Guidance

Plan your relationships, sex and health curriculum

Information to help school leaders plan, develop and implement the new statutory curriculum.

From:
Department for Education
Published
24 September 2020
Last updated
17 February 2022 — See all updates

Applies to England

This guidance is aimed at:

  • headteachers and principals
  • senior leadership teams
  • teachers
  • curriculum co-ordinators
  • governing bodies and proprietors

It gives some basic principles to help school leaders plan and prepare for the new statutory curriculum. Schools have the flexibility to design their own curriculum to ensure it meets the needs of pupils and the community, as well as the statutory requirements.

Schools are required to teach:

  • relationships education (all primary aged pupils)
  • relationships and sex education (RSE) (all secondary aged pupils)
  • health education (all pupils in state-funded schools only)

Ofsted school inspectors will evaluate the provision for relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education in line with the school inspection handbook and in the context of this guidance.

Independent schools are required to teach personal, social, health and economic (PHSE) education.

Sex education at primary school is not compulsory but can be taught if a school decides that it is appropriate to do so.

All pupils should receive teaching on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) relationships during their school years. Secondary schools should include LGBT content in their teaching. Primary schools are strongly encouraged, and enabled, when teaching about different types of family, to include families with same sex parents.

Headteachers and teachers must read the statutory guidance in full. It contains information on what schools should do and sets out the legal duties you must meet.

Creating a policy for the new curriculum

It is important to read the developing a policy section of the statutory guidance to ensure you understand what you need to comply with.

All schools must have a written policy in place for the new relationships education and relationships and sex education curriculum.

Policies are typically approved by the governing body, or the appropriate body if that is not the governing body (for example, the trust board).

You will need to decide the outline of your curriculum and consult with parents and carers on the policy before finalising it.

The statutory guidance suggests typical sections you may wish to include in your policy such as:

Where parents and carers have complaints which cannot be resolved through informal discussion, you should ask them to follow your school’s (curriculum) complaints policy.

Integration to the whole school ethos

You should already have a statement of values and ethos. This may include personal qualities and behaviours you seek to foster.

Consider making a link between your values and ethos statement and your relationships, sex and health education policy.

Adapting an existing programme of study

Many schools who are planning their curriculum for relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education will be doing so within a broader personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education framework.

You could choose to teach the new compulsory content within the PSHE education framework if this model meets the needs of your pupils. The new curriculum and your PSHE education framework do not need to be seen as separate subjects.

PSHE education remains non-statutory in maintained schools although the new subjects cover much of the content typically included in a PSHE education programme. PSHE education continues to be compulsory in independent schools, as set out in the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

Before you plan your new curriculum, you need to review your current curriculum plan in light of the statutory requirements. Your school may already have some provision in place that will support delivery. For example, a wider school ethos of inclusion and anti-bullying procedures.

Deciding what to teach at primary and secondary level

The statutory guidance specifies:

  • what topics need to be taught at primary level and secondary level
  • what pupils should know by the end of each level

It does not break the curriculum up by key stage, year group or age. This is because decisions about when to teach topics will vary by school and context.

Use your knowledge of your pupils to choose whether to:

  • introduce secondary requirements in primary with pupils who are ready (with parental consultation and consent)
  • include primary requirements in secondary teaching where pupils have gaps in their understanding, to build their knowledge before they progress (this is likely to be needed as the new curriculum is introduced)

Try to identify what pupils already know at the start of a lesson or topic. Topics should be revisited, as necessary.

Consider working with your academy trust or local authority and local public health teams when embedding statutory relationships, sex and health education within your whole school ethos. They can work with you to help make sure:

  • you are clear on what has been covered already, for example, what a secondary school pupil might have been taught in primary school
  • teaching progresses smoothly from key stage to key stage
  • you understand local health profiles of children and young people within the catchment area of the school, which can help you identify priorities in the curriculum
  • you have a knowledge of the wider specialist support services (including sexual health services) available to children and young people in the area

Contact your local public health team to find out what tailored local support is available. The names of current local directors of public health are available on the Association of Directors for Public Health website. You can also contact them through your local authority.

Teaching these subjects

These subjects should be set in the context of a whole-school approach to supporting pupils to be safe, happy and prepared for life beyond school. It is important that as you begin to plan your curriculum, you are clear about your approach to pedagogy and connect to wider school approaches on how pupils learn to promote good progress.

The evidence and expert guidance on how children are best taught applies to these topics as to all others.

