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The following policy refers to Relationships Education and Health Education at Acton Gardens Primary School. At our school, Relationships and Health Education focuses on teaching students about caring friendships, families, respectful relationships, online safety, general wellbeing, personal safety, growing up, and puberty, in line with the DfE guidance ‘Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education’ 2025. This guidance will be referred to as the ‘statutory RHE guidance’ throughout this policy.
Relationships and Health Education is a compulsory subject taught as part of our PSHE (Personal, Social, Health, and Economic) education from Nursery to Year 6. Our PSHE and RHE (Relationships and Health Education) curriculum is designed to help children grow up happy, healthy, and safe, providing them with age-appropriate knowledge and skills throughout their time at school. PSHE includes all elements of Relationships and Health Education as well as elements of citizenship and financial literacy.
Sex Education is included within the Relationships and Health Education curriculum for Year 6 and builds on the understanding of puberty and growing up, which is a required part of Health Education. Sex education in Year 6 specifically covers the scientific process of reproduction, including how a baby is conceived and born. While this is a statutory part of the National Science Curriculum, it is the only non-statutory element within Year 6 RHE lessons. It is, however, taught as part of the Relationships and Health education topic – ‘Developing bodies’. Further details on this curriculum can be found in Appendix 2.
The goal of Relationships and Health Education is to equip students with the life skills needed to make informed decisions and protect themselves from harmful or exploitative situations. It also supports their personal development, including their Spiritual, Moral, Social, and Cultural (SMSC) growth. This education promotes equality, explores human and social diversity, and fosters self-worth while encouraging the recognition, acceptance, and respect of differences.
Schools are required to comply with relevant requirements of the Equality Act 2010. Further guidance is available for schools in The Equality Act 2010 and school’s advice. The DfE guidance states that schools should pay particular attention to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).
Under the provisions of the Equality Act, schools must not unlawfully discriminate against pupils because of their age, sex, race, disability, religion or belief, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity, marriage or civil partnership, or sexual orientation (collectively known as the ‘protected characteristics’). Schools must also make reasonable adjustments to alleviate disadvantage and be mindful of the SEND Code of Practice when planning for these subjects.
As a maintained primary school, we must provide Relationships Education and Health Education to all pupils as per Section 34 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017. We are not required to provide sex education, but we do need to teach the elements of sex education contained in the science curriculum. Our school also delivers sex education as part of Relationships and Health Education to Year 6 pupils. This is the one non-statutory lesson within the curriculum, parents can withdraw their children from it. Parents do not have the right to withdraw from the rest of the Relationships and Health Education curriculum (see section 8).
In teaching Relationships Education and Health Education, we must have regard to the 2025 ‘Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education’ statutory guidance issued by the DfE under Section 80A of the Education Act 2002 and Section 403 of the Education Act 1996.
At Acton Gardens Primary School, we teach Relationships Education and Health Education as set out in this policy.
This policy has been developed in consultation with staff, pupils and parents. The steps taken to review the policy are as follows.
The DfE and Ofsted have clearly outlined aspects of Relationships and Health Education that are statutory in all primary schools, therefore some recommendations or comments made during the consultation process may not be reflected in the final policy as our school has to ensure we are meeting statutory guidelines.
1. Review – a member of school staff/members of the Relationships and Health Education working party looked through the existing Relationships and Health Education policy as well as local and national guidance for Relationships and Health Education. The working party then returned to the school’s policy and implemented any advice and changes from these local and national levels.
2. Staff consultation – Staff were consulted via an online RHE staff survey. The results of this survey informed the policy development and also informed additional support needed to enhance the delivery of RHE. Staff were also consulted via a staff meeting. All staff were sent the draft policy in advance of the staff meeting and were then invited to comment on the policy and make suggestions/amendments.
3. Parent consultation – Parents were consulted via an online RHE parent/carer survey. The results of this survey informed policy development and also identified additional work that was needed with parents to raise their awareness and knowledge of RHE in Acton Gardens Primary school. Parents were also consulted via a parent coffee morning. Parents were given the opportunity to look through the policy and offer comments/suggestions.
4. Pupil consultation – We consulted with pupils via the 2025 Health Related Behaviours Survey. The results of this survey were then used to inform the policy and inform the delivery of RHE in our school. A pupil focus group was also held so that pupils could feed into the content of the policy.
5. Governor consultation – Governors were consulted on this policy via a governor meeting. All governors were sent the draft policy in advance of the staff meeting and were then invited to comment on the policy and make suggestions/amendments.
6. Ratification – Once amendments were made, the policy was shared with governors and ratified. The policy was then ratified by the governing body in July 2026.
This policy will be reviewed every two years. This policy will be reviewed next on July 2028.
The aim of this policy is to enable the effective planning, delivery and assessment of Relationships and Health Education.
