Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the role of the school curriculum in educating children and young people about health promotion and preventing avoidable chronic disease in later life.

All schools are required to teach a broadly balanced curriculum that promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils, and prepares them for adult life.

The national curriculum focuses on the essential knowledge children need so that teachers can design a wider school curriculum that is responsive to the needs of their pupils. This teaching can include a range of topics, including lessons about health and chronic disease. These topics can fall under Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education. We have made it clear in the introduction to the national curriculum that all schools should make provision for high quality; age appropriate PSHE.

To help schools plan their provision, the PSHE Association has produced a suggested programme of study for schools to follow, which includes content about ‘Health and Wellbeing’.