Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance and resources they (1) have, and (2) are developing, for teachers of relationships, health and sex education to teach students about how and when to self-care for minor ailments.

All state funded schools are required to teach pupils about self-care as part of the statutory health education set out in the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. Independent schools are required to cover health education as part of their responsibility to provide personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education.

Pupils are taught basic treatment for common injuries and ailments and, as part of the secondary health and wellbeing curriculum, pupils should be taught how and when to self-care for minor ailments and the role of pharmacists as knowledgeable healthcare professionals.

Schools continue to have the flexibility, as part of a broad and balanced curriculum, to decide how they teach RSHE topics, including using high quality expertise available to them locally, including drawing on the Oak Academy lesson plans that is available to all schools.

The department has engaged with a range of stakeholders, including the PSHE Association to support the implementation of the updated RSHE guidance.