Introduction
DfE resources to support implementation of the RSHE/RHE curriculum
NASUWT advice
1. Professional engagement
2. Support for teachers and school leaders
3. Equality and human rights dimensions of RSHE/RHE provision
4. Engagement with parents and the wider community
5. Dealing with conflicts and disagreements about RSHE/RHE
Dealing with sensitive topics
Introduction
This information sets out advice and guidance for members on important aspects of the teaching of relationships, health and sex education (RSHE) and relationships and health education (RHE) in schools in England. It:
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provides links to Department for Education (DfE) guidance and resources to support planning and teaching of the RSHE/RHE curriculum; and
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describes the principles that should guide schools’ policies and practices in relation to the RSHE/RHE curriculum.
Statutory guidance on the teaching of RSHE and RHE [i] came into force in England in September 2020.
DfE resources to support implementation of the RSHE/RHE curriculum
The DfE has produced guidance to support implementation of the RSHE/RHE curriculum. This includes guidance on planning the curriculum and can be found on the DfE web page Plan your relationships, sex and health curriculum.
It also includes guidance and resources to support the teaching of RSHE in secondary schools and RHE in primary schools. These include training modules for teachers that cover each of the topics set out in the RSHE/RHE curriculum and can be found on the DfE web page Teaching about relationships, sex and health.
The NASUWT advises teachers and school leaders to use the DfE guidance and resources to support planning and implementation of the RSHE/RHE curriculum. Teachers and school leaders should also use the NASUWT advice below when making judgements about the selection and use of resources.
NASUWT advice
All children and young people should be able to benefit from a broad, engaging and relevant RSHE/RHE programme of study. Effective development and implementation of RSHE/RHE programmes requires full account to be taken of the following principles of practice.
Meaningful engagement of teachers in discussions and decisions about the development and implementation of a school’s curricular provision is a critical element of effective teaching and learning. This is particularly important in respect of RSHE/RHE programmes, given the nature of the issues they address.
Such an approach enables the school to draw on the practical expertise and experience of classroom teachers. It enables teachers to develop a sense of ownership of their school’s curriculum and means that they are well placed to explain and promote the curriculum to parents, pupils and members of the wider community. Further, it helps the school to identify and address teachers’ development and support needs.
Teachers must have the guidance, support and resources they need to teach RSHE/RHE effectively. This support should include access to relevant training and development opportunities and, where appropriate, the ability to draw on external sources of advice and expertise. Teachers must not be expected to teach RSHE/RHE if they have not benefited from appropriate training.
RSHE/RHE programmes can cover matters that need to be handled with a great deal of sensitivity. It is critical, therefore, that teachers are not left to try to address these issues without support, including, where necessary, from senior leaders. Sensitive issues and support needs should be identified and addressed as part of the whole-school planning for RSHE/RHE.
Schools must ensure that planning and assessment requirements do not impose unnecessary and excessive workload burdens on teachers. Workload considerations must be built into the development of RSHE/RHE policy and practice from the outset. The workload implications of RSHE/RHE provision must be kept under regular review.
Schools must comply with their obligations under equalities and human rights legislation when they develop and implement their RSHE/RHE curriculum.
The Equality Act 2010 requires schools to ensure that they do not discriminate unlawfully against pupils or their parents on the basis of ‘protected characteristics’. These characteristics include religion or belief, sexual orientation, sex, race, disability and gender reassignment. [ii]
All state-funded schools are subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). [iii] The PSED requires that schools ‘have due regard to’ the need to:
- eliminate unlawful discrimination; and
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advance equality of opportunity and foster or encourage good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
Therefore, schools will need to establish how their RSHE/RHE provision will contribute to the school’s work to eliminate discrimination and actively promote equality and diversity.
While the content of the curriculum is explicitly excluded from the provisions of the Equality Act, the way in which it is delivered must not result in unlawful discrimination. [iv]
All maintained schools have a statutory duty to promote community cohesion. This duty is set out in funding agreements between academies and free schools and the DfE. [v]
Schools should recognise and act on their role in ‘building a fair, integrated and tolerant society by giving pupils the skills, knowledge and opportunities to learn with, from and about those from different cultures, beliefs and backgrounds and to develop shared values’. [vi]
The European Convention on Human Rights, given effect in the UK through the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998, is also relevant to schools’ RSHE/RHE provision.
Article 9 of the HRA protects the right to freedom of thought, education and conscience. In the context of state education, the implication of Article 9 is that ‘the state shall respect the rights of parents to ensure such education and teaching is in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions’. [vii]
Further, Article 10 of the HRA sets out rights in respect of freedom of expression, while Article 14 requires that all HRA rights are protected and applied in a way that does not result in discrimination on grounds including, sex, race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation and transsexual status.
