RSHE statutory guidance and planning your PSHE curriculum

Updated statutory guidance for relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education came into force on 1 September 2026, replacing the guidance schools had followed since 2019. For primary PSHE leads, it is a good moment to step back and check that the curriculum is complete, well sequenced and manageable to teach.

This guide summarises what primary schools are required to teach, how RSHE fits within a wider PSHE curriculum, what Ofsted looks for, and how to plan a programme that works in real classrooms, including mixed-age classes.

What is statutory in primary schools

In primary schools in England, two parts of the curriculum are compulsory:

• Relationships education, covering families, friendships, respectful relationships, online relationships and being safe
• Health education, covering mental wellbeing, physical health, healthy eating, internet safety, drugs, alcohol and tobacco, health and prevention, basic first aid, and the changing body

Sex education is not compulsory in primary schools, although the DfE recommends that schools have a programme tailored to the age and maturity of their pupils. Where a primary school teaches sex education beyond what is covered in the science curriculum, parents have the right to request that their child is withdrawn from those lessons. Parents cannot withdraw their child from relationships education or health education.

Every school must have a written RSE policy, developed in consultation with parents, and make it available on the school website.

What the 2026 guidance changes

The updated guidance was published in July 2025, giving schools a full year to prepare before it became statutory. It strengthens content in several areas that matter for primary schools, including online safety, healthy relationships and mental wellbeing, and it places a stronger emphasis on transparency with parents about what is taught and the materials used.

For most primary schools, the practical implications are:

1. Review your curriculum map against the updated content, checking that every statutory topic is covered and sequenced appropriately across the year groups.
2. Update your RSE policy to reflect the new guidance, and consult parents on it.
3. Check your teaching materials are suitable to share with parents if asked.
4. Make sure staff feel confident teaching the content, particularly topics that some colleagues find harder to teach.

Mental wellbeing in the statutory curriculum

Mental wellbeing is a core part of statutory health education. By the end of primary school, pupils should know, among other things, that mental wellbeing is a normal part of daily life in the same way as physical health, how to recognise and talk about their emotions, simple self-care techniques, and where and how to seek support, including whom in school they should speak to if they are worried about themselves or others.

This is where PSHE and a school’s wider wellbeing work overlap most clearly. Children are far more likely to recognise and talk about their emotions if they have been taught a shared vocabulary for feelings and have practised strategies to manage them over several years, rather than in a single unit.

What Ofsted looks for

Ofsted’s personal development and wellbeing evaluation area makes RSHE an explicit part of the expected standard. To meet it, a school needs a suitable relationships and health education programme, and relationships, sex and health education where relevant, that is well taught.

Inspectors also look at whether the personal development programme is broad, coherently planned and suited to the school’s context, and whether staff have the knowledge and skills to teach it, in line with the best available evidence. At the strong standard, the impact of the personal development programme is clear in pupils’ outcomes and experiences.

For PSHE leads, that means inspectors are likely to look at three things: whether the curriculum covers what it should, whether it is taught consistently well across the school, and whether pupils can talk about what they have learned.

The challenges PSHE leads describe

When we talk to primary PSHE leads, the same challenges come up again and again:

• Workload. Many leads describe their current scheme as creating more work than help, with lessons that are long, heavy to prepare or difficult to adapt. They want resources they can pick up and teach with minimal preparation.
• Mixed-age classes. In smaller schools, class structures often change from year to year. A curriculum that assumes single-age classes is hard to deliver without gaps or repetition.
• Staff confidence. Some topics, particularly those in relationships and sex education, can make colleagues nervous. Leads want clear, age-appropriate materials and guidance that help every teacher feel confident.
• Making the case. PSHE leads rarely hold the budget. They need clear information to share with headteachers and governors about coverage, workload and impact.

Planning a PSHE curriculum that works

A strong primary PSHE curriculum has a few common features, whichever resources you use.

1. Start with a clear long-term plan. Map every statutory topic across the school, so that each is introduced, revisited and built upon. A spiral curriculum, where topics return each year at greater depth, helps children consolidate their learning.
2. Build in flexibility for mixed-age classes. If your class structures change, use an editable long-term plan that can be reorganised without losing coverage. Cycle A and cycle B plans are a common approach.
3. Keep lessons manageable. One-page lesson plans with ready-made resources make it far more likely that every teacher delivers the programme consistently.
4. Connect PSHE with wellbeing. Mental wellbeing content is most effective when it uses the same language and strategies children learn across the rest of school life. Separate schemes with different vocabulary can confuse children and make it harder for staff to reinforce learning.
5. Go beyond the statutory minimum where it helps. Non-statutory PSHE content, such as economic wellbeing, can round out the curriculum and prepare children for life beyond school.
6. Assess and evidence learning. Simple ways to capture what children know before and after a unit help you show impact to leaders, governors and inspectors.
7. Communicate with parents. Share your RSE policy, explain what is taught and when, and offer opportunities for parents to see the materials. Transparency builds trust and reduces concerns.

