Stockport Labour Group is backing a national campaign for Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PHSE) education, including age-appropriate Sex and Relationship education (SRE), to become statutory in all state-funded schools in England.

Labour Councillor David Sedgwick, who raised the issue at the Stockport Council meeting on 7th April, said ‘Parents may be surprised to hear that it’s not currently compulsory for schools to deliver PSHE lessons at all, and especially that the national guidance for schools on Sex and Relationships education has not been updated since 2000.

‘This was before the ‘smartphone generation’ were even born and well before recent transformative legislation such as the same-sex marriage act.

‘It’s vital for parents, pupils, teachers and the wider community in Stockport that PHSE remains a priority in our local schools. It is an important tool in fighting a myriad of challenges including the sexualisation of children, radicalisation, poor adolescent mental health and substance misuse.’

The Government is refusing to make either PHSE or SRE compulsory in state-funded schools, whilst at the same time presiding over a system where the time allocated to the subject is diminishing, with official figures showing a decrease nationally of over 20%.

Cllr Sedgwick added ‘There is a worrying downwards trend in both the time allocated to and the quality of PSHE in schools. In 2010 Ofsted found that PSHE was ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ in 25% of schools surveyed. By 2013 this had risen to 40%.

‘Vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils in particular benefit academically from the kind of learning covered in PSHE education, and I believe statutory status will help to deliver significant improvement in both academic and non-academic outcomes for pupils.

‘90% of parents, 92% of young people, 85% of business leaders, the NSPCC, Police and Crime Commissioners, the Children’s Commissioner and over 100 expert bodies all say how important PSHE is for a rounded education. The Government should listen to these voices.’

New Freedom of Information figures from English Police Forces have shown how the number of reported incidents of children under 16 ‘sexting’ has skyrocketed by 1200% over the past two years.

A recent survey also revealed that one in six teenagers access the app Tinder daily, with almost half of these being children under the age of 15 or under.