In the context of RSHE/RHE, it is sometimes claimed that rights in respect of one protected characteristic can conflict with equality and human rights associated with other characteristics. For example, it is sometimes claimed that respecting rights of pupils and parents concerning religion and belief will constrain the ability of schools to promote LGBTI equality fully and that a choice has to be made on which set of rights should be given priority over others.
However, such ‘hierarchies of equality’ fail to reflect the critical principle at the heart of the Equality Act that equality is an indivisible fundamental human right meaning that it can never be acceptable to advance the position of those in possession of one particular characteristic to the disadvantage of those in possession of another.
Schools must respect and promote understanding of the fact that under Article 9 of the HRA, individuals have an absolute right to hold beliefs, however objectionable others might find these beliefs, as long as they are ‘serious, concern important aspects of human life or behaviour, [are] sincerely held, and [are] worthy of respect in a democratic society’. [viii]
In protecting and enhancing religious equality and rights, schools will also need to recognise that Articles 9 and 10 of the HRA give individuals a right to manifest and express their religious beliefs. [ix]
However, public bodies, such as schools, are not required to act in accordance with these views when doing so would undermine the rights and freedoms of other people. [x]. This means that the school’s RSHE/RHE curriculum may address issues to which parents object, if those issues are appropriate and enable the school to address its responsibilities in respect of advancing equality and respect for diversity.
It should be noted that all elements of the curriculum are subject to the requirement in the Education Act 1996 that they are ‘suitable to [the child’s] age, ability and aptitude’. [xi]. The NASUWT’s view is that, subject to this condition, schools must promote equality and take action to eliminate discrimination across all protected characteristics.
Parents and the wider community have an important stake in the curriculum accessed by their children. [xii]
The statutory guidance requires schools to consult parents when they develop and review their policy. [xiii] However, parents and members of the wider community do not have the right to overrule professional decisions made by teachers and school leaders about the content of schools’ RSHE curricula. Consultation does not create ‘a parental veto on curriculum content’. [xix]
Parents should be given a meaningful opportunity to engage in consultation on schools’ proposals for RSHE/RHE provision. It may be appropriate for schools to develop a consultation strategy involving a combination of meetings and opportunities to participate in writing. Schools will also need to ensure any accessibility and language requirements are addressed appropriately in the consultation process.
Parents should be given enough information about the school’s proposals to enable them to form a considered view. Provision of information is a critical element in developing and sustaining parents’ trust in the consultation process and creates a valuable opportunity to address any misconceptions that may arise about the school’s plans.
If schools are unable to accept views or proposals that arise during the consultation, the reasons for their rejection should be explained carefully.
Effective approaches to promoting community cohesion are based on schools developing a clear understanding of the communities they serve. This understanding will assist the school to understand sensitive issues and adopt appropriate strategies for implementing the curriculum.
For example, schools may contemplate linking their RSHE/RHE provision with the Government’s Prevent strategy. [xv] However, while Prevent places a duty on schools to take steps to tackle radicalisation and ‘prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’, some communities consider that Prevent has marginalised and stigmatised particular communities and served to fuel Islamophobia. As a result, parents and communities may be hostile to an approach that seeks to link RSHE/RHE with Prevent.
Schools need to ensure that all activities related to the Prevent duty, are taken forward in ways that comply with equalities and human rights legislation and their duty to promote community cohesion.
The NASUWT has produced comprehensive guidance on tackling Islamophobia, engaging effectively with the Prevent duty and addressing its associated requirement on schools to promote fundamental British values.
Where a school has undertaken meaningful consultation on its RSHE/RHE curriculum, it is possible that parents may remain unsatisfied with aspects of its intended programme of study.
As noted above, individuals have a qualified right to express their disagreement with a school’s curriculum under Articles 9 and 10 of the HRA. However, this right does not permit disagreement to be expressed in a violent, threatening or abusive way. This limitation on freedom of expression includes threatening and grossly offensive communications and behaviour that causes distress or alarm. [xvi]
All employers have a legal duty to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees. [xvii] This requirement includes taking steps to protect employees from harm that may result from the types of behaviour described above.
Where the behaviour of parents or others creates harm, or threatens to result in harm, the NASUWT will press employers to make sure that effective action is taken. This action will include:
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securing from the school a clear statement, communicated to all parents, that violence, threats and abuse in any form will not be tolerated;
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pressing the school to adopt a parent/school agreement or contract, setting out the rights and responsibilities of all members of the school community;
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insisting that a risk assessment of any parent or other individuals who present a foreseeable or ongoing and demonstrable risk to the safety of staff is undertaken as a matter of urgency, alongside appropriate control measures to protect staff;
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ensuring that all instances of violence, assault or threatening behaviour are reported to the police as soon as possible and at least within 48 hours of an incident occurring;
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ensuring that all instances of work-related violence are reported, recorded and investigated through the internal incident reporting procedure (the Health and Safety Executive defines work-related violence as ‘any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances related to their work’; [xviii])
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exploring the appropriateness of schools using their powers under section 547 of the Education Act 1996 to ban identified individuals from school sites. [xix]
In some cases, disagreements about schools’ RSHE/RHE programmes have resulted in demonstrations and protests outside school premises. When protests occur, the NASUWT’s highest priority is to protect its members’ legitimate interests, including their health, safety and welfare and their right to work in a calm and orderly environment. In such circumstances, the NASUWT will engage with school leaders, employers, the police and local authorities to ensure that all possible action is taken to ensure that members are kept safe and can continue to undertake their professional duties effectively.
