New relationship, sex and health education statutory guidance published

The Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (‘RSE’) and Health Education (England) Regulations 2019 (‘Regulations’) amended primary legislation to make relationship education for primary school pupils, and RSE and health education for secondary schools compulsory from September 2020. The statutory guidance (‘Guidance’) has now been published to allow trustees, governors and school leaders to understand the legal obligations placed upon them and how to approach teaching these subjects through the school’s curriculum. The previous guidance dating back to 2000 has been replaced and maintained schools, academies, special schools and independent schools must all have regard to the new Guidance. Independent schools are not under the same obligations with regard to health education as the Independent School Standards 2014 already covers this through the requirement for personal, social, health and economic education.

This area of compulsory education has been a contentious issue in various communities across parts of England in recent months, however the law is clear and schools must tackle the new requirements in a way that is age appropriate and reflective of the level of maturity of the pupils to be taught.

Senior leaders and governing boards need to develop a written policy for relationship education and RSE. The Guidance makes it plain that schools must consult parents and carers when developing and reviewing this policy, ensuring it reflects the needs of the pupils and community they serve. Once approved, the policy must be made publically available. Schools are reminded that they must ensure that they comply with the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 and that they do not discriminate against any of the protected characteristics when developing their policy and delivering relationship education and RSE through the curriculum.

It is important to note that parents do have a statutory right to request their child is removed from some or all of sex education delivered as part of RSE. For the avoidance of doubt, relationship and health education does not have a similar parental right of withdrawal. Headteachers need to be prepared to deal with such requests and adapt as appropriate. It is advocated that the procedure for requesting withdrawal is set out in the new policy. It is only in exceptional circumstances when a headteacher should not grant such a request. However, the right only runs up and three terms prior to the pupil turning 16. If the pupil wishes to receive sex education then schools must accommodate delivering this within the three terms prior to them turning 16. The policy must reflect this and the process the headteacher will follow in order to observe such requests.

A clear policy developed following consultation and good communication with stakeholders will set out clearly the school’s approach to relationship education and/or RSE and health education. School leaders should also take the time to ensure that the school’s complaints policy is up to date so that it is robust enough to efficiently handle complaints raised in response to the school’s approach to implementing the requirements of the new Guidance. This will also require those individuals that take part in the various stages of a complaints process to understand the legal obligations of the school in this area and the relevance of the Equality Act 2010 when making determinations.