Policy update: November 2024

We have a few important policy updates and developments with a lot of relevance for PSHE education and your practice, so please read on for latest on the RSHE guidance, the Curriculum Review, new research on key factors when helping to prevent sexual abuse through education and latest Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use statistics.

Some schools are following the wrong RSHE guidance, with concerning implications

It’s clear from analysis of our annual survey and from speaking with partner organistions that some schools have removed or added content based on draft RSHE guidance published for consultation in May. This is of significant concern, given some of the content schools may have removed will leave people at risk, and some of the topics added do not yet have the resources and guidance necessary to teach them safely and effectively.

It’s therefore critical that schools follow the current statutory RSHE guidance first published in 2019 and in force since 2020, as this year’s version remains draft only. As with any guidance update, the intention was always to finalise and publish only once consultation responses have been analysed. The new government has suggested they will consider all evidence and carry out further stakeholder engagement before making any decisions on what form the guidance will take.

We joined over 100 organisations calling for the draft to be discarded and to start from scratch due to deep concerns, so at the least we need to see significant, evidence based amendments to the draft that make it effective and safe. This should also retain some of the sensible additions such as those related to personal safety and mental health.

In the meantime the 2019 RSHE guidance remains in force and it seems unlikely that an update will appear until well into next year. Schools will then have a significant implementation period in order to amend their curricula. Schools should also avoid using any teaching resources that explicitly follow the draft guidance as they may include or omit content in a way that contradicts current statutory requirements.

The DfE also recently released results of independent research into the implementation of the 2019 statutory RSHE guidance. It found that 'The guidance was broadly being used in schools, mostly successfully' with the role of subject leads/coordinators being key to success, and pupils interviewed were generally positive about the RSHE they received. Areas for improvement included more effective student consultation and more accessible training for teachers.

The Curriculum and Assessment review will include PSHE/RSHE

The government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review is looking at the whole of the curriculum and how it fits together to ensure there is space for schools to provide a broad experience. PSHE/RSHE will be considered in this context, so we will submit evidence to the Curriculum Review consultation which is open until 22 November and we would encourage you to submit a short response too.

We will outline that in order to be effective, PSHE education must be taught as a planned curriculum subject and given the space on the timetable it deserves, and that statutory RSHE content should be covered within the context of a broader PSHE curriculum that also covers economic wellbeing and careers education. This is indeed how the majority of schools approach PSHE/RSHE, using our Programme of Study for PSHE education. So it would be helpful for the review panel to hear from schools where this approach has been effective, using questions 22-27 to make your points given they are of most relevance to our area of work.

Note this is not asking about the detail of curriculum content — this will be covered separately via statutory guidance — but more about where PSHE fits into the whole and emphasising its importance within any school curriculum, taking timetabling and resourcing into account. Neither is it about adding anything new to a busy curriculum, but making existing PSHE education content available to all, not just some, children and young people.

DfE launch report on ‘Teaching relationships education to prevent sexual abuse’

The DfE recently released a research report on ‘Teaching relationships education to prevent sexual abuse’ which emphasised the importance of your work in providing a curriculum that addresses topics including sexual harassment, violence, and consent. It presents yet more evidence (which might be useful for the Curriculum Review) that a planned, spiral curriculum and regular lessons are necessary in order for PSHE education to be an effective preventative measure, stating that ‘the evidence reviewed suggests that education that builds on previous lessons and has a longer duration is more effective than one-off modules.’

It also recommends that that this preventative education should begin early, with age appropriate content building in complexity as pupils progress through education: "RSE is most effective when begun early in a child’s life before sexual activity begins”, and that anyone teaching this content should be trained and confident in delivering RSE. Any consideration of RSHE guidance changes must take clear evidence such as this into account.

Latest Smoking, Drink and Drug Use statistics published

The latest results have been published from the largest survey of young people's smoking, drink and drug use (SDD) in England. The SDD report, based on a national survey of students in years 7 to 11, covers a wealth of information and statistics on prevalence, habits, attitudes, and wellbeing.

The survey also showed the extent to which teachers relied upon our drug and alcohol lessons when teaching about these topics: 'Teachers drew on a range of sources to prepare lessons, most commonly the PSHE Association (83%), the government-funded FRANK website (67%), and the Department of Education (DfE) Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education curriculum guidance (61%)'.

We are currently working on further drug education materials with OHID (formerly Public Health England) and in the meantime you can access existing key stage 1-4 materials and materials for key stage 5/post-16.

Talk Money Week and teacher support for financial education

This is Talk Money Week, and a reminder of the important role PSHE education plays in financial education and economic wellbeing. This includes tackling complex financial harms through the curriculum – from fraud to extortion, young people are exposed to increasingly challenging issues online. Lesson materials on our site will support you in teaching economic wellbeing, and we are also working as part of a Child Financial Harms Consortium on researching the problem, and finding further solutions via the curriculum – more on this soon.

In the meantime, to mark Talk Money Week, national financial and enterprise education charity Young Enterprise has commissioned a poll, conducted by Teacher Tap, revealing that 9-in-10 UK teachers believe financial education should be taught in more than just maths lessons.  The research finds that teachers overwhelmingly agree on a need to embed financial education across subjects such as PSHE (75%) and Citizenship (40%), and not just in maths lessons. Read more here.

A new research paper from The Economic Research Council also recommends that existing economic wellbeing PSHE education content is made a statutory part of PSHE education, so that all pupils in all schools can benefit. This is the latest in a long line of such recommendations, including from the Education Select Committee in its financial education report last year.