The intent of Relationships Education and Health Education at our school is to ensure all children have the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills to keep themselves happy, health and safe, now and in the future.
The aims of the curriculum are designed to:
Acton Gardens Primary School believes that Relationships and Health Education should meet the needs of all pupils. Our school is committed to the provision of Relationships and Health Education to all pupils and the differing needs of different students. All staff are expected to give every pupil the chance to experience and participate in a comprehensive understanding of Relationships and Health Education. Equal time and provision will be allocated for all groups, but there may be occasions where children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are given extra support. The school is committed to offering reasonable adjustments to any pupil(s) that may need them to be able to fully engage with Relationships and Health Education.
The planning and organising of teaching strategies will be consistently reviewed, e.g. through lesson observations, to ensure that no pupil is disadvantaged.
Content:
Our RHE curriculum is taught as part of our PSHE curriculum which is split into three main topics: Relationships Education, Living in the Wider World, and Health Education. Relationships and Health Education are divided across Autumn and Summer terms while Living in the Wider World is taught across Spring Term. Biological aspects of Relationships and Health Education are also taught within the science curriculum. A breakdown of what is covered in Science, Health Education and Relationships Education can be found in appendix 2.
As a school we use the Ealing PSHE Scheme of Work to deliver PSHE. This scheme was relaunched in September 2025 with updated resources to provide greater consistency in materials across the local authority. The Scheme of Work meets all statutory requirements for Relationships and Health Education. The Children and Social Work Act 2017, the Equality Act 2010 and Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2025 also underpin this curriculum. The updated Scheme of Work has been developed in collaboration with experts across the Local Authority including school staff as well as public health and race equality specialists.
Relationships and Health Education are mainly taught across Autumn and Summer terms. Autumn term explores friendships and personal health including physical and mental health. Summer term explores families and relationships with people in the community who can support us such as emergency services.
Health Education in Summer term for pupils in Year 3 onwards discusses developing bodies and the changes that will happen as children grow up. This sequence of lessons for Year 6 pupils culminates in the one sex education lesson which covers reproduction. This lesson builds upon the knowledge of the male and female reproductive systems which has been taught within health education lessons.
Themes related to Relationships and Health Education, such as keeping safe; personal boundaries; good and bad touch; healthy friendships; online safety; peer pressure; saying no; the PANTS rule; and families and people who care for me are also integrated into lessons throughout the school year to ensure a consistent spiraling approach to keeping pupils happy, healthy and safe.
Relationships Education:
At primary school, it focuses on relationships that are relevant to children at this life stage. Lessons focus on families, friends and other professionals who support children.
As defined in the statutory RSHE guidance, Relationships Education is categorised as teaching about the following topic areas which are covered in an age-appropriate way from EYFS to Year 6 (see appendix 2 for more detail):
• Families and people who care for me
• Caring friendships
• Respectful, kind relationships
• Online safety and awareness
• Being safe
When discussing family life, care is taken to ensure that there is no stigmatisation of children based on their home circumstances (families can include single-parent families, same-sex parents, families headed by grandparents, adoptive parents, foster parents/carers, and other structures) while also reflecting sensitively that some children may have a different structure of support around them (for example, looked after children or young carers). In addition, this supports the application of the statutory responsibility to uphold the Equality Act 2010 and is in alignment with the teaching of the Fundamental British Values (FBV) which promote mutual respect and tolerance.
Health Education:
As defined in the statutory RSHE guidance, Health Education is categorised as teaching about the following topic areas which are covered in an age-appropriate way from EYFS to Year 6 (see appendix 2 for more detail):
• General wellbeing
• Wellbeingonline
• Physical health and fitness
• Healthy eating
• Drugs, alcohol, tobacco and vaping
• Health protection and prevention
• Personal safety
• Basic first aid
• Developing bodies
These topics are taught at age-appropriate intervals between Nursery and Year 6. A significant proportion of these lessons are delivered in Autumn and Summer terms, however, themes are revisited throughout the year to ensure information is being applied to other relevant areas of the curriculum.
Developing bodies (puberty) is covered in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6. It is covered at this age to ensure children are prepared for the emotional and physical changes that will happen during puberty. Lessons around puberty begin by ensuring children understand the distinct stages of the life cycle. Children should recognise that whilst they are currently in childhood, these changes will begin and continue through adolescence and prepare their bodies for adulthood. Within these lessons, children will be taught about hormones, the reproductive systems of males and females, and the menstrual cycle. This content is introduced gradually from Year 3 onwards.
By Year 6, students will have a comprehensive understanding of the changes that happen during puberty and the workings of the male and female reproductive systems. It is at this point that the one sex education class is taught, which explains the scientific process in which the life cycle continues through reproduction and conception. This lesson covers the scientific process of fertilisation and how this correlates to the reproductive systems of males and females.
