Power in relationships: What do we need to know about the law?
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Why this why now
As Year 8 pupils navigate increasingly independent online and social lives, they need clear understanding of the legal boundaries around sexual behaviour and image sharing. This unit provides essential safeguarding knowledge about what constitutes harmful sexual behaviour, the serious legal consequences, and how to protect themselves and others. At this developmental stage, pupils can understand these complex legal concepts, empowering them to recognise exploitation, report concerns confidently, and build safe, respectful relationships.
Prior knowledge requirements
- Pupils should understand from Year 7 what constitutes respectful behaviour in relationships, including the importance of consent, kindness and boundaries in all interactions.
- Pupils should be familiar with online safety principles from previous units, including not sharing personal information or images, and recognising when online behaviour becomes harmful.
- Pupils should know from earlier learning how to report concerns and access support, understanding that harmful behaviour is never the victim's fault and help is always available.
Threads
Why this why now
As Year 8 pupils navigate increasingly independent online and social lives, they need clear understanding of the legal boundaries around sexual behaviour and image sharing. This unit provides essential safeguarding knowledge about what constitutes harmful sexual behaviour, the serious legal consequences, and how to protect themselves and others. At this developmental stage, pupils can understand these complex legal concepts, empowering them to recognise exploitation, report concerns confidently, and build safe, respectful relationships.
Prior knowledge requirements
- Pupils should understand from Year 7 what constitutes respectful behaviour in relationships, including the importance of consent, kindness and boundaries in all interactions.
- Pupils should be familiar with online safety principles from previous units, including not sharing personal information or images, and recognising when online behaviour becomes harmful.
- Pupils should know from earlier learning how to report concerns and access support, understanding that harmful behaviour is never the victim's fault and help is always available.
Power in relationships: What do we need to know about the law?
This unit explores the legal aspects of harmful sexual behaviour, including sexual harassment and image-based abuse. Pupils learn what the law says, how to protect themselves online, recognise exploitation such as sextortion, and know how to seek support and report concerns.
3 lessons in unit
slide decks, worksheet PDFs, quizzes and lesson overviews. You can select individual lessons from the Power in relationships: What do we need to know about the law? unit and download the resources you need, or download the entire unit now. See every unit listed in our secondary rshe (pshe) curriculum and discover more of our teaching resources for secondary rshe (pshe) programmes.