Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSE)

At Primrose Lane Primary School, we use The Christopher Winter Project: Teaching RSE with Confidence in Primary Schools to support the delivery of our Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSE) curriculum.

This comprehensive, inclusive resource supports us in meeting the statutory requirements for Relationships Education, Health Education and Sex Education. It provides clear guidance and structure to ensure that sensitive topics are taught accurately, appropriately and with confidence.

The scheme follows a progressive, spiral curriculum from Reception to Year 6, with children revisiting and building upon key knowledge and understanding as they move through the school. Through carefully planned lessons, a range of teaching approaches and active learning activities, children develop the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to navigate relationships, look after their physical and mental health and prepare for the next stages of their lives.

Our aim is to provide high-quality RSE that is inclusive, age-appropriate and relevant to the needs of our pupils, equipping teachers to deliver the curriculum with confidence and ensuring children feel informed, supported and safe.

RSE AND THE LAW

The Education Act 2002 sets out the statutory duties which maintained schools are required to meet: ‘Every state-funded school must offer a
curriculum which is balanced and broadly based and which: promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils
at the school and of society and prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life’.

The DfE released updated statutory guidance in July 2025. The guidance covers Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), Relationships
Education and Health Education. This update replaces guidance from 2019. The updated statutory guidance became mandatory in
September 2026.

The expectations on schools are as follows:

• Relationships Education is compulsory in all primary schools (or those pupils receiving primary education) – this includes academies, free
  schools and independent schools.
• Health Education is compulsory in all primary and secondary schools (or those pupils receiving primary or secondary education) – this includes
  all academies and free schools and is required in independent schools through the Independent School Standards.
• The DfE recommends that all primary schools have a sex education programme. Sex Education (apart from aspects of the science curriculum)
  is not compulsory in primary schools.
• All schools must have an up-to-date policy for Relationships Education or, where they teach sex education, for RSE. Policies should be
  developed in consultation with parents, pupils and teachers. The policy must be up to date, freely available and published on the school
  website.