Teaching sensitive topics with confidence

Some RSHE topics can feel daunting, for new teachers and experienced colleagues alike. A few well-established classroom practices help every teacher feel more confident and keep lessons safe for pupils.

Agree ground rules together. At the start of each unit, agree a short set of class rules: listening respectfully, not asking personal questions, using correct terms, and knowing that it is fine to pass. Revisit them at the start of each lesson.

Use distancing techniques. Stories, characters and scenarios allow children to explore situations without talking about their own lives. This protects privacy and makes it easier for children to discuss difficult ideas.

Offer an anonymous question box. Children often have questions they do not want to ask in front of the class. A question box lets teachers prepare age-appropriate answers, or follow up individually where needed.

Use correct vocabulary. Teaching children the correct names for body parts is part of the statutory curriculum and an important safeguarding protection. Consistent language across the school helps.

Know when to pause and refer. Teachers should know what to do if a child discloses something that raises a safeguarding concern, and follow the school’s safeguarding procedures. RSHE lessons sometimes prompt disclosures, so it helps to plan for this.

Signpost support. Every lesson on wellbeing or relationships should end with children knowing whom they can talk to in school, and where else they can find help.

Support staff, too. Short, practical CPD before a new unit, and the chance to talk through any concerns with the PSHE lead, makes a significant difference to staff confidence.

Linking RSHE with safeguarding and online safety

Relationships education is one of the main ways schools help children keep themselves safe. Content on families, friendships, respectful relationships, online relationships and being safe helps children understand what healthy relationships look like, recognise when something is not right, and know how to get help.

Online safety is a growing part of this work. Children encounter online content, games and messaging at increasingly young ages. Teaching them to think critically about what they see online, to recognise unkind or risky behaviour, and to tell a trusted adult when something worries them is now as essential as teaching road safety.

Joining up RSHE with the school’s safeguarding approach, so that the language children learn in lessons matches the language adults use when concerns arise, strengthens both.

Involving pupils

Pupil voice is a valuable source of evidence when planning and reviewing PSHE, and it is easy to overlook when the focus is on meeting statutory requirements. Short surveys, class discussions and conversations with a sample of pupils can show what children already know, what they are worried about and which topics they would like to explore further. It also gives PSHE leads useful evidence of impact to share with leaders and governors, and reflects the kind of conversations inspectors have with pupils.

A checklist for PSHE leads

Use this checklist to review your provision this term:

• Our curriculum map covers every statutory relationships education and health education topic in the updated guidance.
• Our RSE policy has been updated, consulted on with parents and published on our website.
• Our long-term plan works for our current class structures, including any mixed-age classes.
• Every teacher has access to ready-to-teach lessons and feels confident to deliver them.
• Mental wellbeing content uses the same language as our wider wellbeing approach.
• We can show what pupils have learned and the difference it has made.
• Parents know what is taught and can see the materials if they ask.

Mixed-age classes in practice

Mixed-age teaching is common in smaller primary schools, and it is one of the biggest practical challenges for PSHE leads. A two-year rolling programme, often called cycle A and cycle B, means each class covers the full curriculum over two years without repeating content. The key is that each topic is taught at a level suitable for the range of ages in the class, with adaptation for the youngest and extension for the oldest. An editable long-term plan makes it far easier to reorganise when class structures change.

Making the case to leaders and governors

If you are proposing changes to your PSHE curriculum, headteachers and governors will usually want to know four things:

1. Coverage. Does the curriculum meet every statutory requirement in the updated guidance, and how will it stay up to date?
2. Workload. How much preparation will teachers need, and how will it work with our class structures?
3. Quality. How will we make sure every class receives well-taught lessons, and how will staff be supported?
4. Impact. How will we know pupils are learning, and how will we evidence it for inspection?

A one-page summary answering these questions, with a curriculum map attached, is often all that is needed to secure a decision. Sharing an example lesson, or inviting a senior leader to see one taught, can help too.

Where myHappymind fits

myHappymind PSHE is a programme enhancement that adds a complete PSHE curriculum to myHappymind Primary, our whole-school wellbeing programme. Because both share one platform and one language, children learn about mental wellbeing using the same words and strategies they use across the rest of school life.

myHappymind PSHE offers:

• 100% statutory PSHE and RSHE coverage, including sex education, kept up to date as requirements change
• further non-statutory content to complete your PSHE curriculum
• engaging, ready-to-teach lessons with no extra preparation
• one-page plans for every lesson
• editable long-term plans that work in mixed-age classes
• an RSHE and PSHE policy builder to help you write and update your policy

Alongside it, the five myHappymind modules give children a deep grounding in mental wellbeing. Meet Your Brain teaches how the brain works and how to manage strong feelings. Relate builds active listening and positive relationships, and 96% of teachers say their children now understand the importance of positive relationships and what they need to do to build them. Celebrate builds confidence and self-esteem, and Engage builds resilience and perseverance.

Next steps

The updated RSHE guidance is a chance to make sure your PSHE curriculum is complete, coherent and manageable for every teacher. If you are reviewing your provision this year, book a short live tour to see how myHappymind PSHE works alongside our wellbeing curriculum.

Book a live tour