Statutory guidance

About this guidance

Updated 13 September 2021

Applies to England

This is a section of the statutory guidance: Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education.

What is the status of this guidance?

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. Further details are in Annex A.

Schools^{[footnote 1]} must have regard to the guidance, and where they depart from those parts of the guidance which state that they should, or should not, do something they will need to have good reasons for doing so.

About this guidance

This document contains information on what schools should do and sets out the legal duties with which schools must comply when teaching Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education.

Unless otherwise specified, ‘school’ means all schools, whether maintained, non-maintained or independent schools, including academies and free schools, non-maintained special schools, maintained special schools and alternative provision, including pupil referral units.

Who this guidance is for

This statutory guidance applies to all schools, and is therefore aimed at:

• governing bodies of maintained-schools, including schools with a sixth-form, and non-maintained special schools;
• trustees or directors of academies and free school
• proprietors of independent schools, including academies and free schools
• management committees of pupil referral units (PRUs)
• teachers, other school staff and school nurses
• headteachers, principals and senior leadership teams
• diocese and other faith representatives
• for reference for relevant local authority staff

What this guidance updates

This guidance replaces the Sex and Relationship Education guidance (2000). This guidance will be reviewed 3 years from first required teaching (September 2020) and every 3 years after that point.

The guidance should be read in conjunction with:

• Keeping Children Safe in Education - statutory guidance
• Respectful School Communities: Self Review and Signposting Tool - a tool to support a whole school approach that promotes respect and discipline
• Behaviour and Discipline in Schools - advice for schools, including advice for appropriate behaviour between pupils
• Equality Act 2010 and Equality Act 2010: advice for schools
• SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years - statutory guidance
• Alternative Provision - statutory guidance
• Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools - advice for schools
• Preventing and Tackling Bullying - advice for schools, including advice on cyberbullying
• Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools - advice for schools
• The Equality and Human Rights Commission Advice and Guidance - provides advice on avoiding discrimination in a variety of educational contexts
• Promoting Fundamental British Values as part of SMSC in schools - guidance for maintained schools on promoting basic important British values as part of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC)
• SMSC requirements for independent schools - guidance for independent schools on how they should support pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
• National Citizen Service - guidance for schools

1. Guidance on Health Education does not apply to independent schools, which must meet the Independent School Standards as set out in the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014. However, they may find the sections on Health Education helpful. It does, however, apply to academies and free schools. ↩