Personal Development
Relationships & Sex Education
Equipping our students with knowledge, skills, and confidence to make informed choices about their well-being and relationships—now and in the future.
What is Relationships & Sex Education?
RSE is a crucial part of students' emotional, social, and cultural development, helping young people understand themselves and navigate the world around them.
Understanding RSE
Relationships and Sex Education helps young people develop the knowledge and skills needed for healthy relationships, personal safety, and emotional well-being. Our curriculum covers essential life topics in an age-appropriate and supportive environment.
Healthy Relationships
Sexual Health
Diversity & Identity
Consent & Respect
Online Safety
Emotional Well-being
What RSE Is Not About
RSE is not about promoting sexual activity. Rather, it equips students with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to make informed choices about their well-being and relationships. Our approach is always age-appropriate, sensitive, and focused on building healthy foundations for life.
Why is RSE Important?
RSE is now a statutory requirement for all schools in England and Wales, reflecting its vital role in student development.
Statutory Requirement
Government Mandate
Following the UK government's review of RSE in England, it is now a statutory requirement for all schools in England and Wales to include Relationships and Sex Education as part of the curriculum. This ensures all young people receive consistent, high-quality education about relationships and well-being.
Our RSE Programme Is Designed To:
- Encourage self-awareness and confidence in all students
- Support students in making safe, informed decisions
- Promote respect, inclusivity, and equality for everyone
- Equip students with skills to build healthy relationships
- Ensure understanding of personal safety, online risks, and support networks
What Do Students Learn in RSE?
Our age-appropriate and inclusive RSE curriculum covers key topics across three main areas.
Relationships & Respect
- Different types of relationships (friendships, family, intimate relationships, strangers)
- Consent, boundaries, and managing conflict effectively
- Understanding self-respect and respect for others
- Impact of relationships on mental and emotional well-being
Health & Well-being
- Personal safety and recognising unhealthy relationships
- Sexual health, contraception, and factual knowledge
- Diversity and identity (including LGBTQ+ awareness)
- Recognising and addressing harassment and abuse
Online Safety & Legal Awareness
- E-safety and managing relationships in a digital world
- Legal rights and responsibilities related to relationships
- Understanding sexual harassment, abuse, and the law
- Equality legislation and respecting diversity
What Is Taught in Each Year Group
Our RSE curriculum is sequenced so that topics are revisited and built on as students move through the school. Select a year group to see the topics covered.
Year 7 19 topics
- The features of identity, including diversity and stereotypes, sexuality and gender identity.
- The importance of respecting others.
- The characteristics of positive and healthy relationships (in all contexts, including online) and how these relationships might contribute to human happiness.
- How to recognise who to trust and who not to trust, how to judge when a friendship is making them feel unhappy or uncomfortable, managing conflict and how to manage these situations and how to seek help or advice from others, if needed.
- What sorts of boundaries are appropriate in friendships with peers and others (including in a digital context) and that each person’s body belongs to them, and the differences between appropriate and inappropriate contact.
- How to talk about emotions accurately and sensitively, using appropriate vocabulary.
- Rights and responsibilities relating to relationships with others.
- How aspects of health can be affected by choices they make, both positively and negatively.
- Ways to recognise, manage and respond to social pressures, including peer pressure and how to recognise the early signs of mental wellbeing concerns.
- Different types of bullying (including cyberbullying), the impact of bullying, responsibilities of bystanders to report bullying and how and where to get help for themselves or others.
- How to manage conflict within friendships and other types of relationships, including with others online and offline.
- How to identify harmful behaviours online (including bullying, abuse or harassment) and how to report, or find support, if they have been affected by those behaviours.
- Understanding what consent is, including coercion and manipulation and ways to obtain help and support for themselves and others.
- The changing adolescent body, including the physical and emotional changes which occur during puberty and menstrual wellbeing and facts about the menstrual cycle.
- Consent, including the age of consent.
- Recognising risky behaviour online and offline and developing resilience towards these.
- An understanding of the legal, social and physical impact of smoking, drugs and alcohol misuse, including the physical and psychological consequences of addiction.
- Developing an understanding of what wellbeing and healthy lifestyles are, including the importance of all aspects of health, including stress, sleep, diet and exercise.
- How to maintain healthy eating and the links between a poor diet and health risks.
