Tips for Teachers: are you ready for statutory RSHE?

16 September 2019

With requirements for Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) becoming compulsory from September 2020, many teachers will find themselves teaching this content as a mandatory part of the curriculum. This may not feel comfortable, it may feel outside the work they trained to do. These are specialist areas that young people want to learn and deserve to be taught well. So how do we find the time and expertise to do this?

High quality PSHE provision in school, which now includes RSHE, has been shown to have a positive effect on learner wellbeing during school and over the rest of their lives. Not only this, it has also been shown to have a positive effect on wider academic attainment.

Jan Lever is the creator and CEO of Jigsaw PSHE and has over 35 years’ of experience in education and 10 years’ experience as a counsellor and psychotherapist. We asked Jan for her top tips on how to start this important conversation.

The content included in the new RSHE framework supports effective communication, positive relationships and mental health, promoting healthy lifestyle choices, all of which will support young people – perhaps especially disadvantaged young people - to engage more fully with their education.

5 tips for successful RSHE:

• Listen to young people so you start from where they are and address their needs.
• Plan a well-structured whole-school programme to ensure progression.
• Build a team of teachers who are keen and have the aptitude to deliver PSHE and provide ongoing training and high-quality resources.
• Ensure an inclusive approach so all students and teachers feel respected, valuing difference and aligning to the Equality Duty.
• Offer a qualification in RSHE to recognise learning and give status to this subject.

Start the conversation in your classroom with resources from Jigsaw PSHE, which are the perfect accompaniment alongside your delivery of the new Relationships, Sex and Health qualifications from NCFE. These qualifications have been developed to meet 100% of the guidance for RSHE from the government.