PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Relationships and Sex Education (14 April 2023)

The subjects of relationships education for primary school pupils, relationships and sex education for secondary school pupils, and health education for all pupils in state-funded schools became compulsory in state funded schools in September 2020 and can help address the underlying causes of knife and gun crime.

Whilst the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance does not mention knife crime explicitly, it does reference situations that often lead young people to carry weapons. These include criminal exploitation though involvement in gangs and county lines drugs operations, and the grooming relationships that often accompany this.

As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools will have flexibility over how they deliver these subjects, so they can develop an integrated approach that is sensitive to the needs and backgrounds of their pupils.

Issues around knife crime can also be taught as part of a school’s wider curriculum. For example, schools can choose to include lessons on weapons awareness and gangs as part of their personal, social, health and economic education or citizenship curriculum.

The Department has recently brought forward the review of the RSHE statutory guidance. As part of this, the Department will explore whether any more content is required. The Department expects to consult on guidance in the autumn and publish revised guidance in early 2024.