Relationships and Sex Education
Children and young people need knowledge and skills that will enable them to make informed and ethical decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships. High quality, evidence-based teaching of relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) can help prepare pupils for the opportunities and responsibilities of adult life, and can promote their moral, social, mental and physical development. Effective teaching will support young people to cultivate positive characteristics including resilience, self-worth, self-respect, honesty, integrity, courage, kindness, and trustworthiness. Effective teaching will support prevention of harms by helping young people understand and identify when things are not right. (Department for Education, July 2025, Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education. Statutory guidance for governing bodies, proprietors, head teachers, principals, senior leadership teams, and teachers).
Maintained schools and academies are required to provide a curriculum which is broad and balanced in accordance with Section 78 of the Education Act 2002. Under section 78 of the Education Act 2002 and the Academies Act 2010, a PSHE curriculum:
- Promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society, and
- Prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.
The Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education (England) Regulations 2019, made under sections 34 and 35 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017, make relationships education compulsory for all pupils receiving primary education and relationships and sex education (RSE) compulsory for all pupils receiving secondary education. They also make health education compulsory in all schools except independent schools. This is statutory guidance from the Department for Education issued under Section 80A of the Education Act 2002 and section 403 of the Education Act 1996.
Our school RSHE policy refers to both PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education) and RSHE (Relationships, Sex and Health Education) because RSHE is included within PSHE. Our PSHE programme offers a broader range of content than RSHE alone, including:
- My healthy self
- Connecting with others
- The online word
- Citizenship
- Health Protection/Growing up
Please see policy below for further information