[Metrobeans]

B454 - Health, Social and Sexual Education Bill 2012, TSR Socialist

Health, Social and Sexual Education Bill 2012

An act to provide school-age children with a stronger, more in-depth understanding of recreational drugs & mental illnesses, their effects & their social impact.

BE IT ENACTED by The Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Commons in this present Parliament assembled, in accordance with the provisions of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

1. Education on Recreational Drugs
(1) State schools are required to teach pupils all the known side effects of drugs deemed to be recreational, and the common ways in which these effects manifest themselves.
(2) State schools are also required to teach pupils the biological effects of drugs and actions that can be taken to minimise the damage done by these effects.
(3) State Schools are also required to teach pupils of the social impact of drugs, including that on the supplying countries - detailing the wars and bloodshed caused by battles between drug cartels, as well as the environmental impact of production and the effects that the drug-trade can have on a country's citizens

2. Education on Mental Illnesses
(1) State schools are required to educate pupils on various causes of mental illnesses – both those of a biological nature and those triggered by events within life, with detail given to the changes in the biology of the brain that arise from the disorders.
(2) State Schools are also required to educate pupils on the common symptoms of the illnesses included in the national curriculum, and how they differ from similar day to day experiences as well as the damage these symptoms can cause to day to day life.
(3) State Schools are also required to teach pupils of the treatment options available, both drug and therapy based, as well as how these treatments work and the potential side-effects and drawbacks of the various treatments.

3. Set-up within the National Curriculum
(1) The changes to education of recreational drugs and mental illnesses is amalgamated with the current sexual education within the national curriculum and taught in the subject Health, Social & Sexual Education (HSSE).
(2) This subject is compulsory for all students up to and including GCSE level (Key Stage 4).

4. For the purposes of this Act-
“State School” shall refer to any non-fees paying school funded by the government through means of tax.
“Recreational drugs” shall refer to any drug listed in any of the categories set out in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, as well as alcohol and tobacco.
“Mental Illnesses” shall refer to any illness listed within the psychological disorder section (Chapter V) in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) produced by the World Health Organization (WHO)

5. Commencement, Short Title and Extent
(1) This Act may be cited as the HSSE Act 2012
(2) This bill shall extend to England; and
(3) Shall come into force on the 1st January 2013 following Royal Assent

[Morgsie]

This should be incorporated into PSHE and various Disabilities should included. Please change all reference of mental illnesses to mental health because there is a lot of stigma.

Alcohol should also be included.

[xXedixXx]

(Original post by Morgsie)
This should be incorporated into PSHE and various Disabilities should included. Please change all reference of mental illnesses to mental health because there is a lot of stigma.

Alcohol should also be included.

Read section 4.

This seems like a very sensible Bill, aye!

[Moleman1996]

There's already a degree of this, the people who take the recreational drugs etc. often dont give a damn about the consequences, or look far enough into the future to even be aware of them, regardless of what they've learned.

Nay

[MacDaddi]

You do realise all drugs are legal under the Narcotics Act?

[SciFiRory]

(Original post by Morgsie)
This should be incorporated into PSHE and various Disabilities should included. Please change all reference of mental illnesses to mental health because there is a lot of stigma.

Alcohol should also be included.

I don't know about PSHE and didn't author the bill myself, but im sure that can be looked in to. the change of wording I believe is already planned for the 2nd reading is also not the intent of the bill to stigmatise, quite the opposite or as someone with mental health issues I would not have supported it.

alcohol is included?

(Original post by MacCuishy)
You do realise all drugs are legal under the Narcotics Act?

so? it is still very important that people know about them and the risks and stuff, regardless of whether it is legal or not.

[tehFrance]

Oh here comes the nannying again... no.

[TopHat]

(Original post by tehFrance)
Oh here comes the nannying again... no.

How is this nannying? In TSR Land, all narcotics are legal. This bill doesn't in any way change that, and it isn't dictating to children "thou shalt not smoke". It's just saying "these are the dangers of smoking. You should know them before you make a decision". I can't understand why anyone would oppose this bill. There are elements I'd touch up, but the key ideas are absolutely sound.

[toronto353]

Surely a lot of this is covered in PSHE? What would be better is trying to incorporate this curriculum into PSHE.

