Relationship & Health Education

The Department for Education (DFE) have introduced new regulations that will make Relationships and Health Education (RHE) compulsory in primary schools. To help parents/carers understand the changes and new curriculum, we have set up this webpage and relevant information and guidance. A consultation process was undertaken during the Summer Term 2022 and we thank all those who engaged in the process. Feedback from parents responses to the consultation are included on this page. 

For  new parents  the information provided  during the consultation and parent information video on RHE at Meadow Green Primary School are  still available below.

Information for parents/carers

 Meadow Green RHE Policy

Parent Information on RHE  (Video)

DfE Parents Guide to RHE

DfE Frequently Asked Questions

Meadow Green Primary RHE Curriculum Overview

At Meadow Green Primary School we place a high value on the development of the ‘whole child’. The teaching of Personal, Social, Health & Economic (PSHE) education underpins children’s development as people and supports their learning capacity. PSHE also forms part of our wider, holistic approach to addressing sensitive subjects and protection our pupils. Through our PSHE curriculum, we aim to provide children with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to lead confident, healthy, independent lives and to become informed, active and responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society. We value PSHE as one way to support children’s development as individuals, to enable them to understand and respect who they are, to empower them with a voice and to equip them for life and learning.

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From September 2020, PSHE incorporates statutory Relationships Education and Health Education for all primary school pupils. At Meadow Green, we include statutory Relationships and Health Education within our whole-school PSHE Programme; some elements will also be reinforced through links in other areas of the curriculum such as Science and Religious Education.

You can access our updated PSHE Programme of Study  below. The document is bookmarked to enable you to view specific phases or the document as a whole.

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 Parent Consultation Feedback

As part of the development process of formulating our RHE policy and curriculum we sought the the views of parents  via an online questionnaire.   Parents were asked to review our draft programme of study to ensure that they understood  what new Relationships and Health Education curriculum will cover in primary schools, the requirement in law to teach Relationships and Health Education which includes the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010 and that their children would be learning about different aspects of relationships - including family structures, friendship, bullying, teamwork, growing up, feelings, stereotypes and consent.

We asked If you understood what the new Relationships and Health Education curriculum will cover in primary schools?

88% of respondents had a good or full understanding of the RHE curriculum

You said it would be helpful if : '

Each year group could create an overview of what is being taught in each half term so that parents are able to be prepared for engaging with their children and answering any questions which may come up.' 

'Topics should be clearly shown to parents in advance so they can support their children and discuss issues further as required'

 We will be including RHE overviews in the termly topic maps that we send out.

We asked you which  were the most important subject areas that SHOULD be taught in RHE 

Your 5 most important subject areas in order of priority were:

1. Respectful Relationships

2. Being Safe

3. Mental Wellbeing

4. Internet Safety and Harm

=5 Physical Health & Wellbeing / The changing adolescent body

You said: '

I think the proposed curriculum is comprehensive and covers important areas'

'It would be good if the school could let parents know what is coming up in RHE for their children, perhaps on a half termly basis. Definitely some pre-warning about when the topics about Sexual Relationships and Human Reproduction will be taught and what the children will read and see in that topic. This will help parents prepare for questions at home so that they can support their children with their learning'

'I think it’s great that the school are doing first aid courses for yr5/6 but would also like some more of it covered in the earlier classes too - an awareness of how to call the emergency services and what to tell them for example.'   

We asked should your children learn about different aspects of relationships?

100% of respondents were pleased that children would learn about different aspects of relationships - including family structures, friendship, bullying, teamwork, growing up, feelings, stereotypes and consent

We asked do you think we should or should not teach sex education in our curriculum?

88% of parents who responded supported the teaching of sex education at an age appropriate level to children as set out in our RHSE programme of study.