What are the aims and purpose of our curriculum?

This curriculum, fully aligned to the September 2026 statutory guidance, aims to equip pupils with the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed decisions about their wellbeing, health, and relationships. The curriculum enables pupils to build and develop knowledge over time while also providing opportunities to learn, question, and evaluate a broad range of experiences. We adhere to statutory guidance, ensuring that teachers are able to deliver correct and well-informed content.

What overarching curriculum principles inform the design of our curriculum?

This principle recognises the important role that knowledge, and vocabulary as a particularly important type of knowledge, plays in learning. We identify and map vocabulary across the curriculum, both in terms of the introduction of new vocabulary and the necessary repetition of vocabulary that has gone before. New vocabulary, called keywords, are signalled in bold in our lesson materials to indicate their importance.

A careful and purposeful sequencing of our curriculum content underpins its design, ensuring that pupils are able to build on and make links with existing knowledge. At its simplest this means ensuring, for example, that when teaching First Aid, pupils are taught to be able to make an emergency call and deal with common injuries, before building their knowledge to be able to administer CPR and explain the purpose of a defibrillator. Attention is paid to vertical coherence via threads, which map the developments of concepts over time. For example, in the thread ‘Wellbeing’, pupils learn about basic self-care, emotions, and how to understand their own feelings and those of others. As they advance, they delve into more complex topics such as mental wellbeing, strategies for managing stress, and resilience. This includes teaching pupils how to recognise and talk about their emotions, understand the importance of physical health, and develop First Aid skills.

Our evidence-informed approach enables the rigorous application of research outcomes, science of learning and impactful best practice both in education in general and at a subject specific level. For example, the design of our resources reflects findings from Sweller’s cognitive load theory and Mayer’s principles of multimedia learning whilst our lesson design draws on Rosenshine’s principles of instruction. We also draw on findings from research organisations such as the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). At the subject level, we align with the DfE statutory guidance on relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE), and health education, meaning that our curriculum meets the necessary requirements for teaching RHE and RSHE.

Our flexible approach enables schools to use our resources in a way that fits their context and meets the varying needs of teachers and their pupils. Our curriculum can be used in its entirety or units can be selected to complement existing curricula. Our resources are adaptable so that teachers can add local context, can edit or add checks for understanding, or adapt practice tasks to better reflect the prior knowledge of their pupils. Our curriculum can be delivered in lessons, form or tutor time, and through assemblies. Whilst flexible, our lessons will always adhere to the statutory guidance on relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE), and health education.

Our commitment to breadth and diversity in content, language, texts, and media can be seen throughout the curriculum, for example in the group of diverse school age characters that feature in our resources. We incorporate a wide range of examples and case studies from various cultures and societies to ensure pupils understand and appreciate diversity. Lessons feature stories and scenarios from different cultural backgrounds, promoting empathy and global awareness. Pupils learn about the importance of equality and legal protections against discrimination based on race, disability, religion, and other protected characteristics. This approach educates pupils about their rights and responsibilities while encouraging respect and valuing differences.

Our curriculum is intentionally designed to facilitate high-quality teaching as a powerful lever to support pupils with SEND. Aligned with EEF guidance, our resources have a focus on clear explanations, modelling and frequent checks for understanding, with guided and independent practice. Lessons are chunked into learning cycles and redundant images and information are minimised to manage cognitive load. Our resources are purposefully created to be accessible, for example by using accessible fonts, colours with good contrast, and captions in our videos. We use characters and case studies that relate to real-life situations, such as discussing approaches to staying safe online, helping pupils to see the relevance to them.

What subject specific principles inform the design of our curriculum?

Focuses on the knowledge and skills specific to RSHE, including:

Ensuring that all content is grounded in the statutory RSHE guidance and the law;

Our curriculum is grounded in statutory guidance and the law, so that all content is relevant and compliant. For example, our lessons on online safety and media influence provide pupils with the knowledge to help keep them safe online and teach them about their responsibilities. Each lesson begins with ground rules to support teachers to set conditions where pupils feel safe to participate. To help children feel safe, we also provide examples and opportunities for pupils to talk about their emotions and experiences. We teach pupils how to ask for advice or help and how to report concerns.