[Abiraleft]

(Original post by MacCuishy)
You do realise all drugs are legal under the Narcotics Act?

Which makes this all the more important.

[Keckers]

As far as I am aware a lot (perhaps all) of this is already required by the national curriculum.

[tehFrance]

(Original post by TopHat)
How is this nannying? In TSR Land, all narcotics are legal. This bill doesn't in any way change that, and it isn't dictating to children "thou shalt not smoke". It's just saying "these are the dangers of smoking. You should know them before you make a decision". I can't understand why anyone would oppose this bill. There are elements I'd touch up, but the key ideas are absolutely sound.

I didn't learn about all of this in great detail and I turned out fine, children should be allowed to learn by mistakes not by boring lectures.

[TopHat]

Some mistakes, particularly where drugs are concerned, are lethal, or cause permanent damage. By the time you've made them, it is too late to learn.

In addition, I'm not sure you are the best example of "turning out fine". Firstly, you're Conservative, secondly, you're French. That's not fine.

[tufc]

Not for me.

[tehFrance]

(Original post by TopHat)
Some mistakes, particularly where drugs are concerned, are lethal, or cause permanent damage. By the time you've made them, it is too late to learn.

In addition, I'm not sure you are the best example of "turning out fine". Firstly, you're Conservative, secondly, you're French. That's not fine.

Oy vey.

I am the best example, I am Conservative, French, Gorgeous and Rich

[Jarred]

I'm certain this already exists in the curriculum.

As many of said, it is a component of PSHE. It's a lesson I had up until 16 years of age, and it educates this kind of stuff. It's been known by different names.
For me, sometimes it was called PSE, PSHE, PSHCE, EC, PDC and finally PD over the years that I had to learn it but it was always the same lesson, they just couldn't decide on a name by the looks of it. All in all, it's a lesson about drugs and sex. We don't need another lesson to teach that. This bill should seek to instead merge all of what it's about into the PSHE lesson itself. But I'm fairly sure a lot of it is already in there anyway. Someone should look into that, send this to a second reading and merge anything which is not in there already into the PSHE lesson.

[Mr Dangermouse]

Aye.

[jesusandtequila]

Firstly and most importantly, I agree with the principle of the Bill. What follows below isn't an attack on the ideas behind it, but criticism of some of the specifics within the Bill.

In so far as I'm not an expert on what's already in the curriculum - I can't comment - I'd encourage the authors to detail in a second reading what is already there and what's new - so that the House can be making an informed decision. Not all in PSHE - for example I know that dangers of smoking is covered in GCSE Biology. So it'd be useful to know more clearly what's changing here.

I'm not sure why 'sexual' is in the title - since this Bill doesn't deal with any changes regarding sexual education - for sure. I also think it's a bit heavy-handed to teach children of all mental illnesses and the therapy and drug based treatments. It's a huge amount to cover all of them. Certainly I think trying to teach 14 year olds about brain chemistry of complicated or uncommon mental illnesses just isn't going to sink in - and so end up a bit useless. This should be refined a bit.

Further to this, I think you'd be much better off using the 'list of narcotics' that's maintained by the SoS as set out in our Narcotics Act. It includes all of those in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 initially, but is a constantly updated list of those substances regulated in the fashion set out in that Act.. The 1971 list could get out of date pretty quickly considering it's been repealed. Further to that, I agree with the inclusion of alcohol and tobacco.

Oh, and Section 4, despite being definitions, still requires numbering.

[paperclip]

(Original post by tehFrance)
I didn't learn about all of this in great detail and I turned out fine, children should be allowed to learn by mistakes not by boring lectures.

A cokehead that pays for sex. Yes, you turned out fine.

[paperclip]

(Original post by Morgsie)
This should be incorporated into PSHE and various Disabilities should included. Please change all reference of mental illnesses to mental health because there is a lot of stigma.

Alcohol should also be included.

Whilst there may be a certain stigma, the wording might not be changed because i am planning a section on 'mental health' based around the teachings of positive psychology. Apologies that it isn't yet included, i don't want to be doing this too much in the middle of exams. However, if you have any other alternative names, i'd be happy to hear them.