Caroline Lucas’ PSHE (Statutory Requirement) Bill, which was due to be debated today, has been postponed until February. While this is disappointing for all those who were looking forward to seeing PSHE education debated in Parliament today, this remains a time of great possibility for the subject and Nicky Morgan, the Secretary of State for Education, has made a positive statement in response to the Bill, stating her belief that PSHE education is “exceptionally important”. At the same time, the Commons Education Committee is continuing to look at the subject.
Caroline Lucas has today thanked the ‘massive campaign’ supporting her Bill, which was backed by a number of leading teaching and education unions, Girlguiding UK, the End Violence Against Women campaign, the National Children’s Bureau and many others. Ms Lucas said that the huge support she had received has helped to secure a promise from Nicky Morgan to take concrete steps to improve the quality and consistency of PSHE provision.
Chief Executive Joe Hayman stated:
“It is great news that, in correspondence with Caroline Lucas, Nicky Morgan has emphasised that PSHE is ‘exceptionally important’ and the Department for Education have committed to taking concrete steps to improve the consistency and quality of PSHE education.
“It remains our view that statutory status, backed up by intelligent inspection, is the only way to guarantee high-quality PSHE provision over the long term. This does not mean dictating a standardised curriculum to every school in the country, but simply ensuring that every PSHE lesson is taught by a teacher who has been trained in the subject, and given adequate curriculum time to meet pupils’ needs. The breadth of support for Caroline Lucas’ Bill demonstrates yet again how many respected organisations share this view.”
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