National Curriculum: Violence against Women

Lord Sutherland of Houndwood Excerpts

Monday 28th October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

The noble Lord makes a good point. We can try to do this but I feel that it is really a job for the police authorities.

[Lord Sutherland of Houndwood (CB)]

My Lords, the two topics mentioned in the Question clearly refer to abhorrent sides of our society; we all agree on that. However, does the Minister agree that dealing with all those problems by inserting them on a statutory basis into the national curriculum is almost a confession of failure and that there have been many other interesting suggestions made from around the House today?

[Lord Nash]

I am grateful for the noble Lord’s question and I agree entirely. Pupils will often respond better to dialogues with mentors from outside agencies that are skilled in their work. It is right to help pupils in this way: issues around drug-running in gangs, for instance, are completely different from those relating to forced marriages. Schools should be free to engage with outside agencies as appropriate.