Dealing with sensitive topics
It is worth noting what is said in the DfE’s Statuory Guidance on Relationships and Sex Education for Secondary Schools.
The focus of RSHE/RSE lessons should be on understanding safe and healthy relationships in an age-appropriate and inclusive way so that pupils can understand the benefits of healthy relationships to their mental wellbeing and self-respect.
Effective RSHE/RSE does not encourage early sexual experimentation. It should teach young people to understand human sexuality and to respect themselves and others.
Key aspects of the law relating to sex that should be taught include:
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the age of consent;
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what consent is and is not;
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the definitions and recognition of rape, sexual assault and harassment; and
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choices permitted by the law around pregnancy.
This should be delivered in a non-judgemental, factual way and allow scope for young people to ask questions in a safe environment.
There is no expectation to teach about sexual techniques and any requirement to teach about sexual techniques is not appropriate.
The DfE advice says:
The aim of RSE is to give young people the information they need to help them develop healthy, nurturing relationships of all kinds, not just intimate relationships. It should enable them to know what a healthy relationship looks like and what makes a good friend, a good colleague and a successful marriage or other type of committed relationship.
If you have any concerns about what you are expected to teach, you should speak to your NASUWT Rep to raise concerns and stress the need for staff training.
In all situations where the safety of members is at risk, support and advice should be sought from the NASUWT without delay. Please email the Member Support Advice Team.
The NASUWT is monitoring the DfE independent review of the sex and health education curriculum, which is due to be completed by the end of 2023, and will update this advice with any resulting changes to the curriculum and guidance.
Footnotes
[1] Department for Education (DfE). (2019). Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education. Available at: (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education), accessed on 1/2/22
[2] DfE. (2014). The Equality Act 2010 and schools. Available at: (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/315587/Equality_Act_Advice_Final.pdf), accessed on 1/2/22
[3] ibid
[4] ibid
[5] DfE (2024). Maintained schools governance guide. Available at: (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/governance-in-maintained-schools). Academy trust governance guide. Available at: (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/-governance-in-academy-trusts), accessed on 15/11/24
[6] Department for Children, Schools and Families/Training and Development Agency for Schools (2007). Promoting community cohesion: Employment the role of extended services. Available at: (https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/1279/7/3dec48eb-7335-4ec4-97c1-3e70307283b5_Redacted.pdf ), accessed on 1/2/22
[7] European Court of Human Rights. (2024). Guide on Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights. Available at: (https://ks.echr.coe.int/documents/d/echr-ks/guide_art_2_protocol_1_eng), accessed on 15/11/24
[8] Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). (2019). Article 9: Freedom of thought, belief and religion. Available at: (https://archive.equalityhumanrights.com/en/human-rights-act/article-9-freedom-thought-belief-and-religion), accessed on 1/2/22
[9] EHRC (2015). Freedom of expression. Available at: (https://archive.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/20150318_foe_legal_framework_guidance_revised_final.pdf), accessed on 1/2/22
[10] See, for example: Ladele v. London Borough of Islington [2009] EWCA Civ. 1357. Available at: (http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2009/1357.html), accessed on 1/2/22
[11] Education Act 1996 s.7(a)
[12] NASUWT (2013). Maintaining world class schools. Available at: (https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/advice/in-the-classroom/world-class-schools.html), accessed on 1/2/22
[13] DfEE. (2000). op.cit.
[14] DfE. (July 2020). ‘Relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education: FAQs’. Gov.UK. Available at: (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education-faqs), accessed on 1/2/22
[15] HM Government. (2015). Revised Prevent Duty Guidance for England and Wales. Available at: (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance/revised-prevent-duty-guidance-for-england-and-wales.) accessed on 1/2/22
[16] EHRC. (2015). op.cit.
[17] Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 s.2(1)
[18] Health and Safety Executive. (2019). Work-related violence. Available at: (http://www.hse.gov.uk/violence/), accessed on 1/2/22
[19] DfE. (2018). Controlling access to school premises. Available at: (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/controlling-access-to-school-premises/controlling-access-to-school-premises), accessed on 1/2/22
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