§ Ms. RichardsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action he has taken following the Women's National Commission's 1985 recommendation that he give attention to the need for self-defence education, as part of physical education, in secondary schools, and to the necessary training for physical education teachers.
§ Mrs. RumboldAt the time of that recommendation, responsibility for determining the content of the school curriculum locally rested with individual schools, governing bodies and local education authorities as appropriate. The Education Reform Act 1988, however, establishes a national curriculum which includes physical education. Arrangements for considering the content of guidelines on PE will be set up by June 1990 with a view to beginning to implement them in schools from autumn 1992. Self-defence education may be among the matters to be considered. It will be for LEAs to determine the necessary in-service training for teachers of PE, and for teacher training institutions to decide upon the content of initial teacher training courses.