The British Department for Education (DfE) has published the Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education statutory guidance.

From September, all primary and secondary schools across England will be expected to implement the guidance, although it will only fully come into force on 1 September 2026 in England.

“Children are increasingly exposed to harmful content online, including misogynistic attitudes and unhealthy views about relationships”, underlines the guidance.

That is why the aim of this document is “to help teachers navigate these challenges and support children to develop positive attitudes”.

It contains “information on what schools should do” and “sets out the legal duties with which schools must comply when teaching relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education”.

Primary and secondary school children

The guidance “is designed for trustees, governors and school staff leading either independent, free, academies, pupil referral units and/or faith schools for primary or secondary school aged children”.

Primary school children will learn “about positive relationships between friends and family”, to “build the foundation for understanding respect and kindness in all relationships whilst making sure kids know how to be safe and recognise what counts as abusive behaviour so they can ask for help if they need it”.

Meanwhile, “in secondary school, pupils learn about consent, and lessons focus on helping teenagers understand consent as well as kindness and respect as they’re getting ready for more intimate relationships. They will learn to identify positive role models and understand how to challenge harmful attitudes they might encounter online”.

LGBT relationships and gender

The guidance defers to the school “to determine when it is age appropriate to teach children about LGBT relationships”.

Moreover, “pupils should be taught the facts and the law about biological sex and gender reassignment”, but schools should be mindful that “there is significant debate” and staff should not “endorse a particular view or teach it as fact.

For example, “they should not teach as fact that all people have a gender identity”, and should also “be mindful to avoid any suggestion that social transition is a simple solution to feelings of distress or discomfort”.

Parents’ rights and religious freedom

According to the document, parents will “have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from some or all of sex education delivered as part of statutory RSE”, and must be allowed to view materials used.

“The good news for parents is that the guidance encourages you to be faith explicit when raising concerns about the content taught under RSE and Health Education in primary or secondary school”, says Alicia Edmund, head of public policy, of the UK Evangelical Alliance (EAUK).

That permission “is crucial when teaching children about online safety, particularly in light of the rising concerns around access to pornography and peer-to-peer incidences of sexual violence”, she adds.

At the same time, “RSE should be sensitive to the religious background of pupils”, and schools with a Christian ethos are granted permission to share a biblical perspective on topics of family, relationships and sex.

“We welcome the guidance on giving due regard to the faith background of the child and of schools with a religious ethos. This has been something we have campaigned on for years and engaged with former and present government ministers about”, points out Edmund.

“A small victory for Christian families”

For the EAUK head of public policy, the publication of this guidance is “a small victory for Christian families”.

“Jesus cares deeply about the educational attainment of children and teenagers, but He cares far more that the younger generation would know Him as Lord and everlasting Father. As parents, church leaders and extended church family, our contribution into a child’s life is to encourage them to know the Lord and, once that commitment has been made, to nurture them to remain in fellowship with Him”, stresses Edmund.

The EAUK will be hosting an online webinar this autumn “to equip parents on how to engage positively with their school and how to teach and discuss a biblical sexual ethic with children and young people at an age suited to their social development”.

You can read the full guidance here.