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<p>On 9 April 2018, the Home Office published a new ‘Serious Violence Strategy’, available
in the Libraries of both Houses, including 61 recommendations spanning cross government
departments to take action to address serious violence, and in particular, the recent
increases in knife crime, gun crime and homicide. The strategy puts a stronger emphasis
on steering young people away from violence, helping them to change their behaviour
and actions before they reach the stage where they are at risk of entering the criminal
justice system.</p><p>The Department for Education is making relationships education
compulsory in all primary schools, relationships and sex education compulsory in all
secondary schools and health education compulsory in all state-funded schools. Under
the new reforms, the draft guidance, attached, sets out that pupils should develop
positive, respectful relationships, including with their peers; and that violence
is never acceptable. The draft guidance also covers awareness of violence and exploitation
by gangs, as well as criminal exploitation, for example through gang involvement or
‘county lines’ drugs operations.</p><p> </p><p>Citizenship education also helps to
provide pupils with knowledge, skills and understanding to prepare them to play a
full and active part in society – including an understanding of the role of law and
the justice system in our society and how laws are shaped and enforced.</p><p> </p><p>In
addition, the ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ statutory guidance, attached, sets
out the legal duties that all schools must have regard to when carrying out their
duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.</p>
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