Subject Leader: Mr Laithwaite

Intent

Today’s children and young people are growing up in an increasingly complex world and living their lives seamlessly on and offline. This presents many positive and exciting opportunities, but also challenges and risks. In this environment, children and young people need to know how to be safe and healthy and also how to manage their academic, personal and social lives in a positive way. As a result of this, Relationship Education is now compulsory in all primary schools in England as is Health Education.

Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) is lifelong learning about physical, moral and emotional development. We want to be able to provide children and young people with key building blocks of being physically and mentally healthy, understanding relationships, including online contact and good digital wellbeing. Through delivery of RSHE, we aim to give your child the information they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing.

Implementation

Lessons are taught weekly to mixed-age classes and are delivered as part of a rolling programme. We follow an online scheme and using resources produced by Kapow Primary to ensure that it is planned and progressive, providing children with opportunities to revisit topics at different ages so that their knowledge and understanding develops as they mature.

Our teaching is split into 3 parts, one for each term: families and relationships, health and wellbeing and safety and the changing body. A variety of teaching methods will be used including circle time, video, discussion and direct teaching.

Although the Sex Education element of RSHE is not compulsory in primary schools, at Temple Sowerby CE Primary School we will continue to offer separate sex education lessons each year. This will be for Year 5 and 6 children only as part of a joint arrangement with other schools in the local area and will be delivered by a specialist teacher. Topics covered will include the changing adolescent body (body parts and puberty, including menstruation and emotional changes), conception, pregnancy and birth. Parents will have the right to withdraw their children from some or all of the sex education delivered.

Impact

Relationships Education will put in place the building blocks needed for positive and safe relationships, including with family, friends and online. Children will be taught what a relationship is, what friendship is, what family means and who can support them. In an age-appropriate way, we will cover how to treat each other with kindness, consideration and respect.

By the end of primary school, pupils will have been taught content on: families and people who care for me, caring friendships, respectful relationships, online relationships and being safe.

Health Education aims to give your child the information they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing, to recognise issues in themselves and others, and to seek support as early as possible when issues arise.

By the end of primary school, pupils will have been taught content on: mental wellbeing, internet safety and harms, physical health and fitness, healthy eating, facts and risks associated with drugs, alcohol and tobacco, health and prevention, basic first aid and the changing adolescent body.

Full details of how RHSE is taught at Temple Sowerby CE Primary School, including content, progression guides and information for parents, can be found in our policy. See the link below.

Note: 2026 Updates to the RSHE Policy

Schools are required to teach a new framework for Relationships, Sex and Health Education from September 2026. This review is designed to ensure the curriculum keeps pace with children’s lives today – strengthening expectations around parental transparency, providing clearer boundaries for primary content, and updating areas such as online safety and personal safety.

As a result, the teaching of RSHE at Temple Sowerby CE Primary School will be updated from September 2026, following a review of our curriculum and consultation with parents. Key changes include:

• Clearer boundaries for primary content, focusing on personal safety, healthy friendships, privacy, and recognising unsafe situations.
• Updated vocabulary guidance, including teaching correct names for body parts within a context of respect, privacy and boundaries.
• Earlier teaching about puberty, with menstruation introduced from Year 4 to ensure pupils are prepared before changes begin.
• Strengthened online safety content, including age limits for social media, risks around image‑sharing, online pressure, gaming safety and digital wellbeing.
• Enhanced personal safety and first aid, including rail and water safety, peer influence, and updated first aid expectations.
• Continued representation of diverse families, ensuring all children feel recognised and respected.