Year 8 13 topics
- Factors which may affect, mental and emotional health, both positively and negatively including how to critically evaluate when something they do or are involved in has a positive or negative effect on their own or others’ mental health.
- The characteristics and evidence of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle, maintaining a healthy weight, including the links between an inactive lifestyle and ill health.
- That having emotions is a normal part of life, how to deal with these emotions, including using coping strategies.
- The differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships, including domestic violence and coercion.
- Understanding body image and self-esteem and how to recognise, manage and respond to pressures around body image.
- How the internet can also be a negative place where online abuse, trolling, bullying and harassment can take place, which can have a negative impact on mental health.
- Developing a deeper understanding of online and offline risks and personal safety, including internet safety and online harms, online risks and identifying harmful behaviours online and how to report and find support for themselves and others.
- The law around sexting, grooming and online harassment and the consequences of these behaviours.
- The impact of bullying and cyberbullying and that some types of behaviour within relationships are criminal, including violent behaviour and coercive control.
- The harm that alcohol and drug addiction can cause, both personally and socially, including short-term and long-term.
- The benefits of diversity.
- How stereotypes, in particular stereotypes based on sex, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or disability, can cause damage.
- Why social media, some computer games and online gaming, for example, are age restricted.
Year 9 13 topics
- Developing digital resilience, including considering their rights, responsibilities and opportunities online, including that the same expectations of behaviour apply in all contexts, including online.
- Key issues as privacy; cyberbullying cyber stalking; ‘Fear of Missing Out’, including how social media and digital media can have both positive and negative impacts on self-esteem and emotional wellbeing.
- Laws relating to behaviour online, including sexting, sharing of and viewing material and keeping healthy online, including online behaviours such as image and information sharing (e.g. sexting).
- The legal rights and responsibilities regarding equality and that everyone is unique and equal.
- Understanding of different types of committed, stable relationships, including marriage, issues relating to forced marriage and the characteristics of positive and healthy relationships.
- Criminal exploitation, for example, through gang involvement or ‘county lines’ drugs operations.
- How to recognise radicalisation and grooming, both online and offline, including the signs of grooming and ways to seek help and support for themselves or others.
- How to identify harmful behaviours online (including bullying, abuse or harassment) and how to report, or find support, if they have been affected by those behaviours.
- Types of behaviour within relationships that are criminal, including violent behaviour, sexting and harassment.
- A deeper understanding of LGBT+ Identities, discrimination, hate crime and hate speech, including the impact that this has on individuals, communities and society.
- The characteristics and evidence of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle, maintaining a healthy weight, including the links between an inactive lifestyle and ill health, including cancer and cardiovascular ill-health.
- Deeper insight to the harms caused by alcohol misuse, smoking and legal and illegal drugs, including: the facts about legal and illegal drugs and their associated risks, the link between drug use, and the associated risks, including the link to serious mental health conditions.
- The law around substance misuse, including relating to the supply and possession of illegal substances.
Year 10 18 topics
- Intimate and sexual relationships, including sexual health.
- How the media may portray unrealistic or idealised concepts of families or intimate relationships.
- The range of different types of relationships, and the characteristics and legal status of different types of long-term relationships, including the characteristics of healthy relationships and consequences of different types of abuse, including domestic violence and coercive control.
- The roles and responsibilities of parents with respect to raising of children, including the characteristics of successful parenting and challenges relating to teenage pregnancy.
- How to recognise the characteristics and positive aspects of healthy one-to-one intimate relationships, which include mutual respect, consent, forced marriage and arranged marriages.
- That there are a range of strategies for identifying and managing sexual pressure, including understanding peer pressure, resisting pressure and not pressurising others.
- The facts about the full range of contraceptive choices, efficacy and options available and the facts around pregnancy including miscarriage.
- That there are choices in relation to pregnancy and where to get further help.
- How the different sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS, are transmitted, how risk can be reduced through safer sex.
- The importance of and facts about testing and screening, including how to access these services.
- Facts about prevalence of some STIs, the impact they can have on those who contract them and key facts about treatment.
- How the use of alcohol and drugs can lead to risky sexual behaviour and how to get further advice, including how and where to access confidential sexual and reproductive health advice and treatment.
- How people can actively communicate and recognise consent from others, including sexual consent, and how and when consent can be withdrawn (in all contexts, including online).
