Revised statutory guidance on RSHE: key points for schools

The Department for Education (DfE) has finally published revised statutory guidance on Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education, and Health Education (RSHE) after a lengthy process of consultation and revision of the existing guidance. 

The new guidance, which all schools must follow, unless they have a good reason not to, will come into force in September 2026. Whilst this allows time to absorb the changes and adjust teaching and policy in time for the next academic year, it is worth starting this process sooner rather than later, because changes to policy, curriculum and engagement with parents and pupils will be required. 

The underlying legal position regarding the provision of RSHE and parents’ rights to withdraw their child from sex education remains the same, however, the guidance has had a fairly substantial overhaul – below, we highlight some changes of particular interest:

1. There are new “guiding principles” with clear emphasis on engagement with pupils and parents and transparency with parents. These run throughout the guidance, as well as more explicit references to the importance of RSHE in promoting wellbeing and good mental health.
2. There is more freedom and flexibility than was envisaged by the previous consultation draft, which proposed age limits around the teaching of certain content that many felt were not reflective of the experience of children today. Whilst the new guidance still summarises the teaching content for different stages, it also emphasises that “a school’s curriculum should be in line with the needs of the pupils”, for example, acknowledging that “in late primary, schools may decide to discuss the pressure to share naked images if this is affecting pupils at the school. There may also be cases, such as when they know that pupils have seen pornography, in which schools may feel the need to discuss online sexual content”. This is quite a shift from the previous guidance, which previously indicated these would be topics to cover by the end of secondary.
3. New curriculum content is to be introduced, for example, secondary age pupils will learn about AI generated images, misogyny and “incels”. The guidance now contains multiple references to tackling misogyny, including “both within and beyond the classroom”. Additional training for staff on misogyny may be beneficial – the guidance underlines the importance of staff acting as positive role models and challenging/avoiding the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes in a context that staff themselves may not have experienced at school, where “pupils may be exposed to online content which normalises harmful or violent sexual behaviours, which might include sexist and misogynistic influencers who normalise sexual harassment and abuse”. Schools should also consider whether their behaviour policies need updating to ensure they cover poor behaviour relating to misogyny.
4. From primary, teaching should aim to protect and prevent harm and encourage healthy relationships. This includes, for example: encouraging the use of correct terminology for body parts as part of health education (the guidance also describes this as “good safeguarding practice”); covering topics related to preventing sexual abuse in relationships education (which the guidance advises “can be done without describing the detail of any sexual activity involved”; and “in late primary, schools may decide to discuss the pressure to share naked images if this is affecting pupils at the school. There may also be cases, such as when they know that pupils have seen pornography, in which schools may feel the need to discuss online sexual content.” There is also more of an emphasis on building emotional resilience, for example “how to manage feelings, including disappointment and frustration” and more detailed information on online safety and awareness.
5. There is a significant shift from the previous guidance in relation to teaching about gender identity: the previous guidance stated that pupils should be “taught the facts about […] gender identity in an age-appropriate and inclusive way” whereas the new guidance states that schools “should not teach as fact that all people have a gender identity”. The new guidance instead says that pupils should be taught the facts and the law about biological sex and gender reassignment and that schools should “be mindful that […] there is significant debate, and they should be careful not to endorse any particular view or teach it as fact”. As schools are still expected to teach pupils about (and comply with) the law around equality and protected characteristics, and may well have pupils and staff with strongly held views and/or personal experience of this issue, striking the right balance in this area requires careful consideration. Further guidance for schools on how to deal with issues relating to gender is expected from the DfE and EHRC, and it will be important to factor this into RSHE teaching when it arrives. 

This is a non-exhaustive list and those responsible for developing RSHE in schools will need to read the guidance in full, but in summary, next steps will be:

• Proactive engagement and consultation with parents and pupils, ensuring that the principles of lawful consultation are observed (i.e. ensuring that those consulted have sufficient information and time to respond meaningfully, that the consultation takes place whilst proposals are still at a formative stage, and that responses are carefully considered and taken into account before making any final decision)
• Updating the school’s policy and curriculum relating to RSHE to reflect the new guidance (which should include consideration of links with other subjects and policies – e.g. safeguarding and behaviour) in time for implementation from September 2026
• Staff training
• Ensuring that the policy is published to parents, along with clear information about subject content, teaching materials/external providers, and the right to request their child is withdrawn from sex education

If you have questions or require further advice on this topic, please get in touch with your usual Stone King contact or Clare Wigzell.