Applies our diversity curriculum principle by encouraging pupils to understand, appreciate and analyse a broad range of viewpoints.

Our lessons include case studies and scenarios representing different backgrounds and communities from across modern Britain. For example, in key stage 2 pupils explore the contributions of the Windrush Generation to our society. Our curriculum empowers pupils to make informed choices about their own lives. For example, pupils learn about topics including drugs, alcohol and tobacco. By carefully explaining risk-taking behaviour and encouraging thoughtful discussion, pupils learn to evaluate options and consider the consequences of their decisions, encouraging responsible and informed decision-making.

How does our curriculum reflect the aims & purpose of the national curriculum?

Our curriculum is aligned with the statutory guidance on relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education. All content is comprehensive, relevant, and appropriate. We cover essential topics such as mental wellbeing, online safety, and respectful relationships. As part of our curriculum, we teach pupils aspects of social and emotional learning (SEL), for example by teaching them to name and manage their emotions. Our curriculum fully integrates the teaching of fundamental British values (FBV).

What teaching time does our curriculum require?

Our curricula for key stages 1-3 are designed for 36 weeks of curriculum time across the school year, leaving time for other activities both within and beyond the curriculum such as assessments or school trips. At key stage 4, year 10 also has 36 weeks of curriculum time, but year 11 has only 24 weeks (approximately 2 terms) to recognise that schools will not be teaching new content in the run up to the GCSE exams.

Our primary RHE curriculum has been designed to teach one weekly lesson approximately 40 minutes long in key stage 1 and 50 minutes to an hour in key stage 2. Our secondary RSHE curriculum is designed for one lesson to be taught every week, with lessons approximately 50 minutes to an hour. We understand that exact time dedicated to RSHE can vary greatly between schools due to differences in curriculum planning, resource allocation and school-specific priorities. Therefore we fully expect and encourage teachers to adapt our curriculum and resources to best suit their needs, available curriculum time and format.

We use threads to signpost groups of units that link to one another, which together build a common body of knowledge over time. We use the term thread, rather than vertical concepts, themes, or big ideas because it helps to bring to mind the visual concept of a thread weaving through the curriculum.

Our RHE and RSHE threads that weave through both our primary and secondary curricula are:

By using these threads in our RHE and RSHE curricula, we ensure pupils are prepared to successfully navigate a wealth of real-life situations. For example, the threads on ‘wellbeing’ and ‘relationships’ teach pupils the appropriate vocabulary to name their own emotions, with the curriculum later developing how pupils might manage these emotions in different contexts. Consistent threads across our primary and secondary curricula can enable more effective transition, helping pupils to bridge their knowledge and understanding from primary to secondary. For example, the ‘relationships’ thread starts by teaching about friendships and family at primary school, and then moves on to more complex topics such as romantic relationships and consent at secondary.

Recommendations from subject specific reports

How does our curriculum address and enact recommendations from subject specific reports (e.g. EEF guidance reports & Ofsted Research Review)?

We make use of the available research on approaches to RHE/ RSHE, for example the research on communication and language highlighted by the EEF. We recognise the value of teaching different emotions and how children can manage them as part of our primary RHE curriculum. In our primary curriculum, pupils will develop a toolkit to provide the right language to communicate and manage their own emotions. We begin by teaching pupils to recognise their emotions, before understanding them. Following this, pupils are taught to label their emotions, and to understand the intensity of each emotion they might be feeling. Finally, we teach pupils to manage their emotions, encouraging children to develop a toolkit of strategies.

How does our curriculum deal with elements that arise from the specific needs of the subject?

Schools have a statutory requirement to teach relationships and health education in primary and relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education in secondary. Schools often decide to teach this as part of a broader PSHE curriculum. We call our curriculum RSHE (PSHE) across both primary and secondary because teachers and pupils are familiar with the language.

