The Sex Education Forum (SEF) welcomes the bold proposal released by the government today to make personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) Education a statutory subject in all schools.
The PSHE proposal includes sex and relationships education (SRE), which is a landmark move supported by many young people, teachers and parents, who have repeatedly asked for guidance in dealing with this topic.

This announcement, made on the day of the SEF's 21st birthday conference, is in response to recommendations made by an expert group, including SEF, to make PSHE statutory.
The Education and Inspections Act 2006 already places a statutory duty on schools to actively promote children and young people's wellbeing as well as their academic achievement. Statutory PSHE is the missing piece of the wellbeing puzzle. For many years, we have heard from young people in this country who have been let down by their sex and relationships education. In fact, a recent SEF survey showed that more than one third perceived their SRE to be bad or very bad. This new PSHE proposal is a chance to put that right. With such a poor provision of sex and relationship education in the past, we have done our young people a disservice. They have gone into the world ill-equipped to make responsible choices about their lives and society.

The statutory PHSE proposal released today aims to provide young people with the information and skills they so desperately need to make safe and healthy choices when it comes to all aspects of their wellbeing.
At the end of the day, effective PSHE is good for children, good for families, and good for communities and society. By securing children's entitlement to high quality PSHE, we are securing their futures - ensuring they have the knowledge, skills, confidence and resilience to respond positively to life's opportunities and challenges and make choices that are beneficial for their wellbeing, as well as those around them. SEF has long campaigned for PSHE to have enhanced, statutory status in the national curriculum and are eager to work with the government on these significant next steps.

• Anna Martinez is head of the Sex Education Forum at the umbrella children's charity the National Children's Bureau