Teaching should:

  • clearly explain the knowledge, facts and concepts needed
  • provide adequate opportunities for pupils to recall the acquired knowledge, facts and concepts to develop an understanding of the topic

The training modules provide some examples of good practice and approaches you might consider when preparing to teach about individual subjects.

You can deliver a carefully sequenced and coherent curriculum, by:

  • identifying the essential concepts, knowledge, skills and principles of the subject and providing an opportunity for all pupils to learn and master these critical components
  • ensuring pupils’ thinking is focused on key ideas within the subject
  • working with experienced colleagues to accumulate and refine a collection of powerful analogies, illustrations, examples, explanations and demonstrations
  • using resources and materials aligned with the school curriculum (for example, printed or online textbooks or shared resources designed by experienced colleagues that carefully sequence content)
  • being aware of common misconceptions and discussing with experienced colleagues how to help pupils master important concepts

A good summary of what we know about effective pedagogy and how to apply it is in the Early Career Framework.

Planning your curriculum

The relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education curriculum complements several other curriculum subjects. You should look for opportunities to draw links between the subjects and integrate teaching where appropriate.

For example, it may be helpful to know:

  • in secondary schools when relevant aspects of science (biology) are taught in relation to sex education
  • in primary schools when relevant aspects of puberty are taught in science
  • when and how physical education covers the benefits of an active lifestyle and cardiovascular exercise
  • how content in computing relates to online and media topic
  • when literary texts which touch on emotional aspects of relationships are studied in English

Points to consider when planning your curriculum

When planning your curriculum, consider mapping out terms, years and key stages to help decide which topics you will cover and when. Also, consider whether there are topics which will need to be covered more than once as pupils grow in maturity.

You will also need to consider the most appropriate method for teaching certain topics. This could mean having:

  • regular lessons – for example, a weekly or fortnightly slot in class taught by the class teacher
  • a teacher or other appropriate adult in school who teaches a particular topic to all classes in turn
  • additional whole school / key stage assemblies, either led by staff at school or by a carefully selected external speaker or expert - it’s important to remember that assemblies should not be a substitution for timetabled lessons

It is possible that you may see an increase in disclosures as a result of teaching the new subjects. You should remind all staff members of the correct procedures to follow, should any disclosures from individual pupils be prompted by lessons in these subjects.

It is important to read the safeguarding, reports of abuse and confidentiality section of the statutory guidance.

Using external agencies

External agencies can provide speakers, tools and resources to enhance and supplement the curriculum.

It is important when using external agencies to take particular care that the agency and any materials used are appropriate and in line with your school’s legal duties regarding political impartiality, which you can find more information about in our guidance on political impartiality in schools.

Schools are responsible for ensuring that speakers, tools and resources do not undermine the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

When deciding on the external agencies and resources to use, you should make appropriate checks to ensure that the agencies’ approach to teaching relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education and the resources that they plan to use comply with:

  • your school’s policy
  • the Teaching Standards
  • the Equality Act 2010
  • the Human Rights Act 1998
  • the Education Act 1996

You should engage with agencies to ensure their approach to teaching about relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education is balanced and the resources they intend to use are age-appropriate and aligned to the developmental stage of the pupils being taught. Schools should exercise their judgement reasonably, in line with their legal responsibilities, in the selection of providers and resources to be used. You should exercise extreme caution when working with external agencies and proceed only if you have full confidence in the agency, its approach and the resources it uses.

Schools should not under any circumstances work with external agencies that take or promote extreme political positions or use materials produced by such agencies. More information on this, including examples of extreme political positions, can be found in guidance on political impartiality in schools.

It is important to be clear about what you want from an external agency, tool or resource. You should consider the range of options available to ensure what you use is best suited and appropriate to your school and pupils and are of a high quality and sufficient value.

If you are using external speakers to deliver part of the curriculum, then it is important to make sure the expert and any tool or resource they might use meets the outcome of that part of the curriculum.

External experts and resources can also be useful for developing curriculum planning ideas, activities and identifying age-appropriate outcomes.

It is important that you review any case study material and look for feedback from others they have worked with.

You should be clear what they are going to say and what their position on the issues to be discussed are. You should ask to see any materials that external agencies may use in advance.

Make sure you know the named individuals who will be there, any need for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks and that there is an agreed protocol should any safeguarding issue arise, for example from a disclosure.

You should also conduct a basic online search (as parents and carers may do this). It is important that anything you or parents and carers would be concerned about is addressed beforehand.

Before a session with an external speaker, it is important to check protocols for taking pictures or using any personal data the external speaker may get from the session.

