Updated statutory guidance for Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education comes into force in England on 1 September 2026.
The revised guidance reflects the changing challenges faced by children and young people, including social media, online misogyny, artificial intelligence, vaping, image-based abuse and harmful online content.
Schools should now review their curriculum, policies, resources and staff training to ensure they are ready for September.
1. The new guidance becomes statutory in September 2026
The revised guidance replaces the previous version and applies from 1 September 2026.
Schools must meet the legal requirements within the guidance and give proper consideration to its wider recommendations.
This means schools should not simply add a few new lessons. They need to review how Relationships Education, RSE and Health Education are planned, taught and monitored across the school.
2. Every school needs an up-to-date RSE policy
Schools must have a written policy covering Relationships Education or RSE, depending on the age range they teach.
The policy should explain:
- what pupils will be taught;
- when different topics will be introduced;
- who will teach the lessons;
- how external providers will be used;
- how parents can view materials; and
- how withdrawal requests will be handled.
The policy should be easy to find on the school website and understandable to parents.
3. Parents should be meaningfully consulted
Parental consultation should involve more than sending out a policy and asking for comments.
Schools should give parents clear information about the curriculum, explain why particular topics are included and provide opportunities to ask questions.
Parents do not determine the curriculum, but their views should be listened to and treated respectfully.
Early and open communication is likely to prevent confusion and conflict later.
4. Parents should be able to view teaching materials
Schools should make RSE and Health Education materials available to parents on request.
This may include lesson slides, worksheets, videos, books and resources produced by external organisations.
Schools should also provide a representative sample of materials when consulting parents about the curriculum.
Copyright restrictions may affect how resources are shared, but they should not be used as a reason to prevent parents from seeing what their children are being taught.
5. Schools remain responsible for external providers
External speakers and specialist organisations can add valuable expertise, but the school remains responsible for every lesson delivered.
Leaders should check:
- the provider’s experience and suitability;
- the lesson content;
- the language and images used;
- the safeguarding procedures;
- the accuracy of the information; and
- whether the session matches the school’s policy.
A school cannot outsource responsibility for sensitive curriculum content.
6. RSE should be carefully sequenced
The curriculum should not consist of isolated assemblies, awareness days or disconnected lessons.
Knowledge should build gradually as pupils move through the school.
For example, pupils should understand privacy, boundaries, trusted adults and respectful friendships before moving on to more complex ideas about consent, power and intimate relationships.
Schools should ask not only what pupils need to learn, but also when they need to learn it.
7. Pupil voice should inform the curriculum
Schools should listen to pupils when reviewing RSE and Health Education.
Surveys, anonymous question boxes and carefully managed discussions can help identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge.
Pupil voice can also reveal emerging concerns, such as harmful online trends, pressure within relationships or confusion about consent.
However, the curriculum should not be driven entirely by whatever pupils ask about. It must remain planned, age-appropriate and protective.
8. Teaching must be inclusive and accessible
RSE should recognise that pupils live in many different types of families.
Teaching should be respectful of:
- single-parent families;
- adoptive and foster families;
- same-sex parents;
- kinship care;
- blended families; and
- families with different religious and cultural beliefs.
Schools must also ensure that pupils with SEND can understand and access the curriculum.
This may require simpler language, visual resources, repeated teaching, smaller-group work and carefully chosen examples.
9. Primary teaching should establish strong foundations
Primary Relationships Education should focus on friendships, families, kindness, respect, privacy, personal boundaries and asking for help.
Children should learn:
- how healthy friendships feel;
- how to recognise unkind or unsafe behaviour;
- that private parts are private;
- the correct names for body parts;
- how to identify trusted adults; and
- what to do when something makes them uncomfortable.
Puberty should be taught before pupils are likely to experience significant physical and emotional changes.
The aim is not to introduce inappropriate detail, but to give children the knowledge and language needed to stay safe.
10. Consent should be taught in a wider context
Consent should not be reduced to a simple lesson about saying yes or no.
Pupils should also learn about:
- pressure;
- fear;
- manipulation;
- power imbalances;
- respect;
- communication; and
- the right to change their mind.
They should understand that a healthy relationship requires kindness, honesty and care, as well as legal consent.
Schools should help pupils recognise situations where someone may appear to agree but does not feel safe, comfortable or free to choose.