- That specifically sexually explicit material e.g. pornography presents a distorted picture of sexual behaviours, can damage the way people see themselves in relation to others and negatively affect how they behave towards sexual partners.
- How to end relationships, and manage conflict within intimate relationships, including where to seek help, support and guidance for themselves or others.
- Gender identity, equality and diversity.
- Violence against women and girls and the impact of domestic abuse.
- Hate crime, hate speech and the impact and consequences (including legal) of hate crime.
Year 11 6 topics
- The importance of health and wellbeing as young adults, exploring rights, responsibilities and strategies which link to positive physical, emotional, mental and social health and how the relationship between greater responsibility, pressure and independence can have on health and wellbeing.
- Understanding of the importance of healthy lifestyle choices on health and wellbeing, including the impact of poor diet, physical inactivity, sleep and nutrition has on aspects of health.
- To understand what stress is and how to manage stress, including stress which results from relationships with others.
- How idealised images of bodies and the pressure to conform, can adversely affect body image and self-esteem.
- Ways to take responsibility for monitoring personal health and wellbeing, including sun safety, self-examination, and screening.
- How to reduce the risk of contracting or passing on sexually transmitted infections and what taking responsibility for sexual health is.
Key Stage 5 17 topics
- The importance of health and wellbeing as young adults, exploring rights, responsibilities and strategies which support positive physical, emotional, mental and social health, and understanding how increasing independence and responsibility can affect wellbeing.
- Understanding the characteristics of healthy, unhealthy and abusive relationships, including the importance of respect, trust, honesty, communication and equality.
- Developing an understanding of consent, including how consent is sought, given, withdrawn and communicated in a range of situations and relationships.
- Recognising the signs of coercion, manipulation, controlling behaviour and exploitation, and knowing how and where to seek support.
- The risks involved in sharing intimate images digitally.
- Online harms, such as sextortion.
- How alcohol and drugs can affect consent and decision-making.
- Understanding parenthood and parenting responsibilities.
- Understanding the effectiveness of different methods of contraception and how to access appropriate advice and services.
- How to reduce the risk of contracting or passing on sexually transmitted infections and what taking responsibility for sexual health involves.
- Understanding fertility, reproductive health, pregnancy options and the realities and responsibilities associated with parenthood.
- Recognising the impact that alcohol and drugs can have on judgement, decision-making, relationships and the ability to give or receive consent.
- Understanding the influence of online content on attitudes, expectations and perceptions of relationships, sex and body image.
- Exploring the impact of peer influence and social pressures on decision-making, relationships and personal wellbeing.
- Developing awareness of online safety, including digital consent, image sharing, sexting, cyberbullying and the legal implications of online behaviours.
- Recognising when and how to access support services for relationship concerns, sexual health, mental health and personal safety.
- Preparing for future transitions into higher education, employment and independent living, including maintaining healthy relationships and personal wellbeing.
Topics are taught in an age-appropriate way and adapted to the needs of each student. Parents have the right to withdraw their child from the sex education elements of RSE — see Right to Withdraw below.
Building Resilience & Support Networks
RSE at Changing Lives Independent School provides students with essential skills and understanding for life.
Navigate relationships safely and responsibly
Deeper understanding of personal identity and diversity
Practical skills for academic, personal, and social life
Awareness of mental health and emotional well-being
Resilience and confidence to seek support when needed
Signposting and Further Support
In each lesson, students are shown signposting information that guides them to appropriate in-school and out-of-school sources of advice, support and guidance on the topics explored in our RSE curriculum.
Right to Withdraw
If you would like to find out more about RSE, the Parental Right to Withdrawal and Parental Consultation, or to access further support, please contact your child's pastoral leader or view our Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Policy below.
The statutory guidance for RSE and Health Education came into effect in all secondary schools in 2020, including academies, free schools and independent schools. The statutory guidance means that:
- Parents are able to withdraw their child (following discussion with the school) from any or all aspects of Sex Education, other than those which are part of the science curriculum, up to and until three terms before the age of 16.
- Parents will not be able to withdraw their child from any aspect of Relationships Education or Health Education.
- Students have a right to opt into sex education from their 15th birthday, specifically three academic terms before they turn 16.
Learn More About Our RSE Curriculum
If you have any questions about our Relationships and Sex Education programme or would like more information, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us.
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