DfE Statutory Requirements

The Department for Education (DfE) published updated statutory guidance for Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) in July 2025. This replaces the 2019 guidance and becomes compulsory for all primary schools in England from September 2026.

Most of what we already teach at Abbey Gates remains the same. The updated guidance is designed to make the curriculum more relevant to children's lives today, with a particular focus on online safety, body awareness and emotional wellbeing.

Key changes include:

• Correct names for all body parts — children will learn the correct names for all body parts, including genitalia. This is established safeguarding best practice, giving children the language to identify and report abuse while reducing stigma.
• Expanded online safety — children will learn about online financial harms such as gaming, scams and fraud, age restrictions on websites and social media, and how to critically assess what they see online, including their rights around privacy, consent and personal data.
• Personal safety in everyday life — new content covers fire, road, rail and water safety, helping children recognise and reduce risk in everyday situations.
• Change, loss and bereavement — children will learn that loss and grief can cause a range of feelings, and that everyone grieves differently. This is taught sensitively and with care.
• Relationship skills — greater emphasis on skills alongside knowledge, including communicating effectively, being assertive, and managing difficult emotions such as disappointment, frustration and loneliness, including in online contexts.
• Drugs and alcohol — this area now also includes vaping and nicotine addiction.

Sex education remains non-statutory in primary schools, but the DfE strongly recommends that it is taught, and specifies that this should take place in Year 5 and/or Year 6.

You can view the full statutory guidance on the government website: Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education - GOV.UK