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RSHE Overview
Our RSHE curriculum follows a spiral model, ensuring that key statutory themes are introduced early and revisited in increasing depth as pupils mature. Content is age-appropriate, inclusive and responsive to pupils’ developmental needs, fully aligned with the DfE Relationships, Sex and Health Education statutory guidance. The content is delivered through discrete and regular timetabled Education for Humanity lessons (EfH) or RSHE lessons in 6th Form and further enhanced by our Personal Development offer and a range of bespoke workshops.
Relationships Education focuses on respectful, safe and healthy relationships, including friendships, family life and intimate relationships. Pupils develop a secure understanding of consent, online safety, harassment, exploitation, and the law, enabling them to recognise risk, challenge harmful behaviours and seek support. Diversity, equality and the impact of stereotypes are embedded throughout.
Sex Education is delivered progressively, covering puberty, reproductive health, contraception, STIs, pregnancy and choices, ensuring pupils are equipped with accurate, impartial knowledge to make informed decisions. Safeguarding themes, including coercion, abuse, forced marriage and honour-based violence, are addressed explicitly and sensitively, in line with statutory expectations.
Health Education promotes pupils’ physical, emotional and mental wellbeing, with a strong focus on resilience, self-esteem and healthy lifestyles. Pupils learn about mental health, sleep, nutrition, physical activity, substance misuse (including vaping), online harms and accessing support. First aid and life-saving skills are revisited regularly to ensure retention and confidence.
British Values are explicitly embedded across the RSHE curriculum and taught through the MR DITL model: Mutual Respect, Democracy, Individual Liberty, Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs, and Rule of Law,. Pupils develop an understanding of their rights and responsibilities, the law, and how to participate positively in society, preparing them to be respectful, active and informed citizens. Click here for more information.
All learning is underpinned by our school values and strengthened through proud ambassador groups including our School Council Team, which provide pupils with meaningful leadership opportunities, promote student voice and reinforce key messages around inclusion, wellbeing and community responsibility.
Across all year groups, learning is reinforced through cross-curricular links, including Science, PE and Business, and supported by a strong pastoral programme. This ensures pupils leave school with the knowledge, skills and confidence to stay safe, maintain healthy relationships and make positive choices as they transition to adulthood.
RSHE (Relationships, Sex and Health Education) curriculum is taught explicitly through EfH lessons and provides a strong and structured foundation for pupils’ personal development; additional workshops play a vital role in enhancing and enriching this provision. These bespoke sessions allow schools to respond flexibly to emerging issues, local priorities, and the specific needs of different year groups.
Workshops provide valuable opportunities to address contemporary and fast-changing themes such as artificial intelligence, online safety, criminal exploitation, mental health, and vaping. These areas evolve rapidly and benefit from specialist input, up-to-date information, and interactive delivery methods that extend beyond traditional classroom teaching.
In addition, external speakers and specialist facilitators can bring expertise and real-world perspectives that deepen pupils’ understanding; examples of this in our school include using Medway’s Sexual Health Team, Crimestoppers and our Local Police Team. This helps to reinforce RSHE learning, challenge misconceptions, and equip pupils with practical strategies for staying safe, making informed choices, and seeking support when needed in school and beyond our gates. Together, the core RSHE curriculum and bespoke workshops provide a more holistic, preventative, and impactful approach to pupils’ wellbeing, safety, and personal development.
In 2025/2026 a group of our Year 10 & 11 students were selected to work with the Local Authority in shaping RSE for schools in Medway. The Local Authority created The &Stuff Toolkit because Medway young people told us loudly and clearly that they want RSE that feels relevant, inclusive, honest and shaped by their real lives.
Nationally, 57% of young people say RSE needs improving (Sex Education Forum, 2024), and meaningful pupil voice is one of the strongest predictors of better, safer lessons.
Medway is home to over 68,000 children and young people, yet there are indications that uptake of contraception and online STI testing among teenagers may not align with the level of need in the population. Teenage conception rates in Medway remain higher than the averages for both the South East and England (ONS, 2022). These findings suggest that, while many young people are making informed choices, some may face barriers in accessing the information and support they need to stay safe and healthy.
RSE plays a critical role here. Evidence shows that high quality RSE is linked to young people seeking help earlier, practising safer sex, having stronger consent skills, and navigating online risks with more confidence. It also contributes to reducing unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, and supports young people to recognise healthy relationships, boundaries and respect. (SEF, Evidence Briefing 2022)
Building on Medway’s strong PSHE model, this initiative brought together secondary schools, RSE specialists and young people as equal partners. Funded by Medway Council and delivered by RSE specialists Alice Hoyle and Ian Timbrell, the project trained RSE Ambassadors to explore what young people really think, need and want from their lessons.
Click here to see our collaborative work developing 'Medway's Best Practice RSE Toolkit'
RSHE in Action
