Extract from ‘2016 – a watershed year for PSHE education, now time for change’
2016 has seen unprecedented recognition of the need for universal, high quality PSHE education. We would like to thank all the PSHE practitioners, school leaders, parliamentarians, 100+ leading organisations, parents and young people that joined us in making the case so strongly for statutory PSHE this year.
Despite this and many positive developments, we end the year as we began. PSHE remains optional for schools and there continues to be real concern that curriculum time dedicated to it will continue to decline. Department for Education date shows that the time dedicated to teaching PSHE fell by over 32% from 2011 to 2015.
We therefore ask the Government to make a commitment to statutory PSHE in early 2017. This is what will have the greatest impact on its quality and accessibility. We stand ready for this momentous decision and, if it’s made, will look forward to working with the DfE and partners to implement changes in a way that works best for school and their pupils.