Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to distinguish between the teaching of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education and the teaching of citizenship in the national curriculum.

All state schools must offer a curriculum that is broad and balanced and that prepares pupils for the opportunities and responsibilities of later life. The department does not, however, stipulate how schools should organise themselves to best deliver their curriculum.

Schools have a duty to support the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils and support the promotion of fundamental British values. Ofsted is currently consulting on proposals for a new inspection framework that has a strong emphasis on schools providing a broad and balanced curriculum for all their pupils.

Citizenship is in the national curriculum at key stages 3 and 4 and provides pupils with knowledge, skills and understanding to prepare them to be informed, active and engaged citizens. The citizenship programme of study, introduced in September 2014, allows schools the freedom to use their professional judgement and an understanding of their pupils to develop the right approach for teaching in their schools.

Personal, social, health and economic education is a non-statutory subject in maintained schools although most schools teach it. Whilst it is not part of the national curriculum, schools are encouraged to teach it as part of their duty to provide a broad and balanced curriculum. It is compulsory in independent schools.

The government is making relationships education compulsory in all primary schools, relationships and sex education compulsory in all secondary schools and health education compulsory in all state-funded schools. We recently consulted on draft guidance for these subjects and this included a statement to note that these new subjects should complement, rather than duplicate, what is already taught through the national curriculum. We expect to lay the regulations, and accompanying draft guidance, in spring 2019 for debate and vote in Parliament.