02.12.16
Wollaston joins calls for mandatory PSHE in schools
The chair of the Health Select Committee has backed calls for personal, social and health education (PSHE) to be made compulsory in schools.
Dr Sarah Wollaston MP, along with the chairs of four other committees, wrote to education secretary Justine Greening, expressing their disappointment that the government declined to introduce a statutory status for PSHE in its response to the Women and Equalities Committee’s report on sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools.
The report warned that sexual harassment and abuse of girls by their classmates was “being accepted as part of daily life” and that the problem “must be acted upon urgently”.
The MPs urged the government to support the Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (Statutory Requirement) Bill, a private members bill introduced by Green MP Caroline Lucas, which is due to have its second reading on 20 January.
“We ask that you give serious thought to this proposal and the benefits that would arise from it,” their letter said. “We also ask you to consider the consequences of failing to act; not only for the quality of education in England, but also for the lifelong consequences which can result from patchy or inadequate access to PSHE and SRE (sex and relationships education).”
As well as Wollaston, the letter was signed by Neil Carmichael, chair of the Education Committee; Yvette Cooper, chair of the Home Affairs Committee; Maria Miller, chair of the Women and Equalities Committee; and Iain Wright, chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.
(Image c. Peter Byrne from PA Wire and Press Association Images)
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