Remember teachers should not be afraid to say ‘no’, or in extreme cases stop a session. These are your pupils and you are responsible for what is said to them.

It is good practice for the teacher to be in the room, so they know what was discussed and can follow up with their pupils. They will also understand what has been discussed if a pupil makes a disclosure later.

Choosing resources

There are many external resources available to support the delivery of your lessons, these include:

  • lesson plans
  • complete curriculum plans
  • other classroom materials such as videos or posters

Any materials you intend to use should align with the teaching requirements set out in the statutory guidance.

Many organisations actively promote external resources to schools. It is important when choosing resources to take particular care that any materials used are appropriate and in line with your school’s legal duties regarding political impartiality, which you can find more information about in our guidance on political impartiality in schools.

Schools should not under any circumstances use resources produced by organisations that take extreme political positions on matters. This is the case even if the material itself is not extreme, as the use of it could imply endorsement or support of the organisation.

When deciding if a resource is suitable, you should consider if it:

  • aligns to the teaching requirements set out in the statutory guidance
  • would support pupils in applying their knowledge in different contexts and settings
  • is age-appropriate - think about the age, developmental stage and background of your pupils
  • is evidence-based and contains robust facts and statistics
  • fits into your curriculum plan
  • is from a credible source

It is also important to consider whether the resource is compatible with approaches to teaching which are known to be effective. These approaches are summarised in the Early Career Framework. The resources you choose should deliver knowledge in a way that supports the building of pupils’ confidence.

Resources should also be sensitive to pupils’ experiences as some may have already been exposed or at risk of content being taught. You should ensure that resources do not exhibit any content that may provoke distress.

A series of DfE training modules are also available which subject leads can use to train other teachers.

Creating an inclusive classroom

You should consider what it is like for a diverse range of pupils to be taught about these topics and how individual pupils may relate to particular topics, including complex and sensitive subjects that might personally affect them.

These topics should help all pupils understand their physical and emotional development and enable them to make positive decisions in their lives.

The approach you take to planning and teaching these subjects should take account of those pupils who may be at different stages of cognitive development to their peers. For example, for some pupils in secondary schools, there may be a need to focus on primary content beyond age 11.

You should also make sure the framing of issues is appropriate and that additional time is taken to explain to parents and carers what will be taught and why.

Some pupils may have already been exposed to, or be at risk of exposure to, the experiences and content being taught. Developing a sensitive teaching style will be key to ensuring all pupils feel safe and supported in lessons and able to engage with the key messages.

As well as classroom teaching, you may want to consider other options including digital approaches, one-to-one discussions, teaching in small groups or targeted sessions for some pupils.

Supporting pupils with additional needs

It is important to read the supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities section of the statutory guidance.

Relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education must be accessible for all pupils and this is particularly important when you are planning teaching for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Subject leaders should liaise with the class teacher and special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) to make sure:

  • the needs of all pupils are met
  • the curriculum is fully accessible
  • education, health and care (EHC) plans are followed

If your school is a mainstream school, you should ensure that teaching is differentiated to support pupils with SEND to fully access the curriculum. This might include revisiting earlier topics or spending longer on a topic. Effective use of teaching assistants will support this.

You should also use your own expertise and knowledge to differentiate activities within lessons where needed.

Specialist resources can be used to support effective teaching. You can use the picture exchange communication system (PECS) to create resources or image-based books for pupils with SEND.

There are specific duties set out in:

The Equality Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty

Schools are required to comply with relevant requirements of the Equality Act 2010. Chapter 1 of Part 6 of the Act applies to schools.

The content of the school curriculum is exempt from the duties imposed on schools by Part 6 of the Equality Act.

This means schools are free to include a full range of issues, ideas and materials in their curriculum. Schools are not required to equally weight all of the protected characteristics within the curriculum.

The Public Sector Equality Duty (as set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010) requires all public authorities (including state-funded schools) in the exercise of their function, to have due regard to the need to:

  • eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act
  • advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it
  • foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it

Relevant protected characteristics are:

  • age
  • disability
  • gender reassignment
  • pregnancy and maternity
  • race
  • religion or belief
  • sex and sexual orientation

State-funded schools must ensure that the public sector equality duty is discharged when taking decisions.

Pupils should leave school with a proper understanding of the importance of equality and respecting and understanding differences. This includes differences in religion, belief, or sexual orientation.

The guidance for promoting fundamental British values provides some helpful principles to guide practice.

Ensuring content is appropriate

The safety of children is of paramount importance in school.

