Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all state funded schools adequately prepare their pupils for the responsibilities of probable future parenthood.

Teachers are able to cover topics relating to parenting skills in their wider school curriculum, including in their personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education lessons. The non-statutory programme of study for PSHE includes the roles and responsibilities of parents, parenting skills, the value of family relationships, and the impact of separation, divorce and bereavement on families.

The Children and Social Work Act 2017 placed a duty on the Secretary of State for Education to make Relationships Education at primary and Relationships and Sex Education at secondary, mandatory through regulations. The Act also provides a power to make PSHE mandatory in all schools.

To ensure age appropriate and inclusive subject content for all key stages, the department is actively engaging with a wide range of stakeholders. As part of this work the department has launched a call for evidence, which will help inform the development of the regulations and guidance, and the types of support schools need for effective teaching of the subjects. The call for evidence, which closes on 12 February, is also seeking views on the future of PSHE. It can be accessed via this link: https://consult.education.gov.uk/life-skills/pshe-rse-call-for-evidence/.