On 15th July 2025 the Department for Education (DfE) published a revised version of the Relationship, Sex and Health Education guidance (RSHE). The expectation is that schools will implement the changes by September 2026. The revised guidance has been published after a consultation process that ended in July last year. The outcome of the consultation is that some of the proposed changes have been left out, whilst others were adopted.

The main amendments to the guidance that schools need to know are:

1.   Addressing sexual harassment and sexual violence now has a dedicated section

The guidance states that preventing sexual violence and abusive behaviour starts at primary school. Pupils at secondary school are expected to be taught what constitutes sexual harassment and sexual violence, that they are both unacceptable and that it is never the fault of the person experiencing it.

In RSE lessons there should be opportunities for both boys and girls to “practise respectful communication and understand experiences which are different from their own, including menstruation and menopause”.

2.   Enhanced online safety and online misogyny

Risks concerning exposure to pornography and misogynistic influencers online are covered in the updated guidance. For secondary schools, there is a requirement to teach students on how to identify social media accounts that have been created using AI, are fake or post things which are not real. There is also content concerning how certain social media users may exaggerate and use extreme language.

There is a requirement that secondary school pupils must be taught about how indecent or sexual images of someone under 18 is a crime, as well as on the prevalence of deepfakes (including videos and photos), online scams and AI chatbots. There is also a focus on how some sub-cultures might influence understanding of sexual ethics, including the sexual norms endorsed by “incels” or online influencers.

3.   Age limits on topics and LGBT content

The DfE has decided not to introduce age limits on certain topics in the curriculum. Instead schools are expected to exercise their professional judgment as to when certain topics should be delivered.

There is revised LGBT related content that provides that primary schools should include same-sex parents in teaching about families. During secondary education, LGBT content should be a part of RSHE.

4.   Transparency with parents concerning RSHE materials

The obligation for schools is that they “must consult parents when developing and reviewing their RSE policies” and that they must show parents “… a representative sample of the resources that they plan to use…”. This is different from the draft consultation where it was stated that parents should have the right to see the content their children were being taught and that there should be no contractual restrictions in place on showing parents curriculum content.

Parents are not permitted to “veto curriculum content, but schools must consult with parents when developing their RSHE policy and it is right that they are able to see what their children are being taught, especially in relation to sensitive topics, and schools should respond positively to requests from parents to see the material”.

5.   General wellbeing and mental health

As part of the curriculum content to be covered by the end of primary, it is expected that pupils be taught that there are a range of emotions that they might experience in different situations and that “worrying and feeling down are normal, affect everyone at different times, and are not in themselves a sign of a mental health condition”. Further detail has also been added around building resilience and emotional regulation.

6.   Suicide prevention training

Amendments have been made concerning suicide prevention so that schools must consider how to safely address this sensitive issue by consulting mental health professionals and by putting in place training for staff.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to Thomas Emmett for support in amending policies, providing training or guidance connected to the updated RSHE guidance.