LOCAL MP for Enfield North appeared in the House of Parliament today to talk to the about issues in the national curriculum within the education system.
Joan Ryan asked the Minister for the Department of Children, Schools and Families: “Are you willing to include issues relating to crime in young people including anti social behaviour, knife crime and binge drinking within classrooms?”
The spate of gun and knife crime in London has now put immense pressure on schools to provide adequate teaching of the dangers before youths are drawn in to anti social behaviour in society. Mr Knight says: “The revised curriculum for Citizenship in secondary schools provides opportunities to explore the issue of crime, antisocial behaviour and carrying weapons through an examination of the concepts of democracy and justice, understanding that justice is fundamental to a democratic society and exploring the role of law in maintaining order and resolving conflict.”
The new framework for Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) which has replaced Citizenship hopes to provide students with the opportunity to be taught how to make safer choices when being pressured with threats to their personal safety in a non criminal way.
“PHSE is non-statutory” says Mr Knight: “The implantation of this subject in to every Secondary school in the country is not possible, the decision as to whether the subject is brought in to a schools curriculum is giving to individual Secondary school.”
The decision to raise the issue of Citizenship within schools comes after the government announces plans to make children swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen; the plans were put forward by former attorney general Lord Goldsmith to help increase Britishness within our society.