For more information about our Relationships and Health Education curriculum, see appendix 1-3. Appendix 3 outlines the learning questions (objectives) for Relationships and Health Education.
Delivery:
Relationships and Health Education will usually be delivered by a member of school staff, usually the child’s class teacher. If an external visitor is delivering all or some aspects of Relationships and Health Education, parents will be informed.
Relationships and Health Education is usually delivered in mixed gender groups other than when it is deemed more appropriate for topics to be covered in single gender groups.
Relationships and Health Education will be provided in age- and stage-appropriate ways and will meet the needs of various pupils. Reasonable adjustments will be made where necessary to ensure that all students can comprehend the curriculum covered in each year group.
Relationships and Health Education will be assessed as part of the wider PSHE curriculum.
Staff are aware that views around RHE related issues can be varied. Although it is nearly impossible to teach RHE in a values-free manner, teaching in a values-fair way is both feasible and recommended. When topics that can involve personal views are covered, pupils are taught without bias. Lessons focus on the scientific and legal positioning of these topics, while acknowledging the need to develop ethical decision-making skills. A variety of views and beliefs may be presented or discussed so that pupils are able to form their own informed opinions, but also respect others that may have different opinions or views. Teaching RSHE is aligned with supporting children’s moral, social, mental and physical development: ‘Children and young people need knowledge and skills that will enable them to make informed and ethical decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships… Effective teaching will support young people to cultivate positive characteristics including resilience, self-worth, self-respect, honesty, integrity, courage, kindness, and trustworthiness’ (Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education, p. 2). These are the types of values that are reflected in the RHE policy and curriculum, as well as in the school’s ethos.
Both formal and informal RSHE questions arising from pupils are answered according to the age and maturity of the pupil(s) concerned. Questions do not have to be answered directly and can be addressed individually later. Staff should respond to all student queries in a supportive way that does not shut down the pupil in a negative or harmful manner. It is an encouraging sign to see pupils directing questions to safer adults like teachers, as opposed to attempting to seek information from potentially incorrect, harmful or unsafe sources such as parts of the internet.
The school believes that individual teachers must use their skill and discretion in this area and refer to the Designated Safeguarding Lead if they are concerned.
The following are protocols teachers can follow for discussion (‘Ground Rules’).
• No one(teacher or pupil) will have to answer a personal question
• No one will be forced to take part in a discussion
• Only correct / agreed names for body parts will be used
• Meanings of words will be explained in a sensible and factual way
• The use of a question box may help to lessen embarrassment of asking questions
• Feelings of embarrassment or discomfort are normal, but students should be
reminded to practice maturity where possible. Students can ‘get the giggles out’ and take time to compose themselves, while being reminded not to behave in distracting or disengaging ways. Students can take breaks if needed
• Schools should make reasonable adjustments to RSHE curriculum for pupils with SEND. See Section 5 ‘Equal Opportunities.’
• Teachers may use their discretion in responding to questions and may say(for example):
– The best person to answer that question is your parent
– That question can be discussed one to one after class
– That topic will be covered at a later stage/year in PSHE
These ‘Ground Rules’ are supported by our school’s implementation of the new Ealing Scheme of Work, which includes both clear Teacher’s Guidance and safeguarding reminders in each lesson. Safeguarding reminders, called ‘PSHE Reminders’ in the Ealing Scheme of Work, include the PANTS rule, ROCK rules, Fundamental British Values (FBV) and online safety rules (SMART).
Training
Staff are trained on the delivery of RHE before they begin teaching it and it is included in our continuing professional development calendar.
The headteacher may also invite visitors from outside the school, such as school nurses or the Ealing Health Improvement Team, to provide support and training to staff teaching RSHE.
There may be rare occasions when a teacher is directly approached by a primary aged child who is sexually active, contemplating sexual activity and/or is being sexually abused. With respect to child abuse and protection procedures, staff will follow the school’s child protection and safeguarding policies.
Staff will also be referred to:
DfE’s 2025 ‘Keeping children safe in education’- statutory guidance for schools and colleges
Keeping children safe in education – GOV.UK
Working together to safeguard children 2023
Working together to safeguard children – GOV.UK
The school recognises that parents/carers are often the first educators of their children on matters related to Relationships and Health. As a school, we share the objective of wanting to keep children happy, healthy and safe, and we look to parents as partners in the delivery of Relationships and Health Education. Parents will be informed about the Relationships Education programme at the start of the summer term, as part of information provided on what their children will be learning.
The school will liaise with parents through:
• RHE workshops
• Newsletters
• School website
• Letter(Appendix 4)
The school encourages parents to discuss Relationships and Health Education with the headteacher, PSHE lead or the child’s class teacher. Parents are also invited to view materials used in the curriculum. This Relationships and Health Education policy will be available on the school website for parents.
