Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what was the cost to the public purse of teacher training for the relationship and sex education curriculum since September 2020.

It is for schools to determine their needs following changes in the curriculum, and to use their budget allocation to resource their implementation costs, including teacher training. Core school funding increased by £2.6 billion in the 2020/21 financial year, £4.8 billion in the 2021/22 financial year and is increasing by £7.1 billion in the 2022/23 financial year.

The department recognises the need to support schools to teach relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) subjects more effectively, and that is why we have invested over £3.2 million since the 2019/20 financial year (£2 million since the 2020/21 financial year) in a package of support to help schools implement the RSHE curriculum. The package of support includes a training and peer support programme delivered by teaching schools, webinars, training materials, and implementation guidance available online for teachers to use in their own schools to support delivery of high-quality RSHE teaching.

Following the publication of Ofsted’s review into sexual abuse in schools and colleges last year, the department has committed to provide additional support to help teachers deliver RSHE effectively and confidently to support young people to develop healthy relationships and to prevent sexual violence and sexual harassment. Our existing package of support is available via a one-stop page for teachers on GOV.UK, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-relationships-sex-and-health.

To provide additional support to schools in all areas of the curriculum, the Schools White Paper announced the establishment of a new curriculum body which builds on the success of Oak National Academy’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will create and continually improve packages of optional, free, adaptable digital curriculum resources for all subjects, including RSHE, to help teachers deliver a high-quality curriculum that is informed by the best available evidence. These resources will ensure high-quality lessons are available nationwide for the benefit of all children. The department will provide further information on when the new resources will be available in due course.