has also invited schools to become ‘early adopters’ of the new curriculum and begin teaching the new subjects from September 2019 and to assist the department to shape the support package.