Relationships, sex and health education (RSHE): requirements

Last reviewed on 23 May 2023
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 46603

Understand your requirements to teach relationships and health education in primary school, and RSHE in secondary school. Find out what you're expected to cover and understand parents' right to withdraw their children from sex education.

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Contents

  1. Your requirements
  2. Pupils can be withdrawn from sex education
  3. How Ofsted will inspect RSE 
  4. Expectations for what pupils should know 

Your requirements

All schools with a secondary phase (including all-through and middle schools) need to provide:

  • Relationships and sex education (RSE)
  • Health education

This is set out in the DfE's guidance. 

You must have an RSE policy

You need a policy in place and you must consult parents to develop and review it.

You must also publish a written statement of your RSE policy on your school's website. 

This requirement is outlined in sections 8 to 12 of the Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education (England) Regulations 2019. We clarified with the DfE what the written statement should include and it said the statement should contain the same information as the school’s RSE policy. 

Independent schools

All the requirements above apply, except around the new health education requirement, because you're already required to provide PSHE. 

Parents have the right to withdraw their child from part or all of

Also in this topic: Curriculum (all phases)
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