The document outlines the Department for Education's internal review of personal, social, health, and economic (PSHE) education, initiated in November 2010, with a focus on enhancing the quality of PSHE teaching in schools. It highlights the importance of comprehensive drug education and the government's commitment to supporting schools in delivering effective PSHE, including the need for statutory PSHE and high-quality educational resources. The Drug Education Forum expresses its priorities for the review, emphasizing the need for effective training and investment in evidence-based practices to influence public health positively.

1. Reviewing PSHE – 2011
A Briefing on the Department for Education’s commitment to review PSHE
education
In November 2010 the Department for Education committed to an internal review of PSHE
education1 saying:
“We will conduct an internal review to determine how we can support
schools to improve the quality of all PSHE teaching, including giving teachers
the flexibility to use their judgement about how best to deliver PSHE
education”.
Parliamentary Questions
Since then Parliamentarians have asked a series of questions trying to get more detail about
the scope and content of the review.
Nick Gibb, Minister of State at the DfE, responded to a question on 8th March 2011 from
Stewart Jackson, MP (Con). He explained:
“The review of Personal, Social, Health and Economic education is described
as „internal‟ to reflect that it will be led by the Department and not an
external body or panel. Further decisions relating to the process and
timescale for the internal PSHE review have not yet been taken. The
Department for Education is currently considering options and further
information will be available in due course”.
Following a question posed by Andy Burnham, MP (Lab), Nick Gibb responded on 28th
February 2011 explaining that:
“One full-time official is planning the review of PSHE. This official is supported
by the policy team which has responsibility for PSHE and pastoral care. This
team has six officials”.
Reading the Runes
The Drug Strategy and the Education White Paper can give us an indication about the
direction and scope of the review. The Prime Minister has also spoken recently about the
1 The Importance of Teaching; The Schools White Paper 2010

2. importance of drug education and it will be intriguing to see how this plays into the focus of
the review.
The Drug Strategy was clear about the responsibility schools have for providing drug
education, but recognises there is also a responsibility for drug education outside of schools
and pledged to work with voluntary organisations and place a lot of importance upon FRANK.
In relation to schools the government aims to:-
Provide accurate information through drug education and targeted information using
FRANK.
Use wider search powers to tackle problem behaviours in school, and to tackle drug
dealing in schools.
Work with the local voluntary sector and police to prevent drug and alcohol misuse.
The Education White Paper was equally clear about its commitment to PSHE saying that it will:-
“…ensure all schools are given the resources and space they need to offer a
truly rounded education”.
They went on to make the case for PSHE:
“Children can benefit enormously from high-quality Personal Social Health
and Economic (PSHE) education. Good PSHE supports individual young
people to make safe and informed choices. It can help tackle public health
issues such as substance misuse and support young people with the financial
decisions they must make”.
The Drug Education Forum’s Key Asks
The Drug Education is committed to positively engaging where we can with the Department’s
review. We believe that it offers an opportunity to improve the quality of school based drug
education.
Our priorities will be:-
PSHE should be statutory.
Schools and other settings need high quality resources for drug education. For example,
the resources developed for the Blueprint Drug Education Research Programme should
be released for adaptation and use by the Home Office.
Teachers and others in the community delivering drug education need training so that
their practice is informed by evidence and continuing professional development.
The evidence base for what works in drug education and prevention needs investment.
This should be supported by quality standards for drug education, as is the case in
many other countries.
2 www.drugeducationforum.com

3. The review must consider how PSHE education maps on to the wider public health
agenda. We believe that good PSHE education can and should contribute to reducing
the risk factors in children and young people’s lives and enhance the protective
factors.
We hope and expect that while the review is internally led the DfE will actively seek the
views of practitioners and experts from the field.
The Prime Minister’s View
David Cameron recently said:
“I think education about drugs is vital and we should make sure that
education programmes are there in our schools and we should make sure
that they work”.
The PSHE review is a perfect opportunity to translate the Prime Minister’s view into reality.
The Drug Education Forum is the forum of national organisations committed to improving
the practice and profile of drug education in England.
We believe that drug education should help children and young people develop their
knowledge about drugs, their skills in taking decisions, and to develop a positive attitude
towards their own health.
Drug education mustn't be a subject just for schools or the youth service; evidence
suggests that parents and carers who talk to their children regularly about drugs, alcohol
and tobacco have a beneficial effect.
3 www.drugeducationforum.com