What is the same and what is different about the primary and secondary curricula?

In our primary curriculum pupils are taught relationships and health education (RHE). Sex education does not form part of our primary curriculum. At secondary pupils learn about relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education. Our spiral approach to both curricula means that topics are revisited with increasing levels of complexity. For example, online safety is introduced early in the primary curriculum and revisited with more advanced issues, such as cyberbullying and digital footprints, in the secondary curriculum. This compliments our computing curriculum and reinforces the importance of safe online behaviour.

How does our RHE and RSHE curricula link to our curricula in other subjects?

Our RHE and RSHE curricula link to many other subjects. Healthy eating and lifestyles are taught as part of our ‘wellbeing’ thread, with connections to science, cooking and nutrition and PE. For example, our year 6 unit on ‘risky substances: why do people use alcohol and drugs?’ pupils learn about the reasons for alcohol and drug use and the associated risks, to encourage informed choices. This links with our year 6 science unit on keeping healthy where pupils learn to recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on the way their bodies function.

Our RHE and RSHE curriculum is grounded in the law. Lessons that include sensitive content are labelled as such on our website. Where lessons may contain sensitive content, suggestions of ‘ground rules’ are included and external support groups and organisations are signposted such as Childline for example.

How is e-safety taught in our RHE and RSHE curricula and where does it link to our computing curriculum?

Within our thread 'online safety', pupils are taught throughout the curriculum how to be safe online. For example, in key stage 1, pupils learn about careful sharing, scary things and getting a healthy balance online. Our computing curriculum revisits and reinforces the learning from RHE and RSHE lessons.

Life Lessons

 work closely in partnership with schools all over the country to address some of the barriers to the effective teaching of RSHE, from pupil engagement to teacher confidence and parent engagement. They demonstrate understanding of statutory requirements and how to interpret that guidance for effective RSHE. As important is their understanding of the context both within schools and nationally within our communities where RSHE is delivered, considering the perspective of pupils, teachers, leaders in education and parents.

Secondary

RSHE (PSHE)

Key Stage 1

Key Stage 2

Key Stage 3

Key Stage 4

Primary

Art and design

Core

GCSE

Citizenship

Computing

Cooking and nutrition

Design and technology

Edexcel

Eduqas

English

French

Edexcel B

Geography

German

History

Maths

Music

Physical education

Religious education

Science

Spanish

Community

Relationships

Online safety

Wellbeing

Growing up

How to evaluate their impact on other people and treat others with kindness and respect, including in public spaces and including strangers.

Pupils should understand the legal rights and responsibilities regarding equality, and that everyone is unique and equal.

What tolerance requires, including the importance of tolerance of other people’s beliefs.

The practical steps pupils can take and skills they can develop to support respectful and kind relationships.

How to increase their personal safety in public spaces, including when socialising with friends, family, the wider community or strangers.

Information on where to report abuse.

How to seek help via local third sector partners which may have specialist services.

How to identify risk and manage personal safety in unfamiliar social or work settings (for example the first time a young person goes on holiday without their parents).

Understanding which trusted adults they can talk to if pupils are worried about violence and/or knife crime.

How families and relationships change over time, including through birth, death, separation and new relationships.

Skills for ending relationships or friendships with kindness and managing the difficult feelings that endings might bring, including disappointment, hurt or frustration.

How to talk about their emotions accurately and sensitively, using appropriate vocabulary.

That loneliness can be for most people an inevitable part of life at times and is not something of which to be ashamed.

That worrying and feeling down are normal, can affect everyone at different times and are not in themselves a sign of a mental health condition.

The characteristics of positive relationships of all kinds, online and offline, including romantic relationships.

Pupils should understand the role of consent, trust, mutual respect, honesty, kindness, loyalty, shared interests and outlooks, generosity, boundaries, tolerance and privacy in relationships.

The importance of self-esteem, independence and having a positive relationship with oneself, and how these characteristics support healthy relationships with others.

