New health and relationships lessons are compulsory from this term
What happened
From this term, every school in England has to teach an updated version of relationships, sex and health education, known as RSHE. The Department for Education published revised statutory guidance replacing the version schools had been working to since 2019. Schools were given until September 2026 to update their curriculum and their written policies. That deadline has now arrived. 'Statutory' means this is not optional. Schools are legally required to teach the content and to have an up-to-date written policy for relationships education, and where it applies, for relationships and sex education. Several things have been added. Among the changes highlighted by the PSHE Association and the National Governance Association: **Online safety and money.** Pupils will learn about financial risks online, including the way games are designed to encourage spending, and about scams, age restrictions on content, and what happens to their data. **Correct names for body parts.** Primary schools must now teach the correct names for body parts, including genitalia. This is a safeguarding measure. Children who can name what has happened to them are better able to be protected. **Personal safety.** New required content on fire safety and on risks around water, roads and railways. **Change and loss.** Bereavement is now included, with recognition that everyone grieves differently. **Vaping.** Vaping and nicotine addiction are now built into teaching about drugs and alcohol. **Relationship skills.** More emphasis on communication, assertiveness, setting boundaries, and managing difficult feelings including disappointment and loneliness. The guidance also adds new guiding principles, with a clear emphasis on engaging with pupils and parents, and on transparency.
Why this matters
Much of the public argument about RSHE is about the sex education part. That is understandable, but it means the health education part often gets missed, and for most families it is the part that will show up first. Take vaping. Vapes were barely on the radar when the 2019 guidance was written. They now are, in a big way, and children are using them. Teaching about smoking without mentioning vaping made less and less sense every year. That gap has now been closed. Take grief. Every school year, some children lose a grandparent, a parent, a sibling or a friend. Until now, whether that was ever spoken about in a classroom depended largely on whether an individual teacher chose to. Making it part of the curriculum means children learn that grief is normal, that it looks different in different people, and that there is nothing wrong with them for feeling what they feel. Take online money. A great many parents have discovered a surprising bill from a game their child was playing. Teaching children how those systems are designed is straightforward consumer education. And take the correct names for body parts. This one sometimes causes discomfort, so it is worth being clear about why it is there. It is a child protection measure recommended by safeguarding professionals. A child who has the words is far more able to tell an adult what has happened. The emphasis on engaging parents is a real change too. It means schools are expected to tell you what they are teaching and when, rather than leaving you to find out.
What the evidence actually says
A few clarifications, because this area attracts a lot of misinformation. Relationships education is compulsory in primary school. Sex education is not compulsory in primary school, although it is recommended for years 5 and 6, and parents keep the right to withdraw their child from it. Most of the existing health education content is unchanged. First aid, healthy eating and physical fitness were already in the curriculum and remain so. The additions are targeted rather than sweeping. On the evidence for teaching this at all: good quality relationships and health education is associated with better outcomes, including children being more likely to disclose harm and better able to recognise unhealthy relationships. It is not a magic solution, and the quality of teaching matters enormously. One genuine practical concern raised in the sector is capacity. Schools have been given the requirement, but RSHE is frequently taught by staff who are not specialists in it and who are fitting it around other duties. A curriculum change on paper only becomes real if there is time to plan it and someone confident to teach it. There is also work still to do on making the guidance work well for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, where content often needs to be taught differently and sometimes at a different stage.
Practical advice
**Ask for the policy.** Every school must have an up-to-date written policy. You are entitled to see it. Most schools publish it on their website; if you cannot find it, ask the office. **Ask when topics are taught.** Knowing that a class is covering bereavement or puberty in a particular half term lets you prepare at home, and lets you pick up the conversation afterwards rather than being caught out by it. **Know your rights, accurately.** Parents can request that their child be withdrawn from sex education, but not from relationships education and not from health education. Those are different things, and the school can explain which is which. **Use the vaping content.** If your child is coming home having learned about nicotine, that is an open door for a conversation. Children usually respond better to curiosity than to a lecture. Asking what they learned works better than telling them what to think. **Do not wait for school to raise grief.** If your family has had a bereavement, tell the school. They can only support a child if they know. Charities including Winston's Wish and Child Bereavement UK offer free guidance for families. **Engage rather than assume.** The new guiding principles explicitly ask schools to work with parents. That works both ways, and a calm question at a parents' evening will get you further than anything you read on social media.
What to know
Updated statutory RSHE guidance applies in all schools in England from September 2026, replacing guidance last updated in 2019. New or expanded content includes online financial risks and scams, correct names for body parts in primary school, fire and travel safety, bereavement and loss, vaping and nicotine addiction, and relationship skills such as boundaries and managing loneliness. Most existing health education content, including first aid and nutrition, is unchanged. Sex education is still not compulsory in primary schools, and parents keep the right to withdraw their child from sex education. Relationships and health education are compulsory. Schools are expected to engage with parents and be transparent about what they teach and when. Asking is welcomed. Sources: PSHE Association, 'The new statutory RSHE guidance: what's changed and what does this mean for primary schools?', https://pshe-association.org.uk/news/the-new-statutory-rshe-guidance-whats-changed-and-what-does-this-mean-for-primary-schools | National Governance Association, 'RSHE 2026: statutory changes you need to know', https://www.nga.org.uk/news-views/directory/rshe-2026-statutory-changes-you-need-to-know/ | Department for Education, 'Relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education', https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education This article is for general information about the school curriculum. It does not replace advice from your child's school, or from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional.
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