We have created this resource to support you in navigating RSE/RSHP in schools and in the home.
We hope this resource, which will organically build over time, will reflect the questions you want help in answering for yourself and to .
Questions covered:
Questions children ask about:
Please look through the questions and search to find answers to your questions. If you cannot find the question, please submit it through the form below.
In primary schools, Relationships and Health Education, not sex education classes is statutory.
As the government recommends sex education classes in primary schools, most schools teach it often in year 5 and/or year 6. Refer to the RHE/RSE policy of your child’s school for specific details reflecting practice at your child’s school.
In secondary schools, Relationships, Sex and Health Education is statutory.
Refer to the RSE policy of your child’s school for specific details reflecting practice at your child’s school.
In primary schools, you can withdraw from non-statutory sex education classes.
In secondary schools you can withdraw from the sex education element of RSE until your child turns 15.
You have the absolute right to withdraw from non-statutory sex education classes in your child’s primary school. The RHE/RSE policy should explain the process by which you withdraw. It will usually say once you make a request, you will be invited to meet the head teacher, who will explain the possible impact of withdrawal on your child. The school may seek to get you to re-think your decision. The head teacher may tell you your child may receive second hand information from classmates or seek information from other less than reliable sources.
Your child will be placed in another class or given some work to do whilst the sex education class is taking place.
You have the legal right to request withdrawal from non-statutory sex education classes in your child’s secondary school. The RSE policy should explain the process by which you request withdrawal.
Although the head teacher has the right to decide whether to accept your request, they should allow you to withdraw unless there’s a compelling reason to refuse. This is rare.
Once you make a request, you will be invited to meet the head teacher, who will explain the possible impact of withdrawal on your child. The school may seek to get you to re-think your decision. The head teacher may tell you your child may receive second hand information from classmates or seek information from other less than reliable sources.
Your child will be placed in another class or given some work to do whilst the sex education class is taking place.
Three terms before your child turns 15 he/she will be asked whether they wish to remain withdrawn. If they agree to remain withdrawn nothing changes. If they request to opt-in, they will attend a sex education class within one of the three terms remaining in year 11.
You have the legal right to request withdrawal from non-statutory sex education classes in your child’s secondary school. The RSE policy should explain the process by which you request withdrawal.
Although the head teacher has the right to decide whether to accept your request, they should allow you to withdraw unless there’s a compelling reason to refuse. This is rare.
Once you make a request, you will be invited to meet the head teacher, who will explain the possible impact of withdrawal on your child. The school may seek to get you to re-think your decision. The head teacher may tell you your child may receive second hand information from classmates or seek information from other less than reliable sources.
Your child will be placed in another class or given some work to do whilst the sex education class is taking place.
Three terms before your child turns 15 he/she will be asked whether they wish to remain withdrawn. If they agree to remain withdrawn nothing changes. If they request to opt-in, they will attend a sex education class within one of the three terms remaining in year 11.
No, it isn’t.
Schools are required to include teaching about ‘LGBTQ+’ people by the time children leave secondary school but there’s no specific requirement in primary schools
The government has recently clarified this.
“Primary schools are not required to teach LGBT content but can choose to teach it in an age-appropriate way. The Department for Education has no plans to change its advice to schools on this subject.” (https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/630932)
A minority of primary schools have chosen not to teach about same-sex families.
Parents can and should remind their child’s primary schools that they can exercise their right not to teach about same-sex families in Relationships Education classes.
Schools must be politely reminded that they have a legal duty not to promote one sexual identity over another.
Schools must follow the law to ensure when teaching about values, teaching is objective, critical and pluralistic.
Schools must provide a range of views on a given subject, commonly held within society. This also means providing a range of factual information on RSE issues. In all schools, where they explore specific beliefs or views, this must include a range of other faith and non-religious views on the issue.
This is explained in the European Court of Human Rights judgement as set out in Dojan and Others v. Germany,
The Court held that the state “must take care that information or knowledge is conveyed in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner.”
The ECHR judgement is applicable to English law.
The government has set out what topics and learning outcomes are statutory in primary and secondary school. Whilst the topics and learning outcomes are fixed, it has afforded schools flexibility to adapt teaching in two ways:
⦁ When – When the topics and learning outcomes should be taught are not set out. So a school can decide to teach a learning outcome earlier or later, as long as the primary requirements are met by the end of primary school and the secondary requirements are taught by the end of secondary school.
