Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE)

Introduction

The Government Statutory Guidance around relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) states that:

‘Children and young people need knowledge and skills that will enable them to make informed and ethical decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships.’

Since September 2020, Relationships Education has been compulsory for all pupils receiving primary education and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) for all pupils receiving secondary education. Health Education is now compulsory in all schools too.

The statutory guidance for RSHE was updated in 2025 and schools have until September 2026 to adapt their curriculum to reflect the updated requirements.

What is taught in schools

By the end of Primary School, children will have been taught:

Information about relationships including:

Families and people who care for me
Caring friendships including how to manage conflict
Respectful relationships including setting and respecting healthy boundaries
Online safety
Being safe including how to ask for advice or help

Health and Wellbeing including:

General wellbeing including the benefits of physical activity
Wellbeing online including positive and negative aspects of the internet
Physical health and fitness
Healthy Eating including what constitutes a healthy diet
Drugs, alcohol, tobacco and vaping
Health protection and prevention including personal hygiene
Personal safety including keeping safe around roads, railways and water
Basic first aid
Developing bodies including the correct name for body parts

Sex Education including:

Conception and birth in Years 5 and/or 6 as part of the science curriculum
Puberty

NB. Sex Education is not compulsory in primary school.

By the end of Secondary School, children will have been taught:

Relationships and sex education including:

Families including the different types of relationships
Respectful relationships
Online safety and awareness
Being safe including recognising, respecting and communicating consent and boundaries
Intimate and sexual relationships including sexual health

Health and wellbeing including:

Mental wellbeing including how to talk about emotions
Wellbeing online including identifying harmful behaviours online
Physical health and fitness
Healthy eating
Drugs, alcohol, tobacco and vaping including
Health protection and prevention including understanding the healthcare system
Personal safety including identifying risk
Basic first aid
Developing bodies including reproductive health

Source: Gov.uk: Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education guidance

Parents and RSHE

It is natural for children and teenagers to be curious about sex and relationships as they grow older, but for parents and carers this can be a very worrying time. Parents may worry their child is growing up too quickly or they may be worried about their safety.

‘Parents have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of sex education delivered as part of statutory RSE.’ Gov.uk

The Government Statutory guidance also states that ‘schools should take steps to pro-actively engage parents and make sure they are aware of what is being taught in RSHE.’

This might include:

Inviting parents into school to discuss the curriculum content
Discussing the importance of RSHE for wellbeing and safety
Discussing any concerns
Supporting parents in managing conversations with their children about RSHE topics

The NSPCC suggest the following when wanting to start a conversation with your child about sex and relationships:

Try to find a good time to start a conversation. Pick a time when your child’s relaxed and when there aren’t other people in your family around. You might want to have the conversation in a neutral place, such as on a walk or a bike ride, or even in the car, rather than somewhere at home where you might be interrupted.

It can help to make the conversation relevant to something that’s happened recently. For example, if you’ve been watching a TV series or film where one of the characters is in a relationship. You could ask your child what they think about the character’s relationship and if it’s healthy or unhealthy. Or if your child’s been learning about sex and relationships education in school, you could ask them how they’re finding this or what everyone in the class thought about it.

Try not to rush the conversation and let your child talk to you in their own time. It can help to have several short conversations rather than trying to cover everything at once. If your child feels uncomfortable, let them know that you’re there if they want to talk to you about relationships at a different time.

There is lots more advice on the NSPCC website if you are worried about your child’s relationship and/or want advice and information about a range of topics including Sexting and Grooming: Healthy relationships | NSPCC

If you have a younger child you may still be concerned about them hearing things about sex and relationships. The NSPCC Resource Talk PANTS helps children understand that their body belongs to them, and they should tell someone they trust if anything makes them feel upset or worried.

The Talk PANTS rules are:

Pants are private
Always remember your body belongs to you
No means no
Talk about secrets that upset you
Speak up, someone can help

Talk PANTS & Join Pantosaurus - The Underwear Rule | NSPCC

RSHE for pupils with SEND

Schools must make sure that RSHE teaching is accessible for pupils with SEND and prepares them for adulthood. They should be aware that pupils with SEND may be more vulnerable than their peers to things like harmful sexual behaviour, exploitation and violence, bullying and other issues.

RSHE and autism: it can be difficult to talk to young people about relationships and sexuality particularly if they are autistic. Autistic young people may take a little longer to process certain concepts and may struggle to understand ‘appropriate’ behaviour when it comes to relationships and sex. Source: https://www.autism.org.uk/

The National Autistic Society suggests parents and carers:

Find out what your child’s school will be teaching RSHE and when. By working with the school, you can help to ensure consistency between school and home explanations

For more advice: Sex education - a guide for parents

RSHE and physical disabilities: young people with physical disabilities may have anxiety about having a different body shape or image, may worry about how their body works and what others may think. They may have additional worries and questions about puberty, how they can have sex and whether they can have children.

Additional support from Leeds Mencap

Check out the rest of our Family Support offer. We have:

Weekly Chats and Tots coffee morning
Family Engagement and Advice workers who can offer advice, signposting and support
Lots of tips and resources on our website

Additional support and resources

This information is not affiliated with Leeds Mencap.

Read about supporting a SEND child with puberty from a parent’s perspective: Puberty! – Parenting Special Needs Magazine, Puberty and disabled teens | Family Lives

Watch a selection of short videos about autism, puberty and relationships: Bite-sized parent eLearning videos | Leeds for Learning

Read an article about sex education for disabled young people: We need more education on sex and disability - Fumble

Read SCOPE’s sex and disability advice: Sex and disability advice | Disability charity Scope UK