Schools: Curriculum

Lord Howarth of Newport Excerpts

Wednesday 30th October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

All good schools seek to develop their children’s character through a PSHE programme. We do not feel that the programme should be legislated for in its content. Circumstances of the different schools and pupils in them vary greatly, and we should leave it for teachers to decide exactly the approach that they take.

[Lord Howarth of Newport (Lab)]

My Lords, given that the charity Mentor said, to cite the Home Affairs Select Committee report, Breaking the Cycle:

“We are spending the vast majority of the money we do spend on drug education on programmes that don’t work”,

and given that his department said it does not monitor the programmes or resources that schools use to support their teaching, is the Minister content with such a casual and laissez-faire approach on the part of the Government in an area where young people are so vulnerable?

[Lord Nash]

The noble Lord implies that casual equals laissez-faire; we do not accept that. As I said, we accept that most schools should do what all good schools do, which is to have an active programme of promoting their children’s interest, including drugs education, which they must be taught about in science classes anyway. Often, the best way to engage those pupils with those difficult issues, such as forced marriages or gangs, is not for teachers to do that—they often will not open up to their teachers—but for outside agencies and charities with skilled people in those difficult areas to talk to them about that.