If there’s going to be a subject that you don’t have to do …’ Findings from a mapping study of PSHE education in English secondary schools

This article discusses some key findings about secondary schools from a mapping study of Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education in England. The secondary school elements of the study combined a nationally representative survey of 617 secondary schools with follow-up in-depth case studies in five of these schools. These case studies involved interviews and discussion groups with pupils, parents and key school staff members, as well as governors and school improvement partners, and local authority support staff. Results reported here relate to the models and methods of delivery; frequency and curriculum coverage; the purpose and value of schooling, and PSHE education, and issues about staffing, expertise and credibility. Where appropriate, comparisons are made with primary schools. In doing so, the article raises issues about the diminished status and priority of PSHE education in secondary as compared with primary schools, and how this may stem from the ways in which schools do/do not value the subject, and its relationship to broader attainment and education policy contexts

“We Don’t Get Into All That”: an analysis of how teachers uphold heteronormative sex and relationship education

Legislation that applies to UK SRE currently advocates inclusive provision. Given the nonstatutory status of SRE, however, it is unclear how teachers incorporate sexual inclusivity, especially as research has shown that teachers’ discursive practices can promote a heteronormative SRE climate (Renn, 2010). Using a discursive psychological approach to analyze interview data, this study examined how teachers account for their provision as inclusive. It was revealed that even when promoting their inclusivity, teachers’ SRE provision upholds heteronormativity. In doing this, they positioned LGB and same-sex practices outside of the classroom, potentially leaving these young people without a sufficient sex education

Youth, terrorism and education: Britain’s Prevent programme

Since the 7/7 bombings of July 2005, Britain has experienced a domestic terror threat posed by a small minority of young Muslims. In response, Britain has initiated ‘Prevent’, a preventative counter-terrorism programme. Building on previous, general critiques of Prevent, this article outlines and critically discusses the ways in which Prevent has approached young Muslims and their educational institutions. The article argues that, rather than trust in broader and non-stigmatising processes of anti-extremist education, the police-led Prevent has ‘engaged’ with and surveilled young Muslims. Within Prevent there is little evidence of educational processes that explicitly build youth resilience against extremism. Instead, Muslim youth are viewed as both ‘risky and at risk’ (Heath-Kelly, 2013), ‘at risk’ of catching the terrorist disease, with the contested model of ‘radicalisation’ and child protection concepts utilised to portray risks of exploitation by Islamist extremists that necessitate a deepening process of education-based surveillance. The article identifies non-stigmatising alternatives to the approach of Prevent, approaches of anti-extremism education that learn from previously problematic anti-racist educational efforts with white young people. This enables the article to advocate for enhanced human rights-based approaches of citizenship education (admittedly, in themselves contested) with all young people as the most effective way of building individual and collective youth resilience against terrorist ideologies

Implementing the United Kingdom's ten-year teenage pregnancy strategy for England (1999-2010): how was this done and what did it achieve?

In 1999, the UK Labour Government launched a 10-year Teenage Pregnancy Strategy for England to address the country's historically high rates and reduce social exclusion. The goal was to halve the under-18 conception rate. This study explores how the strategy was designed and implemented, and the features that contributed to its success. This study was informed by examination of the detailed documentation of the strategy, published throughout its 10-year implementation. The strategy involved a comprehensive programme of action across four themes: joined up action at national and local level; better prevention through improved sex and relationships education and access to effective contraception; a communications campaign to reach young people and parents; and coordinated support for young parents (The support programme for young parents was an important contribution to the strategy. In the short term by helping young parents prevent further unplanned pregnancies and, in the long term, by breaking intergenerational cycles of disadvantage and lowering the risk of teenage pregnancy.). It was implemented through national, regional and local structures with dedicated funding for the 10-year duration. The under-18 conception rate reduced steadily over the strategy's lifespan. The 2014 under-18 conception rate was 51% lower than the 1998 baseline and there have been significant reductions in areas of high deprivation. One leading social commentator described the strategy as 'The success story of our time' (Toynbee, The drop in teenage pregnancies is the success story of our time, 2013). As rates of teenage pregnancy are influenced by a web of inter-connected factors, the strategy was necessarily multi-faceted in its approach. As such, it is not possible to identify causative pathways or estimate the relative contributions of each constituent part. However, we conclude that six key features contributed to the success: creating an opportunity for action; developing an evidence based strategy; effective implementation; regularly reviewing progress; embedding the strategy in wider government programmes; and providing leadership throughout the programme. The learning remains relevant for the UK as England's teenage birth rate remains higher than in other Western European countries. It also provides important lessons for governments and policy makers in other countries seeking to reduce teenage pregnancy rates. BACKGROUND METHODS RESULTS CONCLUSION