Did you know that the government published draft guidance for consultation on compulsory RSE and Health Education in July, with a view to implementation in 2020? No? Don’t worry – none of the teachers I’ve spoken to over the summer are aware of it either. Its purpose is to “help our children and young people flourish”. Isn’t that what we all want to see as educators?
In “Are we squeezing the life out of the curriculum?” (TES 31st August) PSHE, PE and the arts are highlighted as being sacrificed on the altar of measured standards. Most practising teachers will affirm that this is indeed the case. These are, however, the subjects that enable pupils to thrive and should be on every school’s timetable. If the DfE are moving some way towards legislating that PSHE, like any other subject, should be taught explicitly with progression from Early Years upwards, then how do we find time to design, deliver and elevate the status of yet another curriculum area? This is where ‘pick up and teach programmes’ like 3D PSHE enable teachers to optimise time using cross-curricular links and embedding a joined-up approach across primary and secondary settings. PSHE may be hard to squeeze into an already over-crowded timetable, but what price would you put on keeping pupils safe, healthy and happy?