11. Schools must address misogyny and harmful stereotypes
The revised guidance gives greater attention to misogyny, sexism and harmful attitudes towards women and girls.
Pupils should learn how stereotypes, online content and peer pressure can shape attitudes and behaviour.
Schools should also promote positive ideas about masculinity and avoid presenting boys as problems simply because they are boys.
When a pupil expresses a harmful opinion, staff should challenge the idea clearly without humiliating or permanently labelling the pupil.
Education should create the possibility for attitudes to change.
12. Pornography and online influencers need careful discussion
Some pupils will encounter pornography or influencers who promote distorted ideas about relationships, gender and power.
Secondary pupils should understand that pornography can:
- create unrealistic expectations;
- normalise harmful behaviour;
- affect attitudes towards consent;
- encourage objectification; and
- influence how people view relationships.
Teachers should not unnecessarily direct pupils towards harmful individuals or websites.
The focus should be on developing critical thinking and helping pupils recognise manipulation, misinformation and unhealthy messages.
13. Online safety now includes deepfakes and sextortion
Online safety teaching needs to reflect the growing use of artificial intelligence and image manipulation.
Pupils should learn about:
- AI-generated sexual images;
- deepfakes;
- sharing intimate images;
- online grooming;
- sexual harassment;
- blackmail;
- sextortion; and
- how to report harmful content.
Schools should make it clear that pupils will be supported when they ask for help.
Fear of blame or punishment can prevent young people from reporting serious concerns.
14. Health Education reflects newer risks
Health Education should address risks that have become more prominent in recent years.
This includes:
- vaping;
- nicotine addiction;
- nicotine pouches;
- illicit or counterfeit vapes;
- alcohol misuse;
- drug misuse;
- drink spiking;
- counterfeit medicines; and
- gambling.
Pupils should understand that these products and behaviours can affect physical health, mental health, finances, relationships and decision-making.
Teaching should move beyond simply telling pupils not to do something and help them understand how pressure, advertising and addiction can influence behaviour.
15. Personal safety extends beyond relationships
The guidance also includes wider aspects of personal safety.
Primary pupils should learn about risks associated with:
- roads;
- railways;
- level crossings;
- water; and
- emergencies.
First-aid teaching should include how to make an effective emergency call.
Pupils should also understand that helping, reporting or seeking assistance is more important than filming an accident or emergency on a phone.
Schools should identify clearly where these topics are taught across PSHE, science, physical education and other parts of the curriculum.
16. Sensitive mental health topics require specialist care
Schools should help pupils understand emotions, loneliness, resilience, setbacks and how to seek support.
More sensitive topics, including self-harm, suicide and eating disorders, require careful planning.
Schools should ensure that:
- staff are properly trained;
- materials are evidence-based;
- language is carefully chosen;
- lessons do not include harmful detail;
- vulnerable pupils are considered; and
- appropriate support is available afterwards.
These topics should not be introduced simply because they appear in the guidance. Schools should consider age, maturity, context and professional advice.
17. Withdrawal rights remain limited
Parents may request that their child is withdrawn from some or all sex education taught as part of RSE.
They cannot withdraw a child from:
- Relationships Education;
- Health Education;
- safeguarding content; or
- relevant parts of the science curriculum.
In primary schools, parents can normally withdraw children from sex education that goes beyond the science curriculum.
In secondary schools, headteachers should discuss the request with parents before making a decision.
As pupils approach the age of 16, they may have the right to choose to receive sex education even where a parent previously requested withdrawal.
What schools should do before September
Schools should use the remaining preparation time to:
- audit the existing curriculum;
- update the RSE policy;
- consult pupils and parents;
- check every teaching resource;
- review external providers;
- identify gaps in online safety teaching;
- improve provision for pupils with SEND;
- train staff to handle sensitive discussions;
- prepare staff for safeguarding disclosures; and
- make clear where each requirement is taught.
The revised guidance should not be treated as another compliance exercise.
Used well, it offers schools an opportunity to build a more carefully sequenced, realistic and protective curriculum that prepares pupils for the relationships, health decisions and online challenges they may face.
This article is based on publicly available guidance and is intended as a practical overview. Schools should also read the full statutory guidance when reviewing their provision.