Teachers should be aware of age-inappropriate material on the internet. Great caution should be exercised before setting any assignment, in class or at home, that involves researching a subject where there is a high risk that a child could accidentally be exposed to age-inappropriate material, such as pornography. Particularly at primary level, you should be careful not to expose children to over-sexualised content.

Knowledge about safer sex and sexual health is important to ensure that young people are equipped to make safe, informed and healthy choices. This should be delivered in a non-judgemental, factual way and allow scope for young people to ask questions in a safe environment. Schools have the freedom to develop an age-appropriate, developmental curriculum which meets the needs of their young people, in consultation with parents and the local community.

You should be mindful of the law and legal requirements and be careful not to condone or encourage illegal political activity, including violent action against people, criminal damage to property, hate crime or terrorism, or the use of illegal drugs.

We are aware that topics involving gender and biological sex can be complex and sensitive matters to navigate. You should not reinforce harmful stereotypes, for instance by suggesting that children might be a different gender based on their personality and interests or the clothes they prefer to wear. Resources used in teaching about this topic must always be age-appropriate and evidence based. Materials which suggest that non-conformity to gender stereotypes should be seen as synonymous with having a different gender identity should not be used and you should not work with external agencies or organisations that produce such material. While teachers should not suggest to a child that their non-compliance with gender stereotypes means that either their personality or their body is wrong and in need of changing, teachers should always seek to treat individual students with sympathy and support.

You should work together with parents on any decisions regarding your school’s treatment of their child, in line with the school’s safeguarding policy and the statutory guidance on working together to safeguard children.

Dealing with sensitive issues

It is important to read the safeguarding, reports of abuse and confidentiality section of the statutory guidance.

What is sensitive or likely to give parents, carers or teachers cause for anxiety may vary according to the context of the school.

Conversations within your lessons should not lead to any type of bullying, ostracising or other forms of social or emotional harm. Pupils should be aware of this and lessons should be delivered in such a way to ensure this does not happen.

To help create a safe environment for pupils when teaching these topics, you should consider:

  • setting ground rules for lessons, where needed, particularly around not sharing personal information (there is guidance on how to create ground rules in the individual subject training modules)
  • stopping discussions if personal information is shared in lessons and following up with pupils later where needed
  • not promising confidentiality if a pupil confides something concerning
  • telling pupils they can ask for help and they will be taken seriously

Managing a sensitive class discussion

Occasionally teachers may find that managing a whole class discussion is a useful stage in the teaching of a particular topic.

Whole class discussions can be a useful way to model listening respectfully to the views of others.

Distancing techniques

You can avoid embarrassment and protect pupils’ privacy by always depersonalising discussion, for example, using a case study to illustrate an issue.

Pupils can then talk about a fictional character in the case study without having to share personal information.

You should manage and lead discussions attentively. If the discussion is at risk of straying, you need to be prepared to redirect it back to intended topics.

It is generally not helpful to ask pupils to lead or chair discussions on sensitive topics as there can be a greater risk of going off-topic.

Handling difficult questions

Teaching in these subjects should allow appropriate opportunities for pupils to ask questions to check and test their understanding.

Most questions will be relevant to what the teacher has explained, and general questions should be welcomed. Pupils should not feel penalised or censored for asking sensible or relevant questions, even if they are occasionally awkward.

Sometimes, pupils may ask questions which go beyond what the teacher has planned and may stray into sensitive territory.

There is no single way to address all such questions – some may be handled straightforwardly for the whole class to hear.

You should be mindful and explain to teachers that a question may occasionally raise a possible safeguarding concern, and the school’s safeguarding process should be followed in such cases.

The individual subject training modules include advice on handling difficult questions.

Primary level

Some questions may relate to sex education which the school may not be teaching, or not yet. These should generally not be answered in front of the whole class.

Strategies to handle such questioning could include offering a word outside the lesson, referring to another more senior member of staff or offering a simple ‘holding’ answer and mentioning the question to parents and carers at the end of the day.

It is important to read the managing difficult questions section of the statutory guidance.

Secondary level

Questions relating to sex education may come up anytime. There might be pupils whose parents or carers do not want them to receive sex education in school, therefore particular care should be taken when answering questions in front of these pupils.

Where a pupil who is withdrawn from sex education asks a question relating to sex education content, teachers should offer a brief ‘holding response’, usually via a senior member of staff and draw the issue to the attention of the pupil’s parents and carers, unless there is a safeguarding concern and then the school’s safeguarding process should be followed in such cases.

For pupils who are not withdrawn from sex education, it may be appropriate to speak discreetly with the pupil asking the question at the end of the lesson to address their question or to ensure the answer is covered in subsequent teaching which is clearly designated as sex education.

