§ Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the findings of the project funded jointly by his Department and the Health Education Board for Scotland to formulate the planning and provision of health education, including drug education, in Scottish teacher education institutions; and if he will make a statement. [13219]
§ Mr. Wilson[holding answer 30 October 1997]: The project referred to is not a research project. Its purpose was to make it easier for teacher educators and their students to acquire the relevant knowledge and insights to deliver health education in schools. Health education and promotion are central to the curriculum and ethos of primary, secondary and special schools in Scotland. Our new teachers must, therefore, be well prepared for their responsibilities in teaching their pupils about health and in encouraging them to develop healthy styles of living. The project has been under way since April 1996 and will be completed in April 1998. From the start, it has been a co-operative venture involving staff from each of the teacher education institutions (TEIs), and representatives from the Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS), the General Teaching Council and the Scottish Office Education and Industry Department (SOEID). The materials developed are to be made available to each of the TEIs to be adapted to fit their own courses. The materials, which are based on existing good practice in health education, will be relevant to students preparing to work with all children and young people of primary and secondary school age.