NAHT has campaigned for many years for statutory sex and relationship education (SRE). We would like to see it in the context of a statutory PSHE curriculum. Today’s announcement brings this very much closer. The education secretary intends to take on a duty to require SRE in secondary schools and just the “R” in primaries. She will acquire a power to require PSHE, so this is somewhat further down the line, following a review to define the content, but is still on the horizon.
This is a good thing. Academic subjects are vital but if we want to fully equip young people for the world they face, we need to provide them with PSHE. This is a right for every child (in an age-appropriate manner) but NAHT has another rationale for requiring statutory status. We don’t think you need to make schools teach these topics; they want to. But these are controversial subjects at times. Making them statutory protects the schools when they do teach them. It is a way of demonstrating that it is not a personal project or quirk; it is the law of the land. This ensures that the government has the back of frontline professionals, rather than asking them to absorb the complaints and, sadly at times, accusations and threats.
‘We want freedom in teaching PSHE’
For this reason, we don’t want a tightly and extensively defined PSHE curriculum beyond some broad headlines of key entitlements. We want substantial freedom for schools to adapt to their students and integrate with their existing curriculum and activities where possible. PSHE does need some dedicated time but a lot can also be achieved through pastoral activities and other subjects.
The argument in favour of statutory SRE and PSHE is therefore not that compulsory status will improve the quality of provision. For that we need clarity of aims, decent training, good resources and the sharing of good practices. Don’t expect this announcement to change the quality of the work that is done, by itself - that’s a whole other project.
It is also pleasing to see the government listening to the concerns of the profession, parents and charities. Let’s hope this is a sign for the future. Further such engagement on the curriculum would be welcome - such as with the complexity of grammar teaching at primary or practical work in secondary science. I also haven’t heard anything yet about the status of SRE and PSHE in special schools. This matters.
In the meantime, we are about to take a step forward that will, not to mince words, save lives as well as improving lives.
Russell Hobby is general secretary of the NAHT headteachers’ union. He tweets as @russellhobby
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