It is important to read the safeguarding, reports of abuse and confidentiality section of the statutory guidance.

Right to request withdrawal

It is important to read the right to be excused from sex education (also referred to as the right to withdraw) section of the statutory guidance to ensure you understand what you need to comply with.

You should be clear in your published policy when in the curriculum different aspects of sex education are taught.

The policy should state clearly that parents and carers have the right to request withdrawal from all or part of sex education. It should also tell them who to contact to make such a request - this will usually be the headteacher, in the first instance.

When a request is received, consider meeting with the parents and carers to:

  • discuss the background to their request
  • offer assurances about your school’s approach
  • set out the benefits of pupils accessing sex education in school

If parents and carers decline an invitation to a discussion, you must still process their request for withdrawal in the normal way.

If the parents still want withdrawal after such a discussion, unless there are exceptional circumstances, parents and carers’ request should be granted until 3 terms before the pupil turns 16. For example, if the pupil’s 16th birthday is in February of year 11, that point would be February in year 10.

At that point, if the pupil wishes to be taught sex education, you must ensure they receive it in one of those 3 terms and continue to be taught it while the child remains in school.

Right to withdraw – pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

In most cases, there should be no difference in the approach between SEND pupils and other pupils.

However, in cases where the nature or degree of the pupil’s special educational need or disability, possibly combined with their domestic or social circumstances, mean that they are demonstrably very likely to be at unusual risk from sexual activity or sexual exploitation, then your headteacher may judge that an exception should be made.

In such exceptional cases, your headteacher may decline a parental request for withdrawal.

It is important to read the safeguarding, reports of abuse and confidentiality section of the statutory guidance.

Record keeping and informing parents and carers

You should keep a record of all discussions with parents, carers and pupils concerning the right to withdraw, exceptions and decisions not to grant it.

Where possible, you should share records of all discussions with parents and carers to make sure all parties are clear about the decisions.

Primary sex education (where taught)

Primary schools are not required to teach sex education but must teach relationships education and have regard to the statutory guidance in full.

Primary schools may already have age-appropriate sex education programmes in place. There is no need to change these if your curriculum is working well. However, sex education is outside the content defined for relationships and health education in primary schools.

You need to set out clearly in your policy if you are teaching sex education. You must also be aware of the parental right of withdrawal at primary. You should make it clear to parents and carers in your policy and set out a practical method for them to communicate to school if this is their wish. Stating clearly exactly what aspects of sex education are covered in what terms and years is helpful to allow parents and carers to make this decision.

Parents and carers cannot withdraw their child from:

Read our advice on engaging parents and carers on relationships education which explains why it is important to engage with parents and carers, as soon as possible, and gives tips on how to do this.

Identifying teachers’ needs

Teacher wellbeing

It is essential that teachers can maintain their own wellbeing when delivering the curriculum. There may be times that a topic triggers feelings or thoughts, including of historic, recent or current trauma.

It is important for school leaders to appreciate the different nature of these subjects, and be understanding of teachers’ individual circumstances and the support they may need.

You may want to engage teachers in considering their own needs in advance.

It is important that teaching is balanced and not dependent on any personal views teachers may have. Teachers should operate at all times within the framework of their school’s policy, the Teaching Standards and comply with the Equality Act. There is no obligation on teachers to offer information personal to themselves or to share personal views.

Teachers are not required to answer personal questions asked by pupils and should consider, with the support of their school, how best to handle any such questions.

Teacher training

Teacher training activities may help your teachers feel supported. You might also consider activities that support teachers to reflect on their own values around the subject and consider ways to present an unbiased and evidence-based curriculum to pupils.

Use the teacher training modules to train groups of teachers on the different topics within the curriculum.

Assessment and evaluation

Assessment

Schools should have the same high expectations of the quality of pupils’ work in these subjects as for other curriculum areas. A strong curriculum will build on the knowledge pupils have previously acquired, including in other subjects, with regular feedback provided on pupil progress.

Lessons should be planned to ensure that all pupils of differing abilities are suitably challenged. You should identify and assess the needs of pupils who may require extra support or intervention.

Whilst there is no formal examined assessment for these subjects, you could use tests, written assignments or self-evaluations, to capture progress.

Evaluation

Schools should continuously evaluate and review the implementation of relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education, to ensure the quality of provision.

Updates to this page

Published 24 September 2020
Last updated 17 February 2022 + show all updates

  1. Added a link to the guidance on political impartiality in schools.

  2. First published.

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