PSHE should have statutory status say Committee Chairs

30 November 2016

The Chairs of five Parliamentary Select Committees have written to the Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening MP, calling on the Government to act on proposals to make Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PHSE) and Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) a statutory subject in schools.

The letter, co-signed by Neil Carmichael MP, Chair of the Education Committee, Rt Hon Maria Miller MP, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, Dr Sarah Wollaston, Chair of the Health Committee, and Iain Wright MP, Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, regrets the lack of action since a previous letter (PDF 116KB), sent in January 2016, and the Government's lacklustre response to the Women and Equalities Committee's report, 'Sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools'.

The Chairs encourage the Government to engage constructively with the progress of the Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (Statutory Requirement) Bill, which is currently before the House, warning that failure to act on PSHE will have consequences for the education and life chances of young people in schools.

Further information

Image: iStockphoto