Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including lessons on (a) tying shoelaces, (b) using cutlery and (c) other life skills in primary schools.

Ensuring every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and to thrive are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission. This government is committed to giving children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity. We have set a milestone of a record proportion of children (75%) starting school ready to learn in the classroom.

Physical development is one of the three prime areas of learning and development in the early years foundation stage and includes fine motor skills. Practitioners should support children to develop fine motor skills including manipulating objects and eating with cutlery.

All schools have specific duties to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of their pupils and to prepare them for the opportunities and responsibilities of adult life in modern Britain. This includes ensuring pupils understand the society in which they are growing up and the importance of respect for other people.

Through compulsory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE), pupils are taught how to build respectful and empathetic relationships as well as how to support their own and others’ health and wellbeing, including simple self-care techniques, personal hygiene, prevention of health and wellbeing problems and basic first aid. Citizenship education is also important for ensuring pupils have the knowledge and skills for life that they need to grow into responsible and caring adults.