⦁ How – The government has not mandated any resources. None of the resources are statutory in their own right. Therefore a school can choose which materials it uses or not. Most schools will buy a resource from a profit making company.
The materials providers tend to set out concretely, what should be taught and how it should be taught. A school is under no obligation to follow their interpretations.
They should work closely with parents when developing their programmes, to ensure their materials are appropriate.
Parents should ask to see the resources/materials. They help you to understand what your child is being taught and it also helps you to raise any concerns about materials you deem to be inappropriate.
Schools have a legal obligation to show you the resources. It’s important to understand why your child’s school is refusing to show you its materials/resources. Many schools believe they cannot show you the materials/resources. This is because when they purchased the resources from commercial companies, they signed an agreement agreeing not to share the resources with third parties.
The Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, wrote to schools on 31 March 2023 and 24 October 2023, reminding schools they should share curriculum materials with parents. It also clarifies that the Department for Education considers contractual obligations that schools sign to be void and do not prevent schools from showing parents the materials.
When you ask to see the materials a school may share a link to the resources on its school portal or ask you to come in and view them.
You should aim to identify and remove aspects of the resources/materials that are:
⦁ Explicit:
⦁ Age-inappropriate:
⦁ Promote ‘sexual orientations’
In recent years, one of the most frequent queries we’ve received from parents nationwide concerns schools teaching children as young as five or six the names of sexual or intimate body parts. It has become common practice for schools to introduce vocabulary such as penis, vagina, vulva, anus, and testicles to children in Year 1 or Year 2.
Schools assert that this is important for several reasons.
However, the specific vocabulary is not detailed in the curriculum.
Therefore, teaching particular terms to children is an interpretation of the curriculum, not a direct requirement of it.
Schools contend that children must know ‘the scientific names of body parts’ for two reasons.
Firstly, it is claimed that the lack of correct terminology has led to the collapse of court cases. However, when local authority experts and teachers, who make this claim, have been asked to provide an example of a single court case that has collapsed for this reason, they have been unable to do so. This is because it is not true. Courts are very sensitive to the young age of abuse victims.
The guidance from the Crown Prosecution Service makes it clear that children can use whatever words they are comfortable with or even an outline of the body to evidence abuse, such as ‘private parts’, instead of ‘penis’.
Agreement should be reached with the defence and the court to use a body outline or alternative method for eliciting this information. Children may also be embarrassed at having to refer to parts of their bodies; advocates should find out what words they use and are comfortable with.
(CPS Guidance, Safeguarding Children as Victims and Witnesses)
Secondly, schools may also claim that knowing the names of body parts keeps children safe.
There is no basis for this. Children should understand that certain parts of their body are ‘private parts’ and that no one, except in exceptional circumstances such as medical situations, should ask a child to show their private parts.
Schools can and do play an important role in keeping children safe from abuse and enabling them to report abuse when it occurs.
Before statutory Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), many schools used the NSPCC’s ‘TALK PANTS’ Programme.
In its current form, this resource recommends that teachers use the scientific names of body parts. It is important to note that prior to statutory RSE, teaching the names of sexual or intimate body parts was not part of the TALK PANTS Programme. The inclusion of the names of private body parts became a significant component only after educators interpreting the curriculum requirements influenced the NSPCC to add them. We should encourage schools to use this resource without including the names of body parts.
Teaching young children the names of sexual body parts is inappropriate for several reasons:
But what can parents do about this?
1. Ask schools to justify the rationale behind their interpretation of the curriculum. Most schools follow what others are doing, so it’s important to support schools in reflecting on why they are teaching this.
2. The statutory topics must be taught by the end of primary school. If a school insists on teaching this in Year 1, ask them to consider postponing it to Years 3, 4, or 5 when children are older and more developmentally able to handle adult topics.
Unless parents challenge this constructively, schools are unlikely to consider adapting how and when they teach these topics. It’s also important to work with other parents to ensure the school recognises this as a concern shared by more than one parent.
Use the headings to write your question. Don’t worry about wording or repeating a question someone else has asked. Include any question that a parent has asked or may ask.
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