Call for PSHE Subject Specialists

Writing in the TES, Lord Layard reiterates his recent call for schools to place a higher priority on promoting better human relationships through PSHE, especially in secondary schools. He questions how seriously PSHE is taken, given that it is the only subject taught by teachers who not have studied that subject in a PGCE, and many of those who do teach it do so part-time.

Layard points to the Penn Resiliency project in Pennsylvania, soon to be trialled in 20 English schools, as an example of how learning how to understand emotions can help reduce depression and problem behaviour.

Currently PSHE does not go beyond the age 16, and Lord Layard suggests that it should be extended to 18, in some form, and calls for a
new branch of the teaching profession dedicated to helping pupils develop their emotional awareness.

(Times Educational Supplement, 11 May 2007, p26)