Right to withdraw
Parents do not have the right to withdraw their children from statutory Relationships and Health Education lessons (see outline of Relationships and Health education in Appendix 2).
Parents also cannot withdraw their children from the statutory National Science Curriculum (see Appendix 2).
Parents have the right to withdraw their children from the non-statutory component of sex education, taught via one lesson in Year 6 only, within Relationships and Health Education (see Appendix 2). Requests for withdrawal from this lesson should be put in writing and addressed to the headteacher. In the event of a child being withdrawn from a lesson, that child must stay in school and will be assigned to another class until that specific lesson is over.
If you withdraw your child from the sex education lesson, the school cannot guarantee that your child will not hear about the content of the lesson from other pupils e.g. on the playground or walking home from school. By withdrawing children from sex education lessons, they may seek the information from elsewhere e.g. friends, siblings, or the internet. These sources of information are often incorrect and unreliable and can expose children to information which is not appropriate for their age.
We strongly encourage parents to engage with the school in a discussion around any concerns or questions they may have before withdrawing their child from this lesson. Please reach out to the headteacher should you be considering withdrawing from this lesson.
As female genital mutilation (FGM) is a non-statutory component of the primary curriculum, parents can withdraw their children from these lessons. The same protocol as described above will be followed. If you have any further questions about teaching FGM, contact the Ealing Health Improvement Team.
As stated in the DfE statutory guidance, RHE subjects and teaching should be monitored and evaluated. We plan to pursue continuous monitoring and evaluating of our subject content, delivery and training through ongoing targeted engagement with our school community.
Parents and carers will be consulted each year through a parent information session or a parent coffee morning, as mentioned in Section 3 and Section 8 regarding parent/carer consultation regarding this policy. Pupils are consulted on a wide-scale format every two years through the Health Related Behaviour Survey. Additionally, the Ealing PSHE Scheme of Work allows for organised pupil reflection during the first and last PSHE lessons each year. Such reflection activities will be kept and analysed by the responsible staff to assess areas for improvement in PSHE and RSHE. Furthermore, we will have targeted feedback opportunities for pupils after both lessons with external agencies and assemblies, likely in the format of a short survey. Importantly, PSHE/RSHE assessments through the Ealing PSHE Scheme of Work will also allow for continuous monitoring and evaluation of RSHE subjects and teaching, and staff will be expected to report back to the PSHE/RSHE Lead accordingly. Staff will be continuously consulted through lesson observations, staff meetings and surveys. We will explore areas of RSHE/PSHE that are going well, areas staff may need support in, and their ideas for what that support could look like. We will invite staff to share best practices with each other through small presentations such as sharing class PSHE floor books in staff meetings.
Sam Hackman is the member of staff who monitors and evaluates the implementation of Relationships and Health Education.
The governing board
The governing board will approve the Relationships and Health Education policy and hold the headteacher to account for its implementation.
The governing board has delegated the approval of this policy to the Curriculum committee.
The headteacher
The headteacher is responsible for ensuring that Relationships and Health Education is taught consistently across the school, and for managing requests to withdraw pupils from the non-statutory component of Relationships and Health Education, which is the one sex education lesson taught in Year 6.
The PSHE/RSHE Lead
The member of staff in charge of leading Relationships and Health Education must: o Ensure staff are trained and confident in delivering RSHE before it is taught
• Ensure materials are consistent and age-appropriate for use
• Liaise with parents to ensure they are aware of the curriculum
• Monitor and evaluate the delivery of RSHE across the school
• Regularly assess the impact of the delivery and effectiveness of RSHE by engaging with staff, pupils and parents
Staff
Staff are responsible for:
• Delivering Relationships and Health Education in a sensitive way
• Modelling positive attitudes to Relationships and Health Education
• Monitoring progress
• Responding to the needs of individual pupils
• Following school child protection and safeguarding procedures and protocols as
needed
Staff do not have the right to opt out of teaching Relationships and Health Education. Staff who have concerns about teaching this content are encouraged to discuss this with the headteacher.
Pupils
Pupils are expected to engage fully in Relationships and Health Education and treat others with respect and sensitivity when discussing RSHE related issues. Pupils should apply the knowledge and skills learnt within this curriculum to all areas of their life at the appropriate stages.
Parents and carers
Parents/carers should support their children within the home by engaging with the content delivered in Relationships and Health Education lessons. Parents should encourage children to continue using the correct terminology for body parts, be available to answer questions, and support children in making informed decisions about their health and wellbeing.
Committee with oversight of the policy
Curriculum Committee
Lead person
Sam Hackman
Approved by the Governing Board
July 2026
Document Title
Relationships & Health Education Policy
Next review
July 2028