Education Secretary unveils new guidance on launch of compulsory health education
Education Secretary Damian Hinds has set out new plans stating that school pupils of all ages will be taught compulsory health education from September 2020.
Health education classes are to accompany parallel introductions of compulsory relationships education for primary-age pupils and relationships and sex education (RSE) for secondary-age pupils.
Promoting the positive link between mental and physical health and focusing on preparing pupils for the modern world, the intention of the new subjects is to ensure children have relevant knowledge at their fingertips to help them grow up safe, healthy and happy.
The new subjects have been unveiled following feedback from 11,000 charities, teaching unions and subject associations in a three-month consultation process.
The Department for Education has also committed to backing a ‘whole school’ approach to mental health and wellbeing, funding training for senior mental health leads in schools and colleges. A £6m budget has been made available in 2019/20 to cover school training and resources ahead of September 2020.
They also follow the announcement from the NHS that mental health support will be made available to over 470,000 children and young people across England from September 2019.
Reactions to the measures have been mixed, with some Twitter users highlighting that the system is the aspect that should change, not the children.
Read the full article on the Government website here.