How to judge when a relationship is unsafe (and recognise this in the relationships of others).

The concepts and laws relating to domestic abuse, including controlling or coercive behaviour, emotional, sexual, economic or physical abuse, and violent or threatening behaviour.

That fixated, obsessive, unwanted and repeated behaviours can be criminal, and where to get help if needed.

The concepts and laws relating to harms which are exploitative, including sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation and abuse, grooming, and financial exploitation.

How to seek support for their own worrying or abusive behaviour or for worrying or abusive behaviour they have experienced from others.

The role of consent, including in romantic and sexual relationships.

That there are a range of strategies for identifying, resisting and understanding pressure in relationships from peers or others, including sexual pressure.

That strangulation and suffocation are criminal offences, and that strangulation (applying pressure to the neck) is an offence, regardless of whether it causes injury.

That sex, for people who feel ready and are over the age of consent, can and should be enjoyable and positive.

The law about the age of consent, that they have a choice about whether to have sex, that many young people wait until they are older.

Sexual consent and their capacity to give, withhold or remove consent at any time, even if initially given.

How the use of alcohol and drugs can lead people to take risks in their sexual behaviour.

How and where to seek support for concerns around sexual relationships including sexual violence or harms.

That the legal age of medical consent is 16.

What to do and how to report when they are concerned about material that has been circulated, including personal information, images or videos, and how to manage issues online.

Pupils should be taught where to go for advice and support about something they have seen online.

How information and data is generated, collected, shared and used online.

That websites may share personal data about their users, and information collected on their internet use, for commercial purposes (e.g. to enable targeted advertising).

That criminals can operate online scams, for example using fake websites or emails to extort money or valuable personal information, which can be used to the detriment of the person or wider society.

How to critically evaluate which activities will contribute to their overall wellbeing.

The similarities and differences between the online world and the physical world.

How people may curate a specific image of their life online.

The impact that an over-reliance on online relationships, including relationships formed through social media, can have.

The characteristics of social media, including that some social media accounts are fake, and / or may post things which aren’t real / have been created with AI.

That social media users may say things in more extreme ways than they might in face-to-face situations, and that some users present highly exaggerated or idealised profiles of themselves online.

That social media can lead to escalations in conflicts, how to avoid these escalations and where to go for help and advice.

The benefits of limiting time spent online.

The risks of excessive time spent on electronic devices.

The impact of unhealthy or obsessive comparison with others online (including through setting unrealistic expectations for body image).

The benefits and importance of physical activity, sleep, time outdoors, community participation and volunteering or acts of kindness for mental wellbeing and happiness.

That happiness is linked to being connected to others.

Factual information about the prevalence and characteristics of more serious health conditions.

The science relating to blood, organ and stem cell donation.

How to navigate their local healthcare system: what a GP is; when to use A&E / minor injuries; accessing sexual health and family planning clinics; the role of local pharmacies.

That managing worry and feeling down can be helped by seeing them as normal.

Characteristics of common types of mental ill health (e.g. anxiety and depression).

Carefully-presented factual information about the prevalence and characteristics of more serious mental health conditions.

That gambling can lead to serious mental health harms, including anxiety, depression, and suicide, and that some gambling products are more likely to cause these harms than others.

Personal hygiene, germs and how they are spread, including bacteria and viruses, treatment and prevention of infection, and about antibiotics.

The importance of taking responsibility for their own health, and the benefits of regular self-examination and screening.

The facts and scientific evidence relating to vaccination, immunisation and antimicrobial resistance.

The introduction of topics relating to vaccination and immunisation should be aligned with when vaccinations are offered to pupils.

How to identify risk and manage personal safety around water and also how to follow the water safety code.

This unit examines the importance of respect, compassion and understanding in communities. Pupils explore equality in modern Britain, understand individual rights and responsibilities in communities and workplaces, and learn how to access support.

Equality in modern Britain

Rights and responsibilities in our community

Rights and responsibilities in the workplace

Support in our community

Communities: Why is respect, understanding and compassion important?

