Nicky Morgan said young people were facing 'unimaginable ' pressure from threats such as revenge porn and cyberbullying . Teachers are to be issued new guidance this week to help children cope with the ‘ unimaginable ’ pressures of the modern digital age , including cyberbullying , sexting and ‘ revenge porn ’ . Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said last night that Personal , Social and Health ( PSHE ) lessons needed to be improved – and placed at the heart of the curriculum – to give young people the tools to cope with these growing demands . Children will also be taught about consensual sex to help vulnerable girls ‘ spot , report and tackle abuse ’ . Mrs Morgan , addressing the Conservative think-tank , Bright Blue , said the new guidance will be published later this week , in conjunction with the PSHE Association . She added : ‘ Let ’ s be clear , the internet and advance of the digital age are things to celebrate and to embrace . But let us not deny they bring new pressures that require new responses . ‘ The pressures young people face today were unimaginable to my generation. ’ Mrs Morgan highlighted research that showed two in three 11 to 16-year-olds reported having friends who had been bullied online . She said the bullying can take many forms but there were increasing incidents of abuse , sexting and so-called ‘ revenge porn ’ . She added : ‘ The evidence base is still small but in a survey conducted last year , just eight police forces reported 150 allegations relating to revenge porn over a two-year period. ’ Explaining the focus on teaching about sexual consent , Mrs Morgan said : ‘ In this modern world where many young women , and for that matter many young men , are exposed to so many pressures day in and day out , surely we have a duty to make sure they know they can say no and know how to do it . ‘ It does mean telling young people the difference between a healthy and an unhealthy relationship , about when something crosses the line , what they can do about it. ’ Ms Morgan said lessons on how to deal with these new online threats , in addition to teching on safe realtionships , needed to be made 'central ' to the curriculum ( file image ) ‘ If the revelations of recent weeks have shown us anything it ’ s that the stakes are too high to let our young people leave school without this knowledge . ‘ I don ’ t pretend for one minute that lessons on consent would have been enough to stop the horrific abuse in Rotherham or Oxford . 'But I will not rest until I know that we have done everything we can to arm young women and particularly the most vulnerable young women with the information they need to spot , report and tackle abuse. ’ Mrs Morgan said she was concerned that children were growing up in a world that places ‘ huge value on style and arguably not always as much value on substance ’ . She added : ‘ The democratisation of communications opens the world up but brought its own pressures too . 'In research conducted at the start of this year , a third of 11 to 16-year-olds said they felt the pressure to update their social media profiles with pictures or postings that make them look good. ’ It has already been revealed that schools are to teach pupils as young as 11 about rape and consensual sex .
Bright Blue Secretary Nicky Morgan plans classes on safe relationships . Said new lessons needed to be placed at the heart of school curriculum . 'The pressures young people face were unimaginable to my generation '