INSET: Teaching Relationships & Sex Education (RSHE)

“Excellent! Very clear and direct. Covered a lot of content in an engaging manner. The course also helped me with RSHE strategies.”

Adam Tyson, Housemaster & Head of Wellbeing, UCS Hampstead

Why this RSHE course?

All secondary schools must teach Relationships & Sex Education as statutory RSHE, and should do so in ways that are age-appropriate, inclusive and safeguarding-led. The updated DfE guidance (July 2025) strengthens expectations around openness with parents, clarifies how schools should teach the facts and law (including protected characteristics), and signals enhanced focus on areas such as sexual harassment/VAWG and suicide prevention. It comes into force on 1 September 2026, giving schools a clear window to review policy, curriculum, and practice.

What’s changed in RSHE (2025 update)

• Timeline & status – Revised statutory guidance published 15 July 2025, for introduction on 1 September 2026. Schools must have regard to this guidance and be able to justify any departures.
• Openness with parents – Parents should be able to view all RSHE curriculum materials on request; schools must not enter contracts with external providers that restrict parent access.
• Age appropriateness & contested content – Final guidance emphasises professional judgement rather than fixed age limits and makes clear schools should teach facts and the law without endorsing contested views.
• Protected characteristics & inspection – Ofsted expects schools to teach protected characteristics in an age-appropriate way and to follow RSHE guidance; inspectors record any departures and rationale during inspection.
• Safeguarding links – KCSIE 2025 is now in force and continues to require robust responses to child-on-child sexual violence/harassment and online harms—staff need clear training and curriculum coverage.
• Strengthened areas – Greater emphasis on tackling sexual harassment/misogyny and planning for suicide prevention in secondary settings; online-safety teaching remains integral across RSHE and Computing.

RSHE INSET aims

By the end of the INSET, staff will be able to:

• Clarify statutory requirements and inspection expectations for RSHE (including policy, curriculum design, and evidence of impact).
• Review and update the school’s RSHE policy and long-term plan to meet the 2025 guidance ahead of September 2026.
• Teach confidently about consent, healthy relationships, sexual health, and online harms using age-appropriate, inclusive approaches that reflect the law and safeguard pupils.
• Engage parents effectively, including handling withdrawal requests from sex education and sharing materials transparently.
• Evidence intent–implementation–impact for Ofsted’s Personal Development judgement, including coverage of protected characteristics.

Who is this RSHE INSET for?

• RSHE/PSHE Leads, Heads of Year, DSLs and Deputies, Form Tutors, Teachers and Support Staff in secondary settings.

INSET outline

Clear Approaches and Strategies to RSHE

This course is thought provoking and teachers will leave with a clear set of strategies and interventions which they can adopt in their teaching of RSHE.

1) Statutory requirements & inspection readiness

• What’s mandatory vs. flexible, and how to use professional judgement.
• How RSHE interfaces with KCSIE 2025 and whole-school safeguarding.
• Evidence for inspection: policy, curriculum sequencing, staff CPD, pupil voice, parental engagement, and impact measures.

2) Policy essentials & parental engagement

• Updating your RSHE policy: scope, SEND inclusion, safeguarding, assessment, and signposting.
• Right to request withdrawal from sex education (secondary) and how to manage requests fairly and consistently.
• Practical mechanisms for openness with parents

3) Curriculum planning for RSHE Teaching

• Developmental sequencing from KS3 to KS4; mapping RSHE across Relationships, Sexual Health, and Physical/Mental Wellbeing.
• Embedding online safety (including image-based abuse, deepfake literacy, and digital consent) across RSHE and Computing.
• Designing safe discussion spaces: ground rules, distancing techniques, question boxes, and handling disclosures.

4) Teaching Sex Education (secondary)

• Consent, coercion & peer pressure; contraception and STI prevention; delaying sexual activity; respectful intimacy.
• Pornography literacy & misogyny online: challenging harmful attitudes while safeguarding pupil wellbeing.
• Inclusivity & the law: teaching facts about sexual orientation and gender reassignment; ensuring balanced presentation of contested topics; aligning with the Equality Act 2010 and Ofsted expectations.

5) Responding to sexual harassment & harmful sexual behaviour

• Whole-school approach to prevention; responding to reports; working with the DSL and external agencies.
• Curriculum strategies that reinforce boundaries, bystander intervention, and respectful behaviour—linked to KCSIE Part 5.

6) Mental health and suicide prevention

• Integrating RSHE with mental health education; planning safe, evidence-informed approaches to suicide prevention in secondary settings, staff training considerations, and referral pathways.

Delivery options

• On-site INSET (half or full day)
• Twilight series (2 × 90 minutes)
• Live webinar (whole staff, MAT-wide, or cross-phase)

Booking & pricing

To schedule this INSET for your school, MAT or independent setting, contact us.

Sessions can be tailored to your local context (phase, SEND profile, parental engagement priorities) and delivered on-site or online.

enquiries@jmcinset.com

Are you looking for a Relationships & Sex Education INSET for Primary teachers ? Follow this link