This unit explores the management of separation, change, and loss in relationships. Pupils learn to understand the impact of relationship breakdowns, cope with death and bereavement and access appropriate support during difficult transitions.

Separation and sudden changes

Death, grief and loss

Grieving processes

Healthy relationships: How do separation and change affect relationships?

This unit explores characteristics of healthy relationships and recognising abuse. Pupils learn about trust, respect and boundaries in positive relationships, identify signs of domestic abuse and coercive control, and understand how to protect themselves and others whilst accessing support.

Healthy relationships

Recognising abuse and violence

How to protect myself and others

Power in relationships:  What does a healthy relationship feel like?

This unit examines factors that influence risky sexual behaviour. Pupils explore characteristics of unhealthy relationships, understand consent and capacity, recognise the importance of safety and trust in intimate relationships, and learn how alcohol and drugs impair sexual decision-making.

Unhealthy relationships

Consent

Safety, respect and trust in intimate relationships

Drugs and risky sexual behaviour

Alcohol and risky sexual behaviour

Healthy intimate relationships: What influences risky sexual behaviour?

This unit explores the internet's impact on wellbeing, relationships and opportunities. Pupils critically evaluate online influences, understand risks and benefits of online relationships, learn to seek reliable support, protect personal data, and navigate digital tools for work and education.

The impact of the internet on me

Online relationships

Seeking support online

Online data

Work, education and the internet

Media influence: Is the internet a good influence in our lives?

This unit examines the impact of social media on mental health and relationships. Pupils explore healthy internet use, understand the effects on wellbeing, examine online communities and their differences, and develop strategies for managing conflict and assessing the impact of social media.

What healthy internet use looks like

Social media and mental health

Social media and communities

Social media and difference

Social media and conflict

Our online lives: How can being online impact my life?

This unit explores different aspects of physical health. Pupils learn about living with chronic illness, and understand the science of organ and blood donation.

Chronic illness

Organ and blood donation

Physical health: How can physical health affect others?

This unit explores mental health conditions including stress, anxiety and depression. Pupils learn to recognise symptoms, distinguish normal worries from mental health conditions, understand treatment options, and know how to access professional support confidently.

Mental health conditions

Stress

Anxiety and OCD

Depression

What are common types of mental health conditions?

This unit teaches self-monitoring and health awareness. Pupils learn to recognise signs of health problems, understand immunisation and antimicrobial resistance, maintain intimate health and hygiene, practise sun safety, and follow water safety protocols confidently.

Signs of health problems

Immunisation

Intimate health care

Safety in the sun

Water safety

Staying safe and healthy: How can I check my body is healthy?

That there are different types of committed, stable relationships.

How these relationships might contribute to wellbeing, and their importance for bringing up children.

The roles and responsibilities of parents with respect to raising children.

The characteristics of successful parenting and the importance of the early years of a child’s life for brain development.

Signposting towards medically accurate online information about sexual and reproductive health to support contraceptive decision making.

That there are choices in relation to pregnancy.

Medically and legally accurate and impartial information on all options, including keeping the baby, adoption, abortion and where to get further help.

The importance of healthy behaviours before and during pregnancy, including the importance of pre-conception health, including taking folic acid.

Information on miscarriage and pregnancy loss, and how to access care and support.

Pupils should be equipped to recognise misogyny and other forms of prejudice.

Pupils should have an opportunity to discuss how some sub-cultures might influence our understanding of sexual ethics.

Pupils should have an opportunity to discuss the sexual norms endorsed by so-called “involuntary celibates” (incels) or online influencers.

How to counter misinformation, including signposting towards medically accurate information and further advice, and where to access confidential sexual and reproductive health advice and treatment.

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.

That the co-occurrence of alcohol/drug use and poor mental health is common.

That mental health problems can increase the risk of alcohol/drug use, and alcohol/drug use can trigger mental health problems or exacerbate existing ones.

KS3 & KS4 RSHE (PSHE) curriculum

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