Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 28
28
Deferred
DfE's updated RSE curriculum shows potential, but lacks sufficient data on under-16s.
Conclusion
DfE also told us that it has made relationships and sex education (RSE) compulsory in schools since 2020, and in May 2024 revised the curriculum to include discussions on online harm, social media influencers, sharing of intimate imagery and upskirting as a new offence. In terms of evaluating the success of this work, DfE told us that it has had a good awareness among school leaders, and some studies show that the changes to the RSE curriculum could reduce violence in teenage relationships by as much as 17%.67 We asked DfE about the effectiveness of this work, since the rates of problematic relationships are not being reduced. DfE told us that the lack of data on under 16–year–olds and transparency on survivors’ experiences means that the ground keeps shifting in terms of where the harm is coming from. When asked whether DfE considers its approach as sufficiently agile to respond to evolving harms, DfE told us that it is important to keep the RSE curriculum up to date.68
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observations and states that the new VAWG Strategy, due by September 2025, will prioritize prevention, challenging societal norms, and educating children on relationships and consent. Further details on this approach will be set out in the forthcoming strategy.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: September 2025 6.2 The new VAWG Strategy will place prevention at the very heart of the government’s approach to halving VAWG in a decade. A key part of the Home Office’s approach will be improving the policing, criminal and family justice response. However, enforcement alone is not enough. 6.3 The preventative measures in the forthcoming VAWG Strategy will be designed to achieve long-term change, underpinned by the Theory of Change. This includes challenging the societal norms, attitudes and misconceptions about relationships and consent, how children are educated in school, in communities and online, and identifying those early risk factors in children and families so that fewer children go on to perpetrate abuse or become victims themselves. Prevention of VAWG is a wide-reaching area requiring cross-government effort across DfE, DCMS, MHCLG, DSIT and MoJ, and others. 6.4 The review process for the Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) statutory guidance is almost complete and new guidance will be published in the coming months. The Home Office and the Department for Education have worked closely with a range of stakeholders including those who are working to end VAWG to get the guidance right. 6.5 The Home Office has met with young people who shared their experiences as well as contributing ideas on practical steps schools should take on these matters. Ministers in the Home Office and Department for Education are continuing to work together to ensure that future funding will deliver a positive and lasting impact for children and young people. More detail on this joint work between the Department for Education and the Home Office will be set out in the forthcoming VAWG Strategy 6.6 The Home Office will also continue to work closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to enhance media literacy among children and parents, so that they are educated to critically assess and be aware of content they are viewing online, including misogynistic content. 6.7 The government’s Opportunity Mission is also dedicated to setting up every child with the best start in life, helping all children to achieve and thrive and creating environments in which young people feel they belong - these are the best available tools for combating violence and prejudice, including misogyny. 6.8 The implementation of the actions outlined in this response by September 2025 is contingent on the publication of the Tackling